Stock A5 Barrel - No Comparison
Smart Parts Teardrop - Louder and Less Accurate
Marker Setup:
Tippmann A-5 with 14" Full Tilt Ceramic Barrel, RVA, CMI Micro-Coil Remote, 20 + 12 oz CO2
Recommended Paintballs:
Anything works great providing its not incredibly large or small. I have used everything from RPS All-Stars to Brass Eagle Blue-Streaks, and they all work great.
Strengths:
Looks completely awesome, deadly accurate, quiet!
Weaknesses:
None that I can find!
Review:
When I first got my A5 I was supremely disappointed in the stock barrel. I tried out some of my friends barrels including a 1 piece J&J ceramic and a smart parts teardrop. I could definitely tell that they were a vast improvement over the stock. After checking on pbreview I found the full tilt, and its impressive 9.8 rating and decided to pick one up. The Draxxus IAO was coming and when I saw the J&J booth I asked the price, 40$, so I picked one up.
I field tested it when i got home, then later went paint-balling a few times using many different kinds of paint that I had, and some of my friends too. I used everything from RPS All-Stars and Marbalizers to Brass Eagle Blue-Streak. I started with the old blue streak and was amazed at the accuracy of it. It was when i used the All-stars that i knew this barrel was a good investment. I hit a 3 inch from from 50 ft away with almost 15 shots. I was amazed that this barrel shot this well for only being 40$.
In addition to it being deadly accurate, it was nearly silent. My stock barrel made my gun sound like a hand-cannon, but now its down to a more manageable volume. It also looks dead sexy on my gun. The black back matches my gun perfectly and the 14" green front looks awesome.
One thing that I did notice while observing it at the J&J booth, was the inside looks like a highly polished MIRROR. I was totally amazed how shiny it was. I figured that it would dull after firing some rounds through it, but I had put almost 2k rounds through it and it is still as shiny as the day i bought it.
Conclusion:
I would definitly recommend getting this barrel, it has all the features that make the best barrel, without breaking your budget. Its accurate, quiet, and looks great for all under 40$.
I have trouble in the snow with getting ice in the porting of my current barrel. If I had a two piece I could screw off the front and pocket it, but I don't know how that would affect the performance.
Question 1) Is there grease in between the front and back (because that would get messy in my pocket)?
Question 2) How much does doing this (shooting without the front on) affect the performance (accuracy and velocity)?
shooting with the front off shouldn't affect ur velocity because there is no more acceleration after the ball passes through the ported section of the barrel and if you want to fine out if there is grease just take the barrel apart
URGENT UPDATE: there is no grease between the two halves, though I use a drop of gun oil between the two. I finally took the front off of the barrel to make it hella loud. I was holding a fort and needed the intimidation factor. A little less accurate but at not that much less. Got spreads at 50' only an inch or so wider. But it is very loud and scares the crap out of noobies. I wonder If I can have someone custom-fabricate a micro-tip for it, to get the loudness factor...
Last edited on Thursday, February 23rd, 2006 at 3:06 pm PST
Hey CHICKIN PICKLE! If you didn't know the acceleration ends after the ball is hit! Just thought i would tell you if you were going to be taking a physics exam anytime soon.
