12" Battle Stikxx
14" SnapShot
14" Bigshot
8" Stock 98c barrel
10" Tippmann Werk barrel
14" J&J Ceramic Barrel
98C Flatline
NOTE: I've owned all of these barrels except the J&J.
Marker Setup:
Tippmann 98c Performance upgrades include:
Shocktech super fly bolt(not even sure if it help any)
Tippmann Cyclone feeder
Tippmann Response Trigger
Dead on paintball RVA
Recommended Paintballs:
None
Strengths:
Accurate
Durable
Light
Good looks
Easy on bad or old paint
Somewhat quiet
Weaknesses:
Swab
Price
Inaccuracy if you've bust a ball
Finish scratches and dents easily
Review:
Out of all the barrels I've used the snapshot was the best. I used it often, but ofter shooting this one, I think I maybe using my Snapshot less. Here's what I found...
I was test shooting at 75ft (roughly) and had a max spread of about 16". Most of the balls landed with in a 6" grouping, and on top of that I was mostly shooting in 3round bursts, I was shooting Monster Ball (Junk from Brass Eagle. What can I say? They were cheap.) and using CO2 (My air tank was out). The Hammerhead shot equal to that of my SnapShot, even when using CO2 and cheap paintballs.
Now if only I had my air tank full and some nice paintballs I would be in business. I'm sure the ball grouping would be much smaller.
UPDATE: I played for the first time with this barrel and I'm very impressed! One weak ago I played with my Snapshot (same cheap paintballs) and I was using compressed air that day. Using the same paint, I get chops and stray shots the whole day. The paint to bore matched, but it still wouldn't work (I don't have this problem with good paint). Now I played today with the same exact paint (out of the same box) using my hammerhead (I was using CO2 this time). I had ONE brake! JUST ONE! After that brake accuracy went down but I could still shoot (My snapshot would not shoot through a bust with this paint).
The Hammerhead is much easer on paint than you might expect. I believe it’s the rifling, the ball has less to ride on than in a normal barrel, because of the rifling. So you get less friction, thus putting less stress on the paintball.
As for the revers porting, it makes it a little quieter down range, but don't expect silence. It's really not useful unless you have a lot of people firing the same time you are, to mask you fire.
Conclusion:
I wouldn’t say the Hammerhead is anymore accurate then any other barrel. But the HH defiantly has some strong points. I’ve been using it now for half a year and I still love it!
NOTE: The price for this barrel has dropped for some guns (like the 98c). I got my full kit for $160 (which is cheaper then what the Snapshots kits are going for right now). Shop around a little, you maybe surprised.
Rating:
9 out of 10
Last edited on Monday, June 18th, 2007 at 7:43 am PST
