Army Armament Taran Tactical Innovations Sand Viper GBB Pistol

The sister platform of the JW4 Pit Viper, the TTI Sand Viper is designed primarily for 2/3 gun competition shooting and is loaded with slick high speed features with a combat optimised leaning. Like the Pit Viper, the Sand Viper sports a single port compensator up front with a dynamic swept-back look which matches the slide serrations for a menacing style and has a stippled grip for superlative gripping qualities and comfort.

What separates the Sand Viper from its jet black relative is its optics-ready slide and flat coyote bronze finish, both of which contribute immensely to its head turning looks. The rear of the slide is cut for either RMR or Docter footprint optics and comes pre-installed, meaning no messing around sourcing a mounting plate and faster target acquisition once you have a red dot installed. If the Pit Viper isn't fast enough for you, the Sand Viper should be!

Starting at the front end we can find the Sand Viper's unique single-port compensator with a dynamic, swept-back look and bevelled edges for easier holstering. This is a big part of the Sand/Pit Viper look and is flawlessly executed by Army Armament. The compensator is also threaded at the front, giving you the opportunity to mount a suppressor or tracer unit using a 12mm female to 14mm CCW male thread adapter.

Iron sights have been completely omitted from the Sand Viper design in favour of its optics-ready slide and RMR/Docter footprint mounting plate. This means the front of the slide has no iron sight which reduces snagging potential and gives you a clearer sight picture once you have your red dot installed. The plate is located at the rear of the slide and is recessed to provide as small a bore offset as possible, meaning less need to compensate for bore offset when shooting rapidly at close range.

The slide follows directly after the compensator and matches its dynamic, angular look with both the front and rear gripping serrations. Having serrations at the front and rear gives you plenty of options when it comes to manipulating the slide of the pistol and their depth means you don’t need to worry about your hand slipping off the slide when working in wet conditions whether you wear gloves or not.

On either side and on the top of the slide we have a pair of ports machined in which reduce the weight of the slide for a faster cyclic rate and better gas efficiency. These ports also look fantastic, showing off the eye-catching silver finish of the outer barrel beneath, a prerequisite of the Taran Tactical look. The subtle contrast between the coyote bronze finish of the slide and frame and the silver outer barrel gives the Sand Viper a boutique tactical look; very fitting for a pistol which is priced at $7000 USD for the real thing!

To the rear of the ports on the left side of the slide, we can find the first of our laser-engraved Taran Tactical markings, together with the now iconic Taran Tactical logo boldly displayed in white. As with previous Army Armament TTI pistols, the markings are flawlessly engraved and look great combined with the aggressive looks of the Sand Viper!

Over on the right side, we can see the Taran Tactical logo proudly displayed together with the model name, “Sand Viper” in Taran Tactical’s unique font surrounding the chamber. The "S" in "Sand Viper" is even styled to look like a snake. Could this pistol get any more badass? Just below the model name, we can also see a crisply engraved Taran Tactical logo which is more discrete than the laser-engraved markings but still boasts proudly of its strong lineage. While the Army Armament version of the Sand Viper is far more affordable than the real steel, its licenced TTI markings are still a massive flex over other Hi-capas!

The chamber is marked with “9MM” engraved into the right side, appropriately mimicking the real TTI Sand Viper, and the barrel and chamber are gloss silver-coloured, as it is in the real thing. The rear slide serrations mimic those at the front with their angular shape and deep cuts for extra grip, bringing the whole design together as a completed piece.

At the rear of the slide is where we can find the optics cut and optics mounting plate, allowing you to mount a red dot sight to the Sand Viper and run it how Taran himself intended. The mounting plate is compatible with micro red dot sights with an RMR or Docter style footprint, meaning you have access to the two most common red dot sight footprints out there. We can confirm that the VORTEX Optics Venom Red Dot Sight has the correct footprint, but we are yet to test further compatibility.

Moving downwards we come to the frame of the TTI Sand Viper which is where we can find the controls. The manual safety catch is located at the rear of the frame and is present on either side to allow for easy use for both left and right-handed shooters. Each safety lever is textured for optimal grip and effective wet-weather use and can also be used as a thumb rest for the strong hand thumb for more effective recoil control and faster target-to-target transitions.

The rear of the frame is where we can find the hammer of the Sand Viper which is finished in silver to match the outer barrel and chamber. This hammer is significantly skeletonised to reduce weight and add to the high speed looks of the Sand Viper and its silver colouration discretely ties the pistol together and gives it a balanced look.

The rear of the grip also includes a secondary safety known as the “beavertail grip safety” which needs to be pressed in to unlock the trigger. This feature is derived from the legendary 1911 platform and has remained throughout its development and is still present to this day in most modern Hi-capa 2011 pistols. This works fantastically to prevent snags and negligent discharges and is very low profile in shape which makes it a pleasure to hold.

The slide release catch is located on the left side of the frame, right where we would expect it, and is an extended design with a large contact surface to make dropping the slide after a reload easy and intuitive. The magazine release is just below, where the trigger guard meets the grip, and is a large circular button which is easy to find with the adrenaline pumping, allowing for super-fast reloads when time is of the essence!

The shape of the trigger guard matches the standard Hi-capa squared profile, allowing for extra recoil control by positioning the weak side trigger finger on the front of the guard in what is known as the “European grip”. The bottom of the trigger guard also has a stipple texture to provide extra grip and control when firing rapidly which is well suited to modern shooting stances and 2/3 gun competition shooting conventions.

Just ahead of the trigger guard we are treated to a 20mm Picatinny frame rail, allowing you to deck the Sand Viper out as a primary pistol with a tactical flashlight or laser aiming module if the mission requires it. This rail is nice and long and covers the entire dust cover but only has a single attachment slot in the perfect position to keep the controls of your flashlight well within reach when holding the pistol in a firing grip. The optics-ready nature of the Sand Viper makes it a great platform to choose if you plan on running pistol only in CQB, allowing you to benefit from the speed increase a red dot sight provides without needing to run a bulky rifle platform.

The trigger is a skeletonised design with 3 ports, just like the real JW4 Pit Viper and is a straight-back pull like other Hi-capa and 1911 pistols, making for an easy transition from older pistols of the same family to this ultra-modern platform. The trigger pull is light and crisp like Army Armaments' other HI-capa offerings, providing some serious rapid-fire potential for this slick and quick design.

The grip itself is stippled across the front and sides to provide excellent gripping qualities whether you wear gloves or not and guarantees your Sand Viper will stay firmly in your hands as you sweep the muzzle back and forth to engage multiple targets. The rear strap of the grip is also checkered, and at the base of the grip we have an aluminium extension known as a “magazine well flare”.

Present on many race gun style Hi-capas, the magazine well flare is designed to help guide your magazine into the pistol during a reload and has a very wide opening to eliminate fine motor movements and effectively allow you to throw the magazine into the magwell when your ammo supply runs dry. The magazine well flare also functions as a palm rest, keeping your hand in the perfect position to access the controls and control the recoil of the Sand Viper during rapid strings of fire.

When it comes to performance, the Sand Viper benefits immensely from its weight reduced slide and slightly shorter length than the previous Taran Tactical Combat Master, giving it a slightly snappier slide speed which works perfectly with its optics-ready nature and high speed aesthetic.

Internally everything appears to be Tokyo Marui Hi-capa compatible and like the Pit Viper, the Sand Viper has a 6.03mm tightbore inner barrel pre-installed which should give it a slight improvement in FPS and improved accuracy at both close and long ranges. Gas efficiency is not likely to ever be an issue thanks to the Hi-capa platform's ample gas reservoir and the trigger pull is light and crisp as any 1911-derived design should be!

If you are looking for an optics-ready Hi-capa GBB and you have evolved beyond the need for iron sights the Sand Viper was designed with your needs in mind. This pistol has a look which is hard to imitate and performance which sets the bar high for a more affordable GBB platform. Either displayed as part of a TTI pistol collection or as a robust, skirmish-ready sidearm, the Army Armament Sand Viper can do it all and looks fantastic at the same time!

Features

• Full metal construction
• 6.03mm Tightbore inner barrel
• Officially licenced by Taran Tactical Innovations
• 12mm CW threaded compensator - Ready for a tracer with 12mm to 14mm CCW adapter
• Adjustable HOP-up - Accessible with the slide removed
• Front and rear slide serrations - Easy to rack the slide however you do it
• 20mm Picatinny frame rail - Ready for a tactical flashlight or aiming laser
• Ambidextrous manual safety catch - Great for left and right-handed shooters
• Enlarged slide lock/release - Easy to reach, even for those with smaller hands
• Extended magazine release button - Easy to find when things get frantic
• Stipple textured grip - Comfortable and grippy with or without gloves
• Magazine well flare - Faster and easier reloads under pressure
• Squared trigger guard with textured surfaces - Great for the "European grip" technique
• Skeletonised hammer - Reduced weight, pairs well with the high speed look of the Sand Viper
• 3-Port skeletonised trigger - Crisp and light straight back pull like a 1911
• Optics ready slide with mount plate - Compatible with Docter and RMR footprint micro RDS
• Compatible red dot sights - VORTEX Venom Red Dot Top Load | [Further compatibility to be confirmed]
• Compatible with Army Armament Hi-capa GBB magazines (R60x series)

Package Includes

• Army Armament Taran Tactical Innovations Sand Viper GBB Pistol
• 28rnd Hi-capa GBB Magazine
• User manual