by: Dan
Need help finding the right barrel for you? This should help Question 1:Is bigger better? No. Not really. The longer the barrel is the quieter it will usually be, it will not increase accuracy and it won’t increase distance. The 1st 6-8 inches are when the gas is expanding and push the paintball out, after that it gets some guiding and goes- the longer it is the more drag the paintball gets due to the more it touches the barrel's sides- Besides, a 16inch barrel is quiet long when you smack it on your gun :-) Question 2: So, if bigger is better for rang how can I get more range? Get a flatline...that’s about it...A flatline makes the ball spin around 31,000 to 35,000 RPM. This in turn breaks though the "Magnus Effect" and the paintball gets positive lift instead of negative lift. So it goes up :-) If the backspin is to low the ball will drop sooner than if it wasn't spinning at all. Question 3: What are some good barrels? I haven’t used these but I hear a lot of praise about them Lapco Bigshot, J&J Ceramic and Boom Sticks. I have used the flatline and Smart Parts All American-Flatline was groovy (it works great as long as it is installed correctly). The All American shoots like a dream, very quiet. Question 4: What does it mean when a barrel is "stepped?" Stepped barrels get slightly larger at the muzzle end so that as the paintball goes it doesn’t touch the sides and you get less drag, the All American is stepped. Question 5: How can I make my current barrel shoot better? You can polish it, And it is VERY IMPORTANT that your barrel and paint sizes match, the ball shout not roll out and you should not have to turn blue in the face trying to blow it out, it should be able to be blown out.