Paintball

[Frontier_Bill]

I would suggest 14" as the longest barrel to look at. Any longer and it is just hard to negotiate in tight quarters. Also, you gain no noticeable accuracy and absolutely not distance (maybe that extra 4" you added to your barrel...) with a longer barrel.

[Brewtt]

Originally Posted by sdawg

Let's think of everything that is said to affect paintball accuracy:

- paintball quality: consistency of fill and shell roundness
- barrel length: longer is easier to aim
- barrel honing/polish/cleanliness: a smoother barrel reduces friction that can cause inconsistent shots or spin; the effect of porting, muzzle break, rifling is debatable.
- paint to barrel match: helps the paintball exit the barrel in a straight trajectory
- consistent pressure from the power source: if the CO2/air pressure is the same each time, the paintballs will have a more consistent trajectory
- marker "kick": has more of an impact on multiple shots

What am I forgetting?

Experience.
Aim.
Breathing.
Calm.
Gun maintenance.
Clean, polished barrel.
Weather/wind/temperature.
Spectators? (Read as: Hot chicks watching)

Need more?

[DeTrevni]

Well, another problem not mentioned about longer barrels is they hurt efficiency (but this is more less in the ever useless 18"-21" range). With a stacked-tube blowback, such as Piranhas and Spyders, it would require more air to drive the ball down the barrel at field speeds. Using a 14", you'd chrono it at 280 or whatever. Without changing anything on your marker, and you slap on a 21" because you wanna be an ub3r 5nip3r, then you're gonna chrono at like 240-250ish. You'd need to turn the velocity up, which releases more air, which kills efficiency.

[russc]

I dunno, I think that depends on the gun. I've heard of people putting longer barrels on Ions and having their FPS go up. I think that too short of a barrel on a LP system results in inefficiencies of its own.

[sdawg]

Originally Posted by Brewtt

Clean, polished barrel.

I had that one :P

Yeah, those other things matter, too.

[SuperHiQuality87]

I'm going to be the scrooge here; one word:

Practice.


III

[DeTrevni]

Originally Posted by russc

I dunno, I think that depends on the gun. I've heard of people putting longer barrels on Ions and having their FPS go up. I think that too short of a barrel on a LP system results in inefficiencies of its own.

I do know that that doesn't always apply. On modern Tippmanns for example. Their velocity control is a turbulance screw, so the same amount of air will always be released. I guess I was targeting blowbacks.

[Wharf Rat]

There are two concepts here - accuracy and consistency.

Consistency: "Does the gun shoot the same place every shot, or do they wander around?" or, if you put it in a bench vice and shot some rounds how consistent would the group be? The following points have to do with consistency.

Good paint - fresh and round. Don't shoot free or cheap paint - if it's got corners on it, it's not worth the hassle - you won't hit crap with it. Roll some on a table top and watch it, then check the balls for dimples or irregular seams. If it's not round don't play with it. Give it to the idiot electro shooters who want to show off their 22 bps nonsense at the shooting range.

Good paint match - try using your barrel as a blow gun with the paint. It should stick slightly at the back end, but release with an easy "pop" when you blow through it. If it rolls out, the paint's too small, if you have to puff hard to get it out the paint is too big. This is what barrel kits with interchangeable backs are for. In the old days we would carry four or five different barrels with us for the same reason.

Barrel - clean or hone as necessary to get a smooth bore. Don't bother with rifling, back spin or gadgets. You want a barrel that gets slightly larger as the ball goes though it. If the ball leaves the breech perfectly, it never touches the inside of the barrel again, if it goes off line the barrel's inside surface nudges it back into line. Ported is best, either 12 or 14 inches. If you get experienced and want to be a front player you can get a shorter one, don't ever buy anything longer than 14". It's just a waste of gas. The brands mentioned so far are all good. Low bucks would be a J/J ceramic, medium price would be a Lapco, high end would be a good barrel kit with different sized backs, or a PPS handmade barrel.

Consistent gas pressure. Air is a lot more consistent than CO2, CO2 is a lot cheaper to use. Either way have a good regulator on your gun. Many people have more than one. If your velocity goes up and down much your shots wont' land in the same place.

Decent gun: If you shoot a $49 gun that was in a plastic display bubble on the wall at Walmart you won't get much consistency. You don't have to spend a zillion bucks to get a good shooter,though - there are lots of acceptable guns that don't cost much. Good used equipment is probably a better idea than new crap if you know what you're doing. The gun should be cleaned and oiled with each use. If you let old paint dry up in it you will not be happy.

Accuracy: "If the gun is good enough to shoot in the same place every time, am I skilled enough to point it where I want it to shoot?" This is far more significant to successful shooting, but most players tend to spend money improving their gun's consistency when they actually just need to learn to shoot. It's what makes paintball company profits so juicy.

Barrel
Use at least a 12" barrel, it's easier for a new player to line up a shot when they can look along the barrel while aiming. Pistols with shorter barrels may be pretty consistent but they are much harder to aim. Some people prefer silver colored instead of black for the same reason - it's easier to see

Sight picture
Open both eyes, align your priimary eye with the length of the barrel and focus on the target. You will see two blurry barrels, use them to aim. Don't ever focus on the gun or anything in between you and the opponent. You want to develop the ability to look at something and shoot it. If you need to figure out which eye is your primary point your finger at something as if it's a pistol and say "Bang". Check which eye is lining up to look down your finger, and that's your primary. You can easily be right handed, but left eyed and vice versa.

Sight
Red dot or occluded sights are popular with some players. For starters, just play with the bare gun. Getting a sight isn't going to help you at first, it will just distract you from the business of learning to shoot.

Stock
Some people like a stock, or air bottle on the back of the gun that you press into your shoulder for steadying. It's a good idea, but not necessary. Find out what you like best. It can make the gun hard to handle in tight spaces, or slow you down if you want to swing it around to a new direction.

Snap Shooting
Get behind a bunker, lean suddenly out and shoot a target then snap back behind the bunker. This is reflex shooting, and it's a learned skill. Some people get great at it, some don't ever get good. It's a million dollar skill in paintball.

Target practice.
Go out with your gun where you can shoot safely, and wear your mask even if no one else is around. You need to learn to shoot while wearing it. If you can get a friend or two with you it's even better. The first player shoots an object after calling it (like shooting the 8 ball) and the next guy has to hit it. If he does it with his first shot, there's no score. If not, you get a point for every extra try they need until they get it. Then they shoot something and you have to hit it. Also practice shooting from behind bunkers in every conceivable posture, you will rarely get to stand comfortably and shoot. Plan on being tucked in, squatting, leaning, bending, etc. Shoot like you're in a game. When you get frustrated and just start spraying it's time for a break. You should practice as if you are holding a pump gun, one shot at a time.

Having said all this, learning defensive skills is AT LEAST as important to being a good player. There's lots of good info around, read and think about it. Two tips, rarely look over the top of something (look around the sides) and don't come out of the same place each time you peek out, change around unpredictably.

Good luck to you
Peter

[SLACKJAW]

There are two concepts here - accuracy and consistency.

I suppose I did choose my wording poorly.
I am confident in my ability to put lead on steel from other shooting sports.
However when on the paintballfield it seems at times (more often than not) that my shots have a mind of their own so I suppose it is consistancy that I am looking for.

As for honing barrels how would you go about it?
I am able to tear down and thoroughly clean my gun and am confident I am not leaving anything behind when I'm done.
I have read in several places (specifically on improving stock barrels) about using a soft pad type shotgun cleanning tip on a long collet shaft in an electric drill and "buffing" the inside of the barrel with auto polishing compound. Is this a good, bad or indifferent approach?

[Chappy]

Originally Posted by SLACKJAW

I have read in several places (specifically on improving stock barrels) about using a soft pad type shotgun cleanning tip on a long collet shaft in an electric drill and "buffing" the inside of the barrel with auto polishing compound. Is this a good, bad or indifferent approach?

I had great results with this method (well I used soft rags instead of a shotgun swab, close enuf) Definitely makes a big difference in tippy 98 and carbine barrels.