There are only a couple of names that come to mind when you are shopping for high-end MilSim or ultra competitive paintball guns. Leading the way is Tiberius Arms, a company committed to bringing value and innovation to consumers, without compromising on quality. The newest offering from Tiberius, the T15, continues the company’s practice of revolutionizing the market, giving consumers a weapon they have been clamoring for.

This past weekend I took the T15 out and put it through its paces, testing for comfort of use, reliability, accuracy and value. As with all Tiberius products, the new T15 scored well across the board, and showed just how dominant Tiberius is becoming in the magfed gun market.

Model And Realism

What has always set Tiberius apart is the realism of their guns. Unlike a lot of other paintball guns, Tiberius makes their products to look and feel like the weapons they emulate. This year’s T15 is a faithful 1:1 reconstruction of the best-selling AR-15. Because it so faithfully recreates a real weapon model, the gun feels comfortable in your hands, especially in the heat of competition. I spent four hours testing the gun in the middle of the afternoon, both in sunlight and in shadows. Despite the heat and sweat, the gun’s grips did not irritate my naked skin, and I never felt the handle or hand guard slip during the tests.

GRADE

A

Overall, it looked and felt just like my Colt AR-15, minus the carrying handle.

Construction

The T15 is made with two pieces of cast aluminum, which keeps the gun lightweight and extremely durable. No matter what kind of weather or climate conditions you are playing in, the T15 will function at the manufacturer’s specifications. The stock combines the air in stock design to eliminate the need for an external CO2 container, and the inclusion of a charger in the stock reduces the hassle of keeping your gun ready to go. I found that the additional weight from an aluminum construction aided my ability to keep shots on target, and muzzle drift that I have experienced with hard plastic guns.

GRADE

A-

Great construction and materials, though I sometimes felt the stock was a little on the flimsy side.

Maintenance

Proper care of your gun is what will keep it working for years and years, and the T15 is easy enough to take apart that you have no excuse for improper maintenance. The two pin assembly allows you to separate the pieces of the gun in a matter of seconds. During my testing I cleaned the weapon completely three times, just to inspect the interior to see how it was holding up.  The total time from operational to disassembled, and back to firing took less than five minutes each time.

GRADE

A+

It was one of the easiest cleaning I have ever done on a magfed gun.

Customization

With many paintball guns you have to make a choice between customization and quality, but not with the T15. An aluminum quad rail hand guard gives you ample space to bring all of the tactical gear and accessories that you want. This allows you to make your gun your own, customizing it for the conditions of your game. As someone who enjoys feeling like I’m in the thick of battle, being able to make changes to my gun’s appearance is very important to me, and the customization was a huge selling point. I like that I can easily switch between different types of optics for the gun, giving me an advantage in most combat situations.

GRADE

B+

The ability to customize the gun is there, and the only reason the T15 doesn’t score higher in this category is the lack of accessory selection from the manufacturer. Given some more time, your options should increase, and so will the grade.

Innovation

The high-end paintball market has seen an increase in popularity towards magfed weapons the last five years, and Tiberius has consistently been among the leaders in those innovations. Magfed guns allow for greater stealth and camouflage in competitive MilSim, in particular Woodsball. The T15’s magfed design incorporates the latest technology, and gives you up to 20 rounds of .68 caliber ammunition before you need to reload. Should you decide to play speedball or other faster styles of paintball, the available adapter will let you switch over to a traditional hopper. The upgrades that Tiberius has made to the magfed gun market are amazing. Magazines are interchangeable across multiple guns, and I never once had an issue when I needed to reload. After several hundred rounds, the magfeed system continued to operate perfectly, with no jams and no lost time to mechanical malfunctions.

GRADE

A+

I’ve been a proponent of magfed guns for a long time, and the T15 should help to drive more people into this camp.  The gun is an incredible blend of technology, form and function.

Price

You have to pay a price for quality, and the T15 is not the cheapest gun on the market.  Starting at $499 (see lowest price), the T15 falls in the middle of pack for magfed paintball guns; however, the high-end construction of the weapon make it a value over the more expensive options. I would say that the T15 is not for everyone, and if you only want to play around in enclosed paintball fields a couple of times a year, this is not the gun for you; however, people interested in MilSim and other immersive combat sims will thoroughly enjoy the gun. In addition, the T15 is a fantastic gun if you are looking to make a move into magfed competitions, or you want to get a feel for how magfed guns work.

GRADE

B

The only real drawback to the T15 is the price. Newcomers may balk at paying more than $500 just to get started with this level of competition, even if the quality is worth the cost.

The T15 should be at the top of the wishlist for anyone who loves magfed paintball guns. With this product, I am waiting on the edge of my seat to see what Tiberius comes up with next.