Paintball

[SLACKJAW]

OK. So I'm not new enough to wonder which end of the marker the gas goes in and the ball comes out. However I haven't gotten into the tinkering end of things.
My question is what are some ways to improve accuracy?
Obviously being familiar with my marker is number one. I feel pretty good on that.

As for the harware I shoot a Piranah GTI with E-frame all stock with a 72/3000 HPA tank.

[russc]

Look into a LAPCO Bigshot barrel, a J&J Ceramic or a CP one piece in Spyder threads. That's also a pretty big air tank. Are you able to shoulder it comfortably? If not, consider trading down a size to a 48ci, or try out a different bottomline ASA style. A dropforward can help if the tank is too big, or you can try something that comes straight back. I find that if the tank is angled downwards from the gripframe, it ends up in your armpit instead of your shoulder.

[Phantom Power]

Buy good quality paint. Paint makes the biggest difference in accuracy out of all the factors. Then as Russ suggested, a decent one piece barrel that fits the paint well. I'm quite partial to LAPCO's.

Then practice. Lots of practice.

[Striker9]

Consistency is also important for accuracy. If the FPS varies from shot to shot you'll have problems. Besides what has already been mentioned, a regulator will help. This is even more important for when you're using co2.

[russc]

Yes, paint is a big issue.

Since you are using an open-bolt marker, I'd suggest that the barrel be overbored a bit. Something around .689 is what most open-bolts are equipped with these days. If people start going off about paint to barrel matches, take their advice with a grain of salt. With a tight bore barrel, the problem of bad paint is compounded.

Take things one at a time. If you aren't happy with a barrel, go on to a regulator, and so on. If you slap everything on at once, you won't know what finally helped.

[SLACKJAW]

I actually like the big tank it makes things feel more stable to me.
I upgraded from CO2 to HPA and the consistancy has went way up. My last three outings I chronoed in at 266-68 for a 5 shot string right out of the bag and checked back a few times during the day and was right on ( a nice change from the CO2 when changing springs was a routine event).

The practice part is easy as I live in an area that taking the marker out and running balls through is not a problem. Although my biggest obstacle will likely be getting over the accuray by volume mentality I've learned.

I'll take a look at the barrel first.
While on that topic what makes one barrel better than another?

Thanks

[mrwisker]

Try closing your good eye...it's worked for me so far...

[russc]

To be honest, the differences between barrels isn't huge. In my experience, a 50 dollar barrel shoots as well as a 200 dollar barrel. More often, the difference is how much noise the barrel makes.

Stock barrels often leave something to be desired, though, as manufacturers seem to believe that it'll be upgraded anyways.

[mullet]

Agreed with russc, their isn't THAT big of a diferance between the 50 dollar barrel and the 200, the only reason I have spent alot on a barrel is because I need paint to barrel match for my cocker. You on the other hand might want to take a look at other things a barrel has to offer like the jj ceramics that shoot through paint breaks.

[PJ]

Sounds like everyone's given you the right stuff - decent barrel, good quality paint, practice, good regulator...

One thing on practice - that's not just shooting paint, it's standing in front of a mirror and quickly pulling the gun up into a firing position time after time after time. Soon you'll have the muscle memory programed for that position so the gun goes there automatically.