Magazine-fed paintball continues to grow, one well-aimed shot and well-attended mag-fed-only game at a time. With magazine-fed-only games growing in size all the time, more mag-fed markers and players carrying them appearing at scenario and recreational events and more companies than ever supporting the mag-fed marketplace, it’s obvious that the concept of taking the hopper off isn’t going anywhere. That said, it’s no surprise the equipment available to mag-fed players is only getting better. The hottest marker in the mag-fed world right now is the M17 from Milsig and after a few days’ test drive there’s no question as to why: the Milsig M17 is the mag-fed marker that mag-fed paintball has been waiting for!
While the rest of the paintball world continues to look for more colorful, lighter and faster markers, the Milsig M17 fills the hands like a tactical firearm. A bit hefty at well over four pounds, the weight of the M17 isn’t much of an issue as the players that will be toting it around are of the hard core scenario, tactical or mil-sim variety rather than a “midget with a machine gun” playing two minutes at a time behind inflatable bunkers. Don’t get caught with this marker in plain view out in public, as the M17 very closely resembles an aggressively accessorized AR15 rifle. The resemblance doesn’t stop at looks, however, as once in the hands the M17’s controls, the cocking handle, magazine release and safety/selector switch, are where an experienced AR15 shooter would expect to find them. Just as exciting to experienced AR shooters is the ability to swap out the included M16 “Lone star” grip for any AR pistol grip, like those available from Ergo Grips or Magpul. Mounting points for bolt-on accessory rails enable players to set their marker up to best suit their personal preference or any mission by adding fore-grips, bipods, sights, scopes, lights or lasers.
Speaking of selector switches, that’s a big deal with the M17. While most other paintball guns achieve fully automatic fire by way of an electronic circuit board, batteries, solenoids and wires, the M17 gets to “rock and roll” mode mechanically, with the flip of the selector switch from “pew” to “pew pew pew.” Milsig’s HEAT mechanical core, with only two regularly-maintained o-rings, is simple to service and provides consistent, rapid full-auto firepower. The only shame of the whole thing is that the magazine included with the marker, capable of handling either .68 caliber paintballs or the more accurate First Strike rounds, can only handle around 18 paintballs. In fully-automatic mode, the shooter can burn through an entire magazine in the blink of an eye, making practicing fast and efficient mag swaps a necessity. Set aside a few bucks for plenty of extra magazines as well. While the M17 is capable of being swapped over to feed via a hopper thanks to an included, bolt-on elbow, that’s not mag-fed so that’d be some kind of mag-fed faux pax.
The M17 accepts its compressed air source at the back of its receiver via a bottle adapter that points the bottle straight out the back of the marker. Though intended to be used with a tiny compressed air bottle that the included butt stock adapter can fit around, any size air bottle can be threaded in. Unfortunately, this leads to a minor disruption of ergonomics as a larger bottle prevents the shooter from assuming a comfortable cheek-weld that allows the included, bolt-on AR15 front and rear sights to be utilized effectively. Some players will get around this with using a smaller bottle, others a remote line, while others will simply use a sight or scope on a raised sight rail.
The standard barrel included with the Milsig M17 is a relatively short, aluminum Marksman barrel with internal rifling, a few small ports near the front and a threaded muzzle break. While this barrel may work great and deliver First Strike rounds well, with standard .68 caliber paintballs we were less than impressed during testing. At close range accuracy with both Valken Redemption and GI 4 Star paintballs was decent at best, while at longer ranges accuracy was…just a word that didn’t really apply. As the HEAT core and mechanics of the marker enable it to deliver paintballs accurately, a barrel swap was in order. Thankfully, the M17 accepts Tippmann A5-threaded barrels and when we added a fourteen inch Stiffi barrel to the marker, accuracy improved over all ranges and the sound of the firing marker was drastically reduced. With a good quality aftermarket barrel like those available from GOG, CP, Lapco, Dye or many other companies, the M17 is more than capable of shooting as accurately as any other marker at any range, with fist-sized groups at close range opening up but remaining predictable at fifty feet and beyond. With First Strike rounds and a proper setup, the M17 can quickly be built into a positively lethal “designated marksman rifle.”
Well-built, attractive, adaptable, consistent, reliable, easily maintained and, of course, fully automatic without electronics, the Milsig M17 is an excellent mag-fed paintball gun. Truly a standout in the magazine-fed paintball world, the M17 is an excellent choice for any serious tactical or scenario player ready to flip the switch to “get some” and let the paint fly!
By Josh Silverman
