Ok, not really as if I were 5, but you get the point. I'm looking in to getting a new barrel, and I see tons of different options for the sizing. What difference does it make? How do I know which one I need?
While I am not technically a "new" player, I've only ever used stock barrels on my guns, so you can see how far I've gotten in the paintball world and how I'd have no idea about this.
14 inch is usually the ideal size for a paintball barrel, the quality and finish on it is important, and many people like to match the bore size of the barrel to the bore size of the paintballs they are using (for optimal efficiency), some people like to underbore (bigger paintball bore size than barrel bore) and some like to overbore (self explanatory). You can probably find the advantages of bore matching, underboring, and overboring on this site somewhere. Inserts are usually used to adjust the bore size of the barrel.
A smaller barrel gives you a few adavatages if you will.
First off, your balls wont roll out of the barrel(that sounds dirty haaaaa).
Second, it'll use less air, because less is escaping around the ball.
Third, you will shoot more straight, because the ball wont move in the barrel with a snug fit.
You don't want to have too small of a barrel or to large a barrel. You should be able to put one ball into the barrel without it rolling out. But you should be able to blow it out, as if you're using a blow gun.
I would google search "Over/underboring".
__________________
Etek 2 w/ Virtue OLED
Guerrilla Air 48/45
VLocity w/ Dynasty Kit
E-Vents SE Ink'd w/ Ninja Lens
Battle Sports USA
A smaller barrel gives you a few adavatages if you will.
First off, your balls wont roll out of the barrel(that sounds dirty haaaaa).
Second, it'll use less air, because less is escaping around the ball.
Third, you will shoot more straight, because the ball wont move in the barrel with a snug fit.
You don't want to have too small of a barrel or to large a barrel. You should be able to put one ball into the barrel without it rolling out. But you should be able to blow it out, as if you're using a blow gun.
14 inch is usually the ideal size for a paintball barrel, the quality and finish on it is important, and many people like to match the bore size of the barrel to the bore size of the paintballs they are using (for optimal efficiency), some people like to underbore (bigger paintball bore size than barrel bore) and some like to overbore (self explanatory). You can probably find the advantages of bore matching, underboring, and overboring on this site somewhere. Inserts are usually used to adjust the bore size of the barrel.
Thank you. Inserts are probably one of the more confusing things to me regarding barrels, so I'll def. look more into that.
There are several components here so I'll see what I can do.
Bore= the inner diameter of the barrel.
Control bore= the length of the barrel that is the stated bore (ideal length is 8ish inches of control bore)
insert= a changeable, insert-able piece of metal that changes the size of the control bore without changing the barrel. see the freak barrels or the shift kit by MacDev
2-piece barrel= a barrel that comes in 2 pieces, the back piece is the control bore and the front piece, or tip, has the venting or air porting
one piece barrel= a singular piece of metal, the back starts at the stated bore size and continues at that size for a few inches until gradually getting slightly larger
drag= referenced when a barrel bore is too long or too small and it negatively affects the flight of a ball
bore match= when the bore of the paintball is matched perfectly to the bore of the barrel
underbore= when a bore a bit smaller than the size of the ball is selected. Creates almost a vacuum seal around the ball
overbore= when a bore a bit larger than the bore of a paintball is selected. Creates less drag and is believed to create an even distribution of air around the ball.
While on the topic, there is no clearly defined best. Some will swear by one method of boring, others will live and die by the other. Overboring is generally regarded as less efficient because it allows air to escape around the ball. However it creates less drag so there is that trade off. Underboring is highly toted as most efficient because all the air behind the ball transfers to energy into the ball, however it creates much more drag. One day we may have definitive answers but for everyone out there who stands by one method, there are equal amounts of people standing by the other. The one thing that we do know is that anything over about 16inches of overall barrel length is less efficient and provides no real positive trade-off.
Thank you. Inserts are probably one of the more confusing things to me regarding barrels, so I'll def. look more into that.
inserts are little tubes that slide into the back of barrel thats made for them, like the freak kit is probably the most common. each insert is a different bore size so if you need to change it you can just take it out and slide in a better size. the reason you might want more than one insert is because paint can vary in size, its not always what it says on the box. plus the climate makes a difference too whether its hot/humid/cold can cause them to swell or shrink.
and its cheaper to just buy an insert than to buy another barrel, or instead of buying the whole kit you can just buy 2-3 inserts in the sizes youll use the most.
A smaller barrel gives you a few adavatages if you will.
First off, your balls wont roll out of the barrel(that sounds dirty haaaaa).
Second, it'll use less air, because less is escaping around the ball.
Third, you will shoot more straight, because the ball wont move in the barrel with a snug fit.
You don't want to have too small of a barrel or to large a barrel. You should be able to put one ball into the barrel without it rolling out. But you should be able to blow it out, as if you're using a blow gun.
I would google search "Over/underboring".
This guy pretty much summed it up perfectly for you
A barrel's bore is how much of an inch it is, internally, in its diameter.
So a .684 bore barrel is exactly 684/1000ths of 1 inch in the internal diameter of the barrel.
The control bore length is the same thing as the back bore. That is what the barrel is measured by as typically, barrel fronts/tips are either .690 or .700 to the tip.
The Perfect control bore length, which is how long that bore lasts down the barrel, is claimed to be at 7.5"-8" in length. The shorter your control bore is, the shorter amount of time the air from the shot will stay behind the ball, and the sooner your shot will drop.... along with the higher the operating pressure has to be to keep that ball at the right velocity out the barrel.
You typically want to have your barrels .002 to .004 smaller than what you use. That will allow for best shot to shot consistency (in the velocity/speed of the paintballs) and better air efficiency.
If the paint sizes change a lot in your area, feel free to buy multiple backs or multiple bores of the barrel to suit every condition.
For example, where I'm located, paint ranges from .676 to about .686, so I have .675, .680, .682 and .684 bore barrels to cover the spectrum on any given day.
Although now I happen to have a .679 and .685 as well...
Oh, and on overall barrel length, you get optimal performance from barrels between 12" and 16". The norm being 14", but it's not always the case. I run 10" to 16" barrels. The 10" ones are just for kicks.
Keep in mind that for most circumstances the barrel won't have a huge impact on accuracy. If you underbore too much you will get weird spins and unpredictable trajectory on the paint balls though. A slight underbore will provide an increase in efficiency for sure. Over boring will give you flexibility and, as of lately seemingly better consistency...
The reality of it is, that there are lots of factors in play here and it is difficult to give a definitive answer to this question. I have been playing paintball for a long time: when many pbn posters where still ****ting their diapers I was playing paintball... I have shot hundreds of cases of paint through all sorts of barrels of different make and bore ect... and I still really don't know whats best.
Too much overbore = efficiency drops way down
Too much under bore = accuracy goes to hell and you get all sorts of weird backspin and stuff.
And finally, my best advice is that unless you need better efficiency I would just stick with your stock barrel unless you really want to buy a new toy. And also, the barrel I have my eye on right now would be a 12" deadly winds w/ freak inserts. (I like having lots of toys what can I say)
And finally, my best advice is that unless you need better efficiency I would just stick with your stock barrel unless you really want to buy a new toy.
JC001
while i partly agree since better paint will make a bigger difference than the barrel, problem is i havent seen paint bigger than .684 in 3 years and most companies are still releasing .691 and .693's as the stock barrel. so unless your shooting just rather crappy paint thats getting real close to that "way overbored" area.
Underbore, where the barrel is smaller than the paintball, will yield better consistency but be louder. Overbore, opposite of underbore, will be quieter, less efficient, and less consistent.
Your Privacy Choices