Barrel length and distance?

[Darkling]

Ok...First off, I realize that a paintball fired from a gun at 300fps will not travel any further than a paintball fired at 300fps from another gun.

Now that thats said, does the barrel length have any effect on the distance a paintball travels? You wouldn't think so, based on the laws of physics, but if you take a 3 inch custom made barrel and shoot it next to a 12 inch, the range will fall very short next to the 12 inch. Any reasons/explanations?

Sorry if this isn't deep blue material. Maybe I'm really confused. Who knows...Thanks alot.

Darkling

[Gotenks]

here you go

[ChucktheMAGician]

Hate to just give you a link but it should help, http://www.automags.org/resource/tech/tomstech/01_barrel_eff.shtml
Basically I think 3" wouldn't give the ball enough time to accelerate.

[Coaster]

gotenks, take it to another extreme... say with a 1inch barrel. The accuracy will be different, and since the ball will be so innaccurate it will curve and such that it may hit the ground earlier, or vear to the right, etc.

[petefol]

i dont think the accuracy of a 12" to a 14" barrel is noticable tho.

[confedman75]

the air going through a 1" barrel will not be going straight so when the ball leaves the barrel rather than the air keep pushing it the air goes in differant directions.

[SlartyBartFast]

This is DEEP BLUE so how about some tests?

Take a mag and bolt it to a stand. Have different length barrels and hone them all to the same ID. (Even use an old barrel and cut an inch or two of the end after each test.)

Shoot 100 or so balls out of each after chrono'ing to 300fps and see how far they go.

Besides affecting air consumption I don't think you'd notice much difference in range or accuracy.

[Person]

I think its because the ball doesnt have any acceleration like chuck said......but i dont know why its inaccurate, perhaps because the ball is hit with the air so violently

[SlartyBartFast]

All the accuracy talk around barrels is pure hear-say. Saw a test involving freak inserts compared to each other (which talked only of consuistency I beleive), but I've never seen any data to prove that barrel length has any effect on accuracy or distance.

8 to 10 inches long for maximum air efficiency, a little longer with porting to make it quiet.

[Person]

Have you ever tried a gun with a 2 inch barrel? it is NOT accurate at al.

[BourneKiller]

Now I would looooove to get an 8 or 10" boomie. But thing I'm thinking about w/ these ridiculously short barrels (1,2,3") is why? It would be VERY loud, VERY difficult to sight down, and the cons would easily outweight the pros, i would think. Right...?

[confedman75]

simple shoot your gun without the barrel, see how far it goes? mine got 20 feet!!!

[Coaster]

but there isn't a paint to bore match there..

[synreal]

all in favor of confedman75 removing his 300k sig in favor of one 1/20th the size or smaller, say "aye"

"aye"

[wyn1370]

eh
I mean "aye"

[Person]

"aye" Also, my bad, my brother has a 2 or 3 inch barrel and it shoots fine.

[SlartyBartFast]

The only way this can be settled or discussed intelligently is to test. But of course that takes time and money.

Here's what I would propose as a test procedure:

1. Disable the regulator on a Mag and attach a precision (large dial or digital) pressure guage and an adjustable regulator (Say a Palmers) to the Mag air input fitting.
2. Manufacture/Buy a single bore size long barrel (18"). Mark the barrel in 2" intervals from the end.
3. Fabricate a table/tripod to which the Mag gripframe bottom screws can be bolted and to which a decibel meter can be attached.
4. Fabricate a large target marked with a grid (say a plywood 4x8 with 2" markings) and a support to hold it steady.
5. Perform the test indoors to eliminate/limit wind and temperature variations.
6. Get a supply of paintballs from the same manufacturer and the same batch/colour/shell.
7. Bolt Mag to table.
8. Chrono to 300fps. Take pressure reading of dump chamber.
9. Fire a number of shots recording pressure, fps, and noise (dB).
10. Place target at DIST1 ensuring target is square and centered with respect to the Mag.
11. Fire XXX balls at target. For each shot record pressure, fps, dB, location hit on target (including over, under, left, right, and bounce).
12. Move target to DIST2 ensuring target is square and centered with respect to the Mag.
13. Fire XXX balls at target. For each shot record pressure, fps, dB, location hit on target (including over, under, left, right, and bounce).
14. Move target to DIST3 ensuring target is square and centered with respect to the Mag.
15. Fire XXX balls at target. For each shot record pressure, fps, dB, location hit on target (including over, under, left, right, and bounce)
16. Cut 2" from end of barrel. Remove and hone any burrs from cut. Repeat steps 8 through 15.

Stop testing when barrel is too short to place on gun.

The resulting data will give you standard deviations for all the different lengths of accuracy, consistency, noise, and gas efficiency. Better range would be indicated by better grouping/accuracy at the further distances.

Note: Have to determine what the distances (DIST1, DIST2, DIST3) are and the right number of balls (XXX) to be statistically vaild.

[athomas]

Years ago our entire team shot 5" barrels while others shot 16" for "accuracy". We used 5" for manuverability. The accuracy of the 5" barrel was quite amazing although it was very loud. The ball doesn't pick up any spin as it travel down the barrel.

The range is identical. Its physics. The rate of negative acceleration (slowing down) as the ball moves away from the barrel is caused by the friction and pressure of the air. The air is the same no matter what the length of the barrel. The ball velocity and mass is also the same. The acceleration rate of gravity is always 9.81m/s/s. With everything identical the ball travels the same velocity, slows down the same amount and hits the ground at the same time not matter what the length of barrel.

[Person]

Yeah everything i said before this is all messed up. My older brother has a 3 inch barrel and it shoots almost as strait and as far as my boomy. Just its hell loud, but small barrels are the best. The only good reason to use bigger barrels is to press them into inflatable bunkers to get nice little shots.