CCI Phantom Review

This CCI Phantom Review is not from someone who is trying to sell you one. As the owner of Paintball Review World I would like to think that my personal review of this paintball gun carries some weight.

CCI Phantom History

Little is known of the phantom in comparison to the hundreds of available markers that are being sold today. Something has been lost in this new paintball world that has changed very rapidly.

The CCI Phantom has been around for about 25 years! Yes that is right, Mike Cassidy of Component Concepts has been developing the phantom paintball gun that long! Not much has changed with the design over the years and the dependability of this pump action paintball marker has not changed either.

Paintball snipers, young and old revere the age old design with great personal favor. Many phantom owners love them so much they own more then 1!

Jakes Custom CCI Phantom, Reverse Feed Block, Pump handle with rail and Vertical Grip w/ 160 Lumen light/strobe, 45mm Red Dot and T-Stock.

CCI Phantom Configuration

(Vertical Stock Class) My Personal Phantom Configuration (Did we mention how customizable this gun is?) I run my phantom in the vertical stock class configuration with some heavy modifications.

Phantom Barrel
I usually like to rock out my 12 or 14 Inch barrel with ring detents. (More on this later) The stock barrels are quite fantastic, the inside of the stock barrel is polished to a mirror finish. Adequate porting at the tip, I would like to see a stealth barrel with about 4-5 times the porting as an option. While that may hinder gun air efficiency it would make up in pure silence of the marker.

Where is the Air?
Since I am running the vertical stock class configuration from CCI Phantom my air threads are located right in front of my trigger guard, I have been using 12 grams for about a year (including 40 degree weather/snow) and the gun still shot ok. I get about 30-40 shots depending on the weather. The main advantage of this? I can carry all of the air I need for a few games and it weighs less then a 1/2 pound burger patty!

Hopper
The CCI Phantom has a few options with one including hoppers! My stock class configuration came with a horizontal feed tube. I wanted a horizontal feed system to free up my profile. Without a hopper sticking up 48 inches above my head I make a much smaller target. The feed tubes come in 10 round and 15 round. I choose the 15 round feed tube so I could reload before my phantom went completely empty.

Weight
The CCI phantom is the lightest paintball gun I have ever used, since I do not have to carry a 200 round hopper and air tank I have the strength to play hard all day instead of becoming exhausted to quickly. My 12 grams and 10 round tubes are flat against my waist and make absolutely no sound when I move. This ultra light, ultra quiet and ultra accurate setup is the best I have had yet!

Accuracy
Right out of the box, nothing is needed to improve accuracy. As I mentioned ring detents earlier. This is something that has changed over the years. When the phantom was created most paintballs were large bore. (before bore sizes were an issue) Every Phantom that CCI makes does not come with any method of keeping the paintball in the chamber. Without ring detents (extra $7-10) You will have roll outs constantly. The freak kit and iFit are also available for the CCI Phantom. I found the ring detents to be good enough for my budget.

My Modifications
My personal Modifications that I have made to my vertical stock class configuration are as follows.

• Reverse Block (Changes the direction of the feed tube)
• Tactical Pump slide
• Tactical Vertical Grip w/160 lumen light/strobe
• 45mm Red Dot by BSA
• T-Stock

I have a few other accessories but I found these to be my favorite setup. The Reverse feed block took some getting used to but I am enjoying it just the same. The height of this paintball gun still amazes me. When you realize that you don't need a massive hopper the visual freedom is something awesome. My BSA Red Dot is mounted as close to my eye as I can get it, even thought it is 45mm the height is not an issue as it is only an inch and a half or so above the feed tube.
The CCI Phantom does not quickly field strip, I think the most trouble I have had with my marker in the last year since I purchased it was pumping when a paintball shell was stuck in my bolt and in turn locking up my phantom. (Using the auto firing feature of the gun. Pump while holding the trigger) This has happened twice. To fix the situation you need to dissemble the CCI Phantom completely to clean out the bolt. I must admit after my first attempt to take the gun apart, once I learned the order and process of dis-assembly it became much easier. I had an old Tippmann model 98 and I would say it's much easier then taking the receivers off a 98. Everything is tube shaped. Just take the 2 screws off the grip and you can remove the bolt assembly, run a squeegee through it and re-assemble.

Another advantage of the CCI Phantom is it can take some abuse. I take care of my equipment to the point where I cannot stand even the smallest amount of old paint on my marker. With that said, I have dropped it in the field a few times. I have played in rain, snow and cold weather. I have not replaced any batteries as there are no batteries to replace, no electronic boards to fry or electric eyes to clog. It's a simple, sweet, reliable piece of fine machinery.

The CCI Phantom is affordable. You might not think that when you look at the price tag but I assure you that it is. Look at it this way. Ignoring field fees you can play for 4-5 hours on $6-$7. That buys you 100 rounds of paint and about $1-2 for 12 grams. You can even make it cheaper if you decide to run a 13ci HPA tank. Paintball is not just for rich kids and adults. The best players know how to make every shot count. That is a true paintball sniper.

The auto trigger on the phantom helps but does not fully compete with a semi auto. I have learned a trick to get 3 rounds off fairly quickly thought. Fire the gun, while the trigger is fully depressed pump again and get a second shot off. This works well as the horizontal feed tube will catch 1 extra ball before dropping it into the chamber.

Summary
The Phantom is by far one of the most fun markers I have ever played with! It is reliable, accurate, light, simple and easy to operate. Do not be scared of the price as you will save more then that on paint if you are a regular player. CCI really stands behind their products as well. At any time if you need help you can call Mike and he will assist you with getting your phantom back on track. I have never had so much fun. Thanks for creating the CCI Phantom Mike!