No rifled barrels.
Use Scepter, CP-pro, Freaks, Boomers, etc.
Marker Setup:
Adrenaline Angel LCD
Warped Sportz CLASS iR3
Classic Intimidator SE (WAS/PBK upgrades)
Eclipse Shocker
LOE FF (Cocker)
Carter Buzzard
Recommended Paintballs:
Roundest paintball you can buy
Strengths:
Imparts a slight spin on balls that permit them to stay on course better.
Weaknesses:
Balls will "wander" if out-of-round or wet.
Review:
BLUF: More hype than fact. Results may vary by user.
While in theory, this barrel may be able to improve on accuracy over non-rifled barrels, most any barrel is accurate as any other from 35' on in. At over 35', this barrel can be perceptibly more accurate provided the balls are in good shape and there is no paint on them, it's not raining, and there isn't a big fluctuating crosswind. Under the later conditions, the normal barrels will work better.
The mini-fins are also incredibly expensive for 2" or less of SS. These are really ball sizers and have no rifling in them. Not sure why they didn't opt for less expensive aluminum mini-fins.
The internal smoothness of the barel itself wasn't impressive and may explain why I had so much trouble shooting through paint. 10-15 shots after a break my balls were still flying everywhere.
One final grip is with customer service. I contacted the owner after I found that the barrel wouldn't thread on the .693 mini-fin easily. He said he'll send a replacement out immediately but I have yet to see it. (I may have to retract this if t shows up on my door one of these days. Nonetheless, a promise is a promise.)
Edit: (4SEP03) The new .693 sizer finally arrived and it screws on perfectly. I found that it's much more helpful to talk to father (Robert) than the son (Paul) when you have a problem. The communication is much better and leads to quicker resolution of problems.
Conclusion:
Like most paintball products, there's a lot of hype and a lot less fact. While some reviewers have had excellent results from their Hammerhead, it's performance to date has not impressed me enough to prefer it over the other barrels I own. This barrel may be "the most accurate" under selected controlled situations but there's room for improvement in my book. I would give it a "7" for above average but when considering the expense, the poor internal finish, the inability to clear breaks easily, as well as the mating problem between the mini-fin and the barrel this requires something less.
Rating:
5 out of 10
Last edited on Thursday, September 4th, 2003 at 2:06 am PST
This review is somewhat old. As I understand things now, internal finish is excellent. Also, I know of several barrel owners who have sent poorly finished barrels back to the manufacturer for FREE replacement. I am not a rep. Bought my kit NIB off Ebay and Hammerhead exchanged my unused fins for 5 new ones to fit my Tippmann 98C. Certainly company service is A-1 in my book.
