Paintball Marker Barrels
When you play a game, you want it to be the best. Although it’s a sport but for some it’s a passion and what more do you want when you have the right attitude, up to the mark training and most important the right equipments to play with. This is one of the most important questions that every paintball marker player will ask. And most of the times the answer that you will get, will more of options that the real answer. This is because the question has no one answer; it all depends on your playing position and your convenience and what is comfortable for you.
Problem faced while selecting equipment
A barrel plays an important role when you are a paintballer. There are so many paintball marker barrels available in the market and so many manufacturers making them that it becomes hard for you to decide, what you should buy. However, it is important that you will have to select the best out of them, to be the best player and get the game going where you want to take it. A minute change in specification can either make you win or make you disappointed with the result even you putting in your best.
Materials Used in Paintball Barrels
Let’s talk about the material that the marker barrels are made of and see the pros and cons of each one of them. You are most likely to get barrel that are made of copper, Aluminum and Stainless Steel. It is important to select a material that suits your gaming style and some thing that will enhance your playing.
Brass:
Pros
-Low in creating friction.
Cons
-Heavy to use
-Soft and therefore gets damaged easily
-High in maintenance and requires polishing
Stainless Steel:
Pros
-Low in friction
-Durable
-Low maintenance
Cons
-Expensive
Aluminum:
Pros
-Light in weight
-Inexpensive
-Relatively durable
Cons
-High friction
Length plays an important role
The length of the barrel makes a lot of difference to your game. On an average a barrel is good if it is in between 8 to 10 inches. Most of the people are usually of an advice that as soon as the barrel crosses the mark of 14 inches, it will start to hamper you. However, your positioning in the game will also be a deciding factor for the same. If you want you can try to use the barrels that are approximately 10 to 12 inches if you are affront player, 12 to 14 inches if you are a mid player and 14 to 16 inches for rear players.
Always keep in mind
There are a few more things that are important to be kept in mind while selecting the length of the barrel. If you are planning to play a game and the weather is warm then it will be good to have a barrel that is short in size as the gas from the tank will expand much faster and vice versa. In case there is a low pressure system, the barrel needs to be long to accelerate paintballs a little slowly. It is also important to make sure that you are well aware that a long barrel will help you hit the paintball quickly and are much quicker. However, naming the disadvantages of the long barrel, it is gas hogs, makes it hard to hide and does not help in increasing the range of the paintball.
Bore size
There are three different bore sizes available in the market. You can find them in small medium and large. They will help you in maintaining accuracy and unless you try which one suit you are your barrel the most, it id difficult to find the one that works the best for you. However, you will have to be careful about the size of the bore while getting paint on your barrel as will have a direct impact on the bore. So you can either find what suits you or get different barrels and bores to check the finest.
Rifled Paintball Barrels
Rifling incorporates a groove cut into the inner bore of the barrel, which is responsible for adding or removing spin of the projectile being shot. The spin causes a gyroscopic effect on the projectile which aids in stabilizing and controlling the flight path. There are two primary types of rifled paintball barrels: Spiral Rifling (like on real firearms) and Linear Rifling (cause backspin which makes the ball rise at longer distances). Using spiral rifled barrels is pointless for paintball, because it increases the chances of chopping. Linear Rifling doesn't help with accuracy, but add the range.
Conclusion
No one will be able to recommend or kind the best barrel for you, unless you try and experiment. It is also important that you do not use the price of the barrel as a deciding factor for what might suit you. They are available in the market with all price range and it’s not necessary that a $150 barrel will always be better than the $50 barrel.
