The RTI Prophet is a successor model to the same company’s Priest PCP air rifle. It features a sidelever-cocking action, together with a number of other improvements.
The first U.S. sighting of the Prophet was in the 2019 Extreme Benchrest competition. Although based in Slovenia, RTI Arms sent a large team over to participate and observe at EBR.
I spoke to the team members. They found it an invaluable learning experience, both through participating in competition and talking to other shooters about their needs and wishes.
This was a very significant investment for a relatively small company. They were rewarded by an outstanding performance that included winning the 50 Yard Benchrest competition. Very impressive!
Now that the Prophet PCP air rifle is in full production, it’s available from your friends at Airguns of Arizona. Let’s look at what it has to offer…
The Prophet is available in .177 caliber, .25 cal, and .30 caliber. It’s also available in “.22 Caliber LR”. No, that’s not Long Rifle, the LR stands for “Long Range! This is the model Team RTI chose to shoot at EBR.
In .22 caliber, the LR Prophet has a custom Lothar Walther barrel that is designed to be shot with 25.39 Grain, redesigned JSB Exact Jumbo Monsters out at 100 Yards.
In a further indication of the Prophet’s long-range performance intent, the built-in Picatinny rail is machined at a 20 MOA angle. This makes it less likely that the scope will run out of elevation adjustment at long ranges.
Even though the Prophet PCP air rifle is a small gun – just 30.5 Inches overall length – I decided to mount a riflescope with comparable long-range credentials. The Sightron SIII FT 10-50 x 60 is just such a scope. It fitted and worked very well.
Using Leapers UTG PRO medium rings produced a well-balanced, manageable combination.
Ahead of the trigger guard is a second, short, Picatinny rail. This, of course, is for attaching a bipod – very necessary for any air rifle intended for long range shooting.
The Prophet has a shrouded barrel. However this is a powerful air rifle, expelling a lot of air with each shot. So we took advantage of the removable 1/2-Inch UNF thread protector to screw-in a 0dB “airgun only” silencer. This calmed the report significantly, at the expense of a little additional length.
The Prophet is supplied in a hard plastic case. What makes this case relatively unusual for a manufacturer-supplied case is that there is space inside to fit both the gun AND a mounted scope. Even a large riflescope like our Sightron 10-50 x 60, as we can see below. Some other manufacturers should take note!
Typical power levels for “unrestricted” (US-spec) Prophet Performance models range from 17.7 Ft/Lbs up to a maximum of around 100 Joules (74 Ft/Lbs) in .30 caliber. The power level spec in both .22 cal is 53 Ft/Lbs. In .25 calibers it’s approximately 63 Ft/Lbs.
RTI Arms tells us that owners will see about 70 shots per fill: more in .177 caliber.
There’s an externally-adjustable regulator. This allows the Prophet owner to fine tune the gun to a specific power level or pellet type.
To assist with this, the Prophet is equipped with dual pressure gauges. One gives the fill pressure for the HPA tank, the other indicates the regulator pressure. The 500 cc carbon fiber tank has a maximum fill pressure of 300 Bar (4351 PSI).
Regulator pressure can be set by the owner to anywhere between 80 and 200 Bar (1,160 to 2,900 PSI). However the default factory setting is 125 Bar (1,813 PSI). This is the pressure that is held in the Prophet’s large 57 cc plenum. That’s the short tube between the regulator and valve, underneath and ahead of the magazine well.
Reg pressure is adjusted using the black socket head setscrew located inside the bright finish tube next to the paintball tank male fill nipple. Pressure is changed by rotating the screw with a 5mm Allen key.
As you would expect, adjustment of the hammer spring tension is valuable when adjusting the reg pressure. This is achieved by turning a 6 mm setscrew in the rear of the buttplate. (The 4 mm setscrew below that is used to bleed pressure from the gun).
The RTI Prophet air rifle has a two-stage trigger that can be adjusted down to a pull weight of just over 10 Ounces. The sample I shot had a pull weight of around 1 Lb 14 Oz. It gave a very pleasant, predictable release.
Adjustments are made – somewhat unusually – using a 1.5 mm Allen key inserted into the side of the action through the holes below the magazine well. One screw controls second stage engagement, while the other is used to adjust pull weight.
Another unusual feature is that the magazine can be simply adjusted to sit to either the left or right side of the action, depending on the shooter’s requirements. Here it is in the vertical position, which you can also choose if you prefer.
As we can see, flexibility is a strong suit for the Prophet!
And here’s another unusual feature of the RTI Prophet air rifle. There’s a second fill port located in the underside of the receiver, just ahead of the buttpad. This allows the gun to be shot with a separate HPA tank attached by a flexible tube, as shown below.
To use the Prophet in this configuration, the conventionally-located front HPA tank is removed. This can give better balance for some users. However the regulator is bypassed in this mode of operation. A maximum pressure of 200 Bar (2,900 PSI) can be used when the remote tank is connected in this way.
Although our sample is in all-over tactical black, the Prophet is also available with bronze Cerakote highlights. Now that looks really cool!
