Optimum Barrel Length?

[mrsinbad]

Many years ago when I used to be interested in .22 LR shooting, there was a small debate going back and forth about optimum barrel length to achieve maximum muzzle velocity. What ended happening was that they took a 24" match barrel and started cutting the barrel back 1" at a time and recrowning it as they went. They would chrono different types of bullets and the size of the groupings to compare. They found out a 17" barrel was best and did not affect accuracy/groupings by much. So, it seems any length beyond 17" was slowing the bullet down.

Bringing this into the paintball world, has anyone done anything similar (assuming they have a good match of paint diam to bore) to see what length barrel would generate the greatest muzzle velocity? Of course, things get a little more complicated by all the barrels that are ported.

Or another way of thinking about this, has anyone chronoed a 12" barrel then chronoed a 14" or 16" barrel to see the difference?

[Ebonclaw]

The barrel only requires 10" for effective acceleration. In theory, a 14 or 16" barrel might acheive a SLIGHTLY faster velocity, but the tradeof is less efficiency from your tank, greater length to have to deal with when try to snapshoot, and since your gun is limited to 300 FPS anyway, you might as well just crank your reg up a bit to compensate for any minor (we're talking 1-3 FPS here) velocity drop. Soooooo generally the best barrel really depends on the position you play. Front players should use a 12" barrel, as it helps them tuck in and snapshoot better. Mid and back players use 14-16" barrels as the longer tip can help them sight targets downfield a bit more effectivly, but I know plenty of mids that prefer the 12". In airball, the longer barrels can also be used to push against a bunker to aid you in maintaining a smaller profile when wrapping.

I use 12" and 14" barrels depending, but I don't really like using anything longer than that.

[DarkeWolf]

:nod:
Unlike a bullet, a paintball has some significant differences that give them much different ballistic properties than a bullet. A big one, being how they are affected by airflow. Both inside the gun/barrel, and thru the air in flight.
This is why paintball marker barrels have different qualities than firearm barrels do.

There's been some testing done about it. It should be listed somewhere in the stickies of this part of the boards, but I wasnt able to find it. But...its a really long, very technical read anyway.

Basically yeah....10-12 inches for optimum range and velocity. The testers disagree on other properties tho. Some of them say you need 6" of unported length, and others say that you need 8" of unported length for the best results.

a 16" barrel will show slightly different chrono readings than the shorter barrels will. They take a bit more air pressure to achieve the readings of the shorter barrels. This is because they are longer, and put more drag/friction on the ball while its in the barrel. And also because they have more porting, which means less air is staying behind the ball, and escaping out thru the porting.

[Lopez17]

Everything I've read is that 12-14" is the ideal length for paintball. There might be reasons to go 2" bigger or smaller but generally 12 to 14 is what you should stick with to maximize velocity and efficiency. Additional length just creates drag and too little length prevents the ball from getting to the correct velocity which is one of the issues I have with the Stiffi Kit's control bore being so small.

[soccerjacks12]

12" or 14" seems to be the most popular. ANd for me 14" is the most comfortable and controllable.
16" is only really used to push bunkers out of the way in airball. But anything over that length and you'll see a decrease in efficiency plus, you'll stick your barrel in the ground.

[PTE. O'Hearn]

Do they make 13"? I think that would be a good barrel.

[soccerjacks12]

I think there is one barrel, maybe the Thunderpig? but Lucky makes a 15" kit..

[99BPS]

Im not sure if iv seen 13, but 14 is accepted as the best length.

[overkill14]

12"-14"

[Proboho]

12-14" will do you fine for woodsball.