The accuracy of this review is disputed. Please see discussion below.
Period of Product Use:
Less than a month
129 of 135 people found this review helpful.
Paintball Experience:
1 year
Similar Products Used:
All Automag: Standard 11", Snake Boa 10", Boomstick 14"
Marker Setup:
Powerfeed Automag 68 with custom drop forward and forward grip. Rosewood grips and Nitrogen
Recommended Paintballs:
I've tested with old and new paintballs including VERY old to test breakage. I've shot small and medium bore paint of various brands.
Strengths:
Looks. It really looks great with my Automag.
Weight:
138gramms compared to 330 for a Boomstick the same length
Consistency:
I havn't found a barrel that creates better shot grouping. This is a very slick barrel. The less friction the less the paintball is likely to spin so better accuracy.
Porting:
The porting is good. Only the last 3 inches are ported which makes it silence the shot.
Price:
VERY affordable
Weaknesses:
Havn't found anything yet. It is so light that I'm concerned that it is fragile, but from what I have heard from others this is not the case.
Conclusion:
People will argue FOREVER about what is good and bad about a barrel. Instead of saying "This barrel is the best" here is a comparison between the 14" J&J and my 14" boomstick. This is based on my personal experience of both barrels, and my knowledge of the theory.
1) Length
A barrel really has two different TYPES of length. There is the overall length and also the "active" length. Any part of the barrel that is ported serves various purposes ( depending on who you talk to ) but once the paintball gets to the porting the gas escapes through the ports, so the acceleration phase is over.
The 14" J&J has 10" of unported length which is very healthy. The 14" boomstick only has 7" of unported length which is on the short side for gas efficieny ( and if the paintballs are too big then there is another whole 7" of ported length which creates friction but that's another story.
Weight:
The J&J is way less than half the weight of the boomstick.
Accuracy:
I find that the J&J is more accurate. I'm not going to go into the "why" because that is a quogmire of debate. Perhaps it is the ultra slick surface that creates less friction, or that it is a slightly bigger bore than my boomstick so it's much easier for most paint to get through it without a struggle.. I don't know ( or care ).
Paint Match:
Paint is definitely getting smaller, but I still find that paint is still on the tight side for my boomstick. The J&J is more likely to be tolerant of more paint because it is a medium bore barrel, and also has less ported length. The Automag barrels use a Nubin to hold the paintball in place before it is fired, so having paint that is too small is less of a problem than with some markers where it can just role out the barrel.
Broken Paint:
It is said that you can shoot through paint breaks with the J&J ceramic barrels. You can. There is still an impact, but less so than the boomstick. When I break paint in my boomstick it becomes a sticky mess and I HAVE to remove the barrel to clean things up... and ALL THOSE PORTS!!! The slick surface of the J&J seems to allow subsequent paintballs and air to "self clean" to a certain extent. I havn't really had much experience yet with the J&J though with broken paint on the field so I don't really know.
Breaking Paint:
The J&J seems to break less paint than my boomstick. The boomstick is still pretty good though - the only time it breaks paint is when there is a bad paint to barrel match, and that is true of any barrel. The J&J is bigger though, so this will happen less.
Summary. They are only $30-$40 on ebay.. what possible reason is there to not buy one?
it is so nice to hear a review from an automag owner. I bought my automag 3 months ago and im looking for a good quality barrel. the j&j ceramic sounds like a good buy. thanks for the good review.
My 14" J&J Ceramic has about 6" of unported length...which really doesn't matter to me. I mean, I have a 14" TearDrop also that has maybe 5" of ported (not unported) length, and I get eliminations at the same distance as usual in my woodsball/CQB games. About 10-50 feet in this huge abandoned 2-story factory we play at (frickin SWEET scenario games there) and anywhere from 30-150 feet in the woods. If the porting is too much for you, turn your velocity up :).
excellent review...except for the part about the porting, but id ont think that is a very good reason to dispute the review just mention it.... jeez.....
quote:Originally posted by island pballer he said that the accuracy goes up when the ball spins less...
thats actually the opposite, hence rifling in firearms
nah, it doesnt work like that. think of kicking a ball in soccer, spin makes the ball curl. same with a paintball being the same shape.
a bullet is cylindrical so when it spins it goes straight.
I have the 20" version of this barrel and it's definitely got at least 10" of unported barrel. I have my Alpha Black shroud on and the porting starts a few inches after the end of the shroud. By the way, the barrel is really thin compared to the stock alpha black barrel, and it required a bunch of electrical tape to make the shroud fit snug.
