What size barrel works best for an automag

[peteralexander78]

I have a minimag valve with ULE body. I have heard that mags shoot really well with shorter barrels. I have had 12" and 14" in the past. I am looking at a dye aluminum 8" or 10". My under line question is, what is the best size for the automag? Also what is a good barrel that people have had success with and why?

[MoeMag]

For your reading delight…
Mr. Tom Kaye, the god of Automags himself, explains barrels.

http://www.automags.org/resource/tech/tomstech/01_barrel_eff.shtml

[famousgamer]

" So as far as our guns are concerned, the best efficiency would be had with an 8-10" effective length barrel."

Tom said that. He also explained that the ported section of a barrel does not count, as far as effective length.

I actually read this article before buying my last barrel, which was a 14 inch J&J ceramic one peice (for woodsball). Since the porting goes down almost halfway the barrel length, the effective length is actually about 8 inches. As Tom says, an 8 inch barrel is pretty bang-on for accuracy and efficiency. Woot.

[athomas]

The level 10 bolt changes those numbers just a bit due to the change in impulse pressure behind the ball.

Your best bet is to find someone with a few different lengths of barrels and try them. An increase in velocity usually indicates an increase in efficiency (based on equivalent inside diameters).

[peteralexander78]

Thanks for the info. It really helps. Now that athomas told me about Tom's barrel explaination. I remember reading it a long time ago. Concidering only automag guns, what are a good length and barrel type?

[Aslan]

I've always had better luck with 14"-16" barrels.

I've tried alot of different barrels and so far the best one I've found is my Dye Alluminum 16" barrel with effective length of just under 10". Next time I play, I'll put this to the test however because I'm going to try a 32 degrees 16" barrel that has an effective length of probably 13-14 inches.