does barrel size matter?

[paintballking]

ok i now that if u have a long barrel it dosnt mean that ur barrel will be automaticly more accurite but does size just make u have more range or is there no dif. between 14-16 inch barrel just wondering what barrel langth i git i i play like front and mid filled can any 1 tell me waht size to git

PS sorry for miss spelling of some words a lil tired

[Beatmanias]

Size of barrel will not help the range... that depends on ur FPS. As for accuracy... 18 in barrels are a bit more accurate... but also hogs gas and are fairly......... LARGE. If you play front depending on speedball or airball for speedball i would go for something short... like 10 or 12. airball i would use 16 as cockerkid2k2 said in his sticky somewhere with 16 inch you could lean and push on the bunkers allowing u to shoot at someone while showing only very small part of urself. I would go for 16 for air and 10 for speed.

[Cuervo]

Um, 18 won't be any more accurate at all... it'll be even worse.

There was a thread a while back...

http://www.pbreview.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=137455

[Woogie12]

The biggest i would go for airball is 14. That is enough to push the barrel into the bunker. Airball is still speedball.The only time i would use 16 is if i was playing woods and was trying to stick the barrel through holes in the bunkers and that's still not a very good reason to get a 16. anything over 16 inches uses more gas and the ball gets slowed down. If you play front-mid definitely go for a 10-12 inch barrel.

[Hoplon]

It's not the size that counts, it's how you use it. ;)

You won't gain any additional accuracy with a longer barrel but it becomes easier to aim.

[paintballking]

so the longer the barrel dosnt mean more distance?

[Woogie12]

No, not at all, unless it is under 10 inches.

[burnquist]

Originally posted by paintballking
so the longer the barrel dosnt mean more distance?

Yes. With the exception of the Tippmann Flatline all barrels, regardless of length, will project the ball the same distance (assuming velocity is the same).

[Kowz_76]

Longer barrels create more drag and actually have less range. This isn't too much of a factor unless you go over 16"

[Shredder]

I think it was Airgun Designs who said it takes 6-8" of effective barrel (part with no holes) for a ball to eccelerate to around 300fps. On a true low pressure gun (below 275psi), It'll take a little more. . .probably around 10". After that, the gas will have expanded past the ball, or it will have already hit the first inch or so of porting. . .Either way, the ball will have stopped eccelerating.

So after about 10", the ball is on its own, and the last few inches of barrel is just there to guide the ball. Meaning range will not increase as a barrel gets longer, unless you have an air tight seal between the ball and barrel. But since paintballs are never perfectly round, this is not possible.

Thats what I think about the range issue. . .As for acuracy and consistancy. . .I dont believe a 16" barrel will be any more acurate than a 12" barrel of the same type. BUT, here's my theory on consistancy.

After a certain point gas expands in front of the ball. This gas causes "turbulence" that the ball must go through before leaving the barrel. This "turbulence" is released through the ports in the barrel, and the more porting, the less time the ball has to fly through the "turbulence". Longer barrels tend to have more porting, so a ball leaving a 16" barrel will have little or no gas in front of it, which means no turbulence. Where a 12" barrel has less porting, meaning more gas in front of the ball, resulting in more "tubulence" which I THINK effects the way the ball spins in flight, which finally determins where the ball will land on the target.

Soooooooooooooooooo. . .I think a typical 16" barrel will be more consistant than a typical 12" barrel of the same type.

This is just my opinion. . .

[paintballking]

ok thanks for the help so um... 14inch would be better for SUP AIR then a 12?

[Kowz_76]

It's preferance. I don't really like to push the bunkers, I find it hurts my accuracy so I use a 12". Some people like 16" to push the bunkers around. Whatever you feel comfortable with.

[paintballking]

git u got u good