1st day out w/ my 12" Boomstick >:-(

[Zarak]

I wish I saw this forum before I bought my 12" Boomstick. First day out on the field with this barrel. New case of Marbs, paint to barrel match was sweet, nice clear day and a great turnout at the field. I was ready for a great day of paintball. The barrel looks nice on my Micromag and is quiet when you fire, but that's about it. The consistancy of the shots is very poor. I can't group my shots if my life depended on it. I sliced one ball, and every shot after that break went every which way but my target. Even after I squeegied it twice. I had to run water through it to clean out the ports before it worked "normal" again. On top of that, I noticed that I used more air throughout the day then usual. When I sliced my second ball, I said, "forget it". Then switched to my Armson barrel. I don't know what all the hype was with this Boomstick barrel. The stock Internally Riffled 10" Armson barrel performs better then the Boomstick. It's louder, but at least I can get the ball where I want it to. The Boomstick was a total waste of my hard earned $$$. :mad:

[MagMan5446]

It's not your barrel. I own a boomer. 'nuff said.




If someone wants to explain this to you, they can go ahead.

[FaSSt]

Sell it on Ebay. Boomstick resale values are relatively high.

[Zarak]

Originally posted by MagMan5446
It's not your barrel. I own a boomer. 'nuff said.

If someone wants to explain this to you, they can go ahead.


Magman, I'm not sure if that was a flame or not, but the performance was clear as day. Even when the boomstick was clean it didn't shoot that great. In my oppinion, it's an overpriced metal tube with lots of holes. It's pretty, but not worth the $$$ from my experience. I think an unported 12" barrel like a Lapco is would perform better then the Boomstick. Heck my stock Armson barrel performed better. Many times in this forum, people say the boomstick is just a 4" barrel with a long muzzle break. If you can explain why it might not be the barrel, it would be very helpful. Thank you.

As for selling the barrel... I don't know. It really looks nice on my Micromag. I was planning on keeping it on my mag when i have it stored on the shelf or when I show off my gun to friends. But when it's time to play, I'm switching to my 10" Armson. :D

[X-Plosive]

Hmm the only trouble the bommer will bad gas effeciency. I own a bigshot and a boomer. I prefer the bigshot. nuff said.

[fenris69]

i have a 14" boomer and a...well ive never measured it but between 7-9in cut down old style j+j whisper. yeah the boomer wastes gas. tough. you live with that as with any ported barrel. lucky its not an AA. but what i DO like is its a lot easier to sight/snap shoot with the boomer as i can see the tip, its shot placement is fairly consistant with the med bore paint i usually shoot and yes its quiet. BUT! shooting through breaks is HELL. so i dunno...learn not to chop is what i say. if it was the barrel causing a chop then it would have either been the ID is waaaay off for the paint you were using, theres a rough finish inside or its not matching your body right and balls are getting pinched. but i will agree on one point, although its sexy as hell im not sure its worth the coin. but its all about style isnt it? :)

[jellopuud]

i like my boomstick.. but to me it performs really well. maybe its ure nubbin in the boomstick. also it proably takes a few tries ot ge tused ot a new barrel.

[zvanut]

Thats intresting, everyone else i know who uses a boomy on a mag, loves it, and never chops.

[zads27]

Chopping isn't related to your barrel unless you got a really really messed up one. Probably detent/feeding system problem, rather than barrel.

[50 cal]

I tried two differnt boomsticks on my RT. The Carbon Fiber barrel outshot both of them. I will take the 12" Carbon Fiber over the boomer any day.
The boomers are like anything else Dye, over rated and over priced.

[Vil3]

Yeah ive got a boomer and of course the stock automag barrel for my e-mag... sadly the stock barrel is better on gas and chops less than my boomer. BUT!!!!!, my boomer is way more accurate.

[MagMan5446]

Why would the barrel break a ball? Because the bore size is too big. Is it humid where you are? The balls could've swollen up.


It was not intended as a flame at all, by the way.

Yes, I agree, it is inefficent.

[Fritzy]

You have to be very careful with Boomsticks as they are often a relatively tight bore (.686 or even .684) which can lead to chopped balls. Mags tend to do better with a larger bore barrel in my experience. My DYE aluminum performs much better on my gun than my Boomer because it is a standard medium bore (.689).

[Ityl]

boomers are nice barrels when matched up right, but definitely not worth the price, maybe the light all aluminum ones though

[PyRo]

Originally posted by Zarak

it's an overpriced metal tube with lots of holes.

you got it right there :)

[PsychoMag]

I dont even use mine...I use my 12"allamerican, and my 14" JJ...I never tried the stock barrel before, and my DYE's sit in the bottom of my bag

[RiceRocket]

Sorry to hear that about your 'Boomer. Some may read this and interpret it as a plug for DYE since I am on a heavily DYE sponsored team. Just keep in mind, though, that I have only been on the team since Feb of 2000. Before then, I shot a Boomstick and a BOA barrel before then. Bought a 'Boomy for several reasons: b/c everyone else had one, b/c most of the successful teams were shooting one, and where I practiced at the time (Badlandz), the best team there was shooting them. Granted, it's a domino effect. DYE gives them or discounts them to their sponsored teams; when the general paintball public sees all the tournament teams shooting them, they think they should go out and buy them because those teams are having some success.

Here's my opinion for what it's worth to anyone. I like my current barrel, an old school aluminum DYE. It has a stock sized ID, not an Ultralight. I liked my s/s back Boomstick before that. I liked my custom BOA barrel before that. I also hated each of the barrels when I was getting breaks for different reasons. Matty from Jax Warriors loaned me his E-mag for the semi's and finals of the AC Open that had a titanium 'Boomy on it and it shot great with only one of the three RP paints we could shoot. At the same tourney, my old school aluminum on my Retro Mag was able to shoot the most brittle paint. While the Impulse could not shoot any of it, and I tried three different ID 'Boomies.

I think it's a matter of paint to barrel match and how the paint shoots through that barrel on that day. There are a lot of external factors that play into our game. Check to see if something else contributed to the ball breakage. Many here don't have the luxury that I have been given - I'm sorry for that. But my suggestion is to try the barrel again if you're gonna keep it. You've invested money into a product that others swear by. Otherwise, don't hold on to something that expensive when the money could be used towards something that would be used (nitro, warp, Halo, another barrel, whatever...).

[Zarak]

Thanks Magman for letting me know your reply was not a flame.

The ball breaks was completely my fault. Micromags don't use automag barrels. They're threaded for Cocker barrels, so there's no wire nubbin to mess with. I'm still getting used to the trigger. I'm chopping paint when I get over excited. I need to learn to completely release the trigger before firing my next shot.

The Boomsticks interior was nicely polished. No nicks, scratches or chips. So I expected it to work better then my stock (yes stock) Armson barrel or at least perform just as well. But I was disappointed. My Spyder with an 12" Armagedden Aluminum barrel can group shots better then this. And my mag with the Armson can group even better then my spyder. I made sure the barrel was clean before every game. The Boomstick didn't perform well BEFORE I even broke a single ball.

I am planning on keeping this barrel a little longer. Only ran about 500 rounds through it, so I'll give it another try. Hopefully I'll see what all these "pros" say the Boomstick is all about. Sorry RiceRocket, I don't mean to flame pro players. Just because all the pro use a product doesn't mean it's the best. It cost me $120+ to learn that.

[Puckz]

Definitely give it another try. It could have just been the paint that day. I usually use my boomers and have good luck with them.

[Zumina]

I'd try it again, but I ran into the same problem with my 14" Boomer on my cocker. At the time I had both a 14" CP (.689) and the 14" Boomer (.688), and I found that the CP is a better barrel in the respect that it shoots cheaper paint accurately and consistently. The Boomer on the other hand shot PMI Premium Advantage and marbs (fresh mind you) like well....crap.. I was tottally dissapointed. I now have a J&J 2 peice on my cocker (still looking for one for my mag) and it simply blows the boomer out of the water. No contest. What's I've been told is that the Boom's step is a bit too agressive (meaning the internal bore increases rather quickly). This makes it appealing to tourney players who usually don't shoot fresh paint; rather the stuff that the local shop sponsoring the event can't sell.

[Nitroduck]

Boomsticks are great barrels buddy....

If you break balls, its rarely fault with the barrel (meaning workmanship), only because of mis-matching IDs. Get a good match, and it shoots great.

FYI, I did own a Boomstick on my Cocker, it worked great, however I switched to a 14" J&J because it was more accurate with the paints I have available. I also own a DYE Aluminum for my angel, great barrel as well. Anything DYE makes (barrelwise) is awesome, they've never given me a problem. They are one of the very few companies I can stand behind for all their barrels (J&J is the only other company that makes great barrels for all price ranges , IMO).

And one more thing : I've owned about 4 Smart Parts barrels, 4 J&Js and 4 DYEs, I can say from pure experiance that the DYE family of barrels ties with J&J for greatest barrel maker ever. As long as you match the paint, you rarely have a problem with boomsticks (in my opinion, if you match a boomstick perfectly, it WILL be far better than any other barrel on the market, hands down)

[Hasty8]

Originally posted by 50 cal
I tried two differnt boomsticks on my RT. The Carbon Fiber barrel outshot both of them. I will take the 12" Carbon Fiber over the boomer any day.
The boomers are like anything else Dye, over rated and over priced.

i have to disagree here. I got a black dye aluminum barrel to replace my original stock barrel and I love it. It's so sweet. I may end up getting a freak system but only if I start playing at lots of different fields.

My local field uses Diablo and the barrel to paint match is superb. I went through three full hoppers with out a single chop. I can't wait to get back on the field with it.

[50 cal]

Hasty8,
I use AllStar almost exclusively. Shoots fantastic out of my RT w/CarbonFiber. I gave the boomers two different chances, the 32* barrel outperformed them.

Different strokes.

[Whisky]

I gave it a chance a few times than i had enough of it, so i got myself a freak. Now your talking about accuracy and it uses less air than my ex-boomy. Maybe i had a bad one, but it seems that lots of people had bad ones. Like i said, if i was a pro and had it for free i would probably use it, but i have to pay for it so i am using something that gives me for my money, no more Dye stuff anymore.

[slayer]

I would get a freak and dump both my lapcos, dye SS, SP progressive, and stock emag barrel but I just HATE the SP company (I never use my progressive), with the correct paint size they all work well. I know everyone is going to defend and bash boomers until they are blue in the face, the fact remains that the goal of paintball is to make eliminations and score points. So if your barrel works for you then fantastic, because you have to use it. Be happy that the other guy is using "garbage" because it will be easier to get him out.

[dawump]

Here is what I have experienced with the Boomstick. It can be really great, or can really suck - all depending on the paint match.

Barrel theory is always debated, but here are some basics which I use to explain why my consistency with the boomstick is terrible with a tight paint match.

Here is what happens in a 14" boomstick with a GREAT paintball match, assuming that 300fps is the required exit velocity.

1) The ball starts at 0 fps
2) It accelerates while it travels in the UNPORTED part of the barrel.
3) It gets to the porting. Much of the energy of the gas is disipated through the porting, and little if any still makes the ball accelerate
4) The ball travels through the ported part of the barrel. Noise is disipated through the porting, and the paintball BARELY touches the barrel sides. This part of the barrel is actually a TINY bit wider bore. Try dropping paintballs through from the muzzle end and see where they stick.
5) The ball eases out into the normal atmospheric pressure. It has adjusted from its massive acceleration phase to normal pressure while passing through the ported region, and the barrel has kept it in a straight line as this "adjustment" takes place.

What happens with a TIGHT barrel match is this:

1) It starts at 0 fps
2) It accelerates in the unported area
3) Because it is tight it DECELERATES in the ported area!

What that means is that for it to exit at 300fps it has to be going FASTER that that half way down the barrel. That means taking a paintball from 0 to 320 or maybe higher in a short distance. [ I have no clue what this number is. The only real way to check would be to chrono at 300 then cut the ported end of the barrel off and rechrono, but you could get an idea by chronoing a boomstick at 300 then switching in a 7" unported barrel of the same bore ]

The issues are:

1) The paintball is suffering from friction in the barrel which creates distorting, and can even create spin which will of course affect accuracy.
2) The paintball is suffering from being hit with more gas than normal, because it actually has to accelerate to MORE than 300fps. This is going to knock it out of shape, make it's effective diameter even greater making (1) even more of an issue.
3) (1) and (2) combined are a great way to break paint, so you there will be more breaks, so more firing through breaks.

This also explains gas efficiency. You need more gas to get a paintball up to 320 fps which it needs to achieve to still exit at 300. You also need more gas to get a tight paintball moving.

From my experiences of using a boomstick with a GREAT match I'm a big believer in it.. but I won't go to an event with only one barrel anymore, especially one PORTED barrel. I currently carry a 14" boomstick, the standard 11" barrel and a stubby stainless barrel ( forget the brand )I bought on ebay which is a sold Medium bore. I'd pick up a medium bore J&J ceramic at the right price if I saw one too. I'd like a FREAK system too, but actually enjoy getting to a field and making a barrel decision.. I mean in terms of pre-game tweaking the automag is almost boring it is so dependable!

At the end of the day, there are good barrels and bad barrels, but what is REALLY going to make the most difference to your game is the paint match, and that is often out of your hands if you go somewhere and have to use field paint. The "best" barrel with the worst paint match isn't going to shoot as well as the worst barrel with the best paint match... so it's a matter of working with what you've got.

Keith

[Trunnion]

i had a 14" boomie on my old tippmann, and i could never find a paint to match quite right. as a result, i had terrible performance with it. however, i also have an 18" boomie on my mag, and i've found it shoots pretty well on big ball, team colors, and RPS stuff that they were selling locally. i don't have alot of paint availability to test many different paints in the barrel, but those have worked quite well for me recently. the good thing about the 18" boomie is that it's very quiet(i only play in the woods currently, so that's an advantage)

[paintdevil1]

rice rocket your the guy on shock that uses a mag sweet I love my boomer some days and want to curse it to hell others I'm probably gonna buy a new bigger bore barrel for when it gets hot but my boomer shoots Advantage excellently at least it did while my mag was working (went down that day) on a side note Flatline's shoot advantage great too

[nutz]

if u havent solved it yet... i think its ur nubin or ur valve.. first off ur nubin could have been setup wrong. second the bolt area on ur valve could have had alot of paint on it from up choping... and third u could have choped a ball back up into ur feed tube and not cleaned it which would have basicly ruined every shot for the rest of the day unless u cleaned it out. for the gas usage that cant be helped...

[fenris69]

They can be great...they can be bad. NEVER EVER put rotten paint through em. Mine eats rps advantage, in damn near any condition but real fresh like a fat kid eats chocolate.
its nasty...even tried it on a tribal(i have a micromag) and buddy got through about 4 rounds...its the 2 piece thing i believe...most of the barrel break happen around there, so any dimples...dont do it. if its wet out and you balls are swelling(teehee)? dont do it. boomys shoot beautifully if its hot and dry and the bore match is decent. otherwise, your gonna be upset.