|
|
Period of
Product Use: |
| 2 years | 5 of 7 people found this review helpful.
|
|
|
Paintball
Experience: |
2 years |
|
Similar
Products Used: |
Apex |
|
| Marker Setup: |
Tippmann A5, E-grip, Flatline Barrel, SAW Stock, Palmer's Pursuit Regulator, Air or CO2. |
|
Recommended
Paintballs: |
Instinct Three-2 |
|
|
|
|
| Strengths: |
Accuracy & Range |
|
| Weaknesses: |
Too sensitive to type of paint used, hogs gas. |
|
| Review: |
Ok, I've owned this barrel for 2 years now and believe me, when you get it right, it is magnificent!
The problem is that it is just too darn difficult to consistently get it right! This barrel is just too sensitive to the type and size of paint being used. You need something that is absolutely round (yes that sounds funny, but I'll explain later), smallest bore size, consistent ball size, hard shell and consistent velocity.
For starters, paint develops small indentations when stored for a long time as the balls lie on top of one another in the box. Anybody that has inspected balls closely would have noticed these small "dents" some time or another. If you bring such a ball close to this barrel, it shoots anywhere and everywhere, except where you want it to go! So your paint has to have been kept at optimum conditions and has to be as "fresh" as possible.
I've had a lot of barrel burst and experimented with type and size of paint. Generally speaking, the smaller and harder the shell, the better. This unfortunately results in two additional downsides. Firstly the smaller paint ball size allows more gas to escape between the ball and the inside of the barrel and results in higher gas consumption. Secondly and much more problematic is the use of harder shell paints. The problem is that at longer range (say >30-40 yards), the harder shell paint just doesn't break anymore! So why have a barrel that is supposed to give you increased range if the optimum paint to be used with it just doesn't break anymore?
Next crucial thing is velocity. If you can maintain exit muzzle velocity of 280 +-5 fps, fine. Anything over and under has disastrous consequences for any form of accuracy. I've installed a downstream regulator on my A5 to try and improve consistency of exit velocity and this has assisted. Problem is when you are hammering your e-grip and pushing high rounds per second. Velocity spikes then occur and again accuracy is gone. So for single shots, works well. Forget about accuracy with high rates of fire. I don't care what anyone says, it just doesn't work!
Ok, if you can get all of the above sorted, the barrel works darn fine. But that happens at home when you have a lot of time to fiddle. When you hit the field, things go astray, too many variables are introduced and things just don't work. |
|
| Conclusion: |
If your game is single shots at relatively short range and you're prepared to inspect every ball of paint for roundness etc. before play, this is the barrel for you. If you want a simple solution to get increased range and reduced curvature on shots, look elsewhere! |
|
| Rating: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
