Paint to barrel match? Is it really a joke?

[Miscue]

I'm aware of all the accuracy rhetoric. But personally all I care is that the paint blows through the barrel and doesn't break because it's too tight. These silly things called paintballs don't shoot very straight to begin with, whatever marginal difference barrel fit, and blah blah blah has... I don't think matters. You got consistent velocity, perfect paint, good match... these suckers STILL don't shoot straight.

I think the barrel kit thing has got out of hand. All you really need is a .689 and something larger just in case balls are really big. But otherwise, the .689 (even if the balls are smaller) will work fine for almost everything.

Back in the day before most people really knew about bore sizes and stuff... the Boomstick and what not was touted for "shooting darts." Now this wasn't a kit, but it "shot darts" which seems to me that it worked well in the minds of paintballers. Now how do these new kits "shoot darts" better than the Boomstick did, which nobody complained about before? It was the ultimate barrel in their minds!

I believe that people buy these kits (and many other products) for the placebo effect. People want to believe that barrels play a significant role in accuracy. They are convinced that they actually help, and will tell you all about how their expensive tubes shoot like darts... etc. when really a threaded PVC pipe that's pretty close to a paintball size bore will shoot the same. People aim at target, miss, and they truly believe there is something wrong with the marker - rather than that they just missed, or it is because of the inherent inaccuracy of a paintball. They buy a $150 barrel with the expectation that it will help, and psychologically they "notice" that it does. When people start talking about 'kick' and all that, it's just more excuses as to why they are missing and not an actual setback - I personally think it's ridiculous to mention it.

If paintball markers were accurate, we would have sights on them and play hopper ball. And it makes me wonder, if you have a $1300 marker with all the latest and greatest, then why do you need 1000 rounds on you? Shouldn't it shoot better? Hair triggers, electronic markers, and pod harnesses are proof that paintball markers suck when it comes to accuracy - or we wouldn't need all this.

[Evil Bob]

Actually, Miscue, I do have a site on my marker and I do play hopperball :)

-Evil Bob

[GoatBoy]

Yeah, I've been saying this about the barrel sizing fetish for a while now.

I was just waiting for someone to say "shoots darts!" btw.

If you want to talk about user perception... I believe the FBI effectiveness report on calibers or something included a blurb about the huge affect that user confidence and belief in his firearm has upon its effectiveness. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

Markers are accurate... and I do play hopperball! Sights... eh, leave that for another time.

I've probably said this before... but people just don't aim! Instead, they prefer to burst a paint spread out there and hopefully hit something. Which is fine, that strategy has its purpose... This is why I think the "high volume" players prefer the larger bore barrels. I've noticed the guys that go "I shoot blah blah blah cases a day" seem to usually prefer .692 and up size barrels, regardless of paint choice. Maybe because it helps with the spread and compensates for lack of aiming.

That's why I mentioned the change in playing style... If you change from a single-aimed-shot to a high-volume-electro style... Your perception of accuracy might change even with the same paint/barrel.

[JrnyFan1985]

evil bob is correct, and if you have a good paint to barrel match. Your breaks in the barrel will be less, and you'll have a more consistant shot.

[Enemy]

paint to barrel match does play a good part in this but it is getting out of proportion.. in truth you dont need more then 3 barrel sizes.. to get a decent match it doesnt need to be perfect but it has to be decent.. the only reason i say this is because i saw a deference between marbs which fit in my 8 inch very well and flash which fit tightly.. i saw the same difference a couple of weeks ago when i played i couldnt get a single ball to hit with in a good size of the last shot.. the next week i played i tried to stuff a ball down the same barrel and it was excessivly tight so i borrowed a barrel from my brother that had a loser fit the problem was solved and the paint shot as good as i expected it to thats all you can ask.. the only reason for kits is to give the user a sense of confidence that this is the best it can be..is there a difference between a good sized kit and a good sized barrel no is there with a good sized kit and a bad sized barrel. i would say so.

[Gadget]

The only reason I could see buying a barrel kit is with a closed bolt gun, to prevent balls rolling out of the barrel.

Erm, that's what ball detents are for. :)

Paint to barrel match isn't a joke - if you take a selection of different markers, securely clamp them in place in a controlled environment, provide them all with an equally consistent air source and use perfectly round paint, then the only thing that should effect their accuracy is the paint to barrel match.

You don't NEED a barrel kit, but having a single barrel won't work in all situations. I ran a 0.688 bore Ultralite for months with no problems, then all of a sudden our paint manufacturer starting shipping batches which were oversized and I had trouble getting a ball out - switched to a Scepter with a 0.692 insert and all the problems went away.

You could just stick with one large bore barrel - but if the paint is very small your efficiency will suffer and your accuracy won't be quite as good.

But I think that kits with 5+ bore sizes are taking things to extremes. I've only used 3 bore sizes from my 5 insert Scepter kit and 99% of people should be fine if they stick to having 1 small, 1 medium and 1 large bore barrel.

[ZapTheMad]

This small article seems to support the "bore size doesn't matter" theory.

http://www.palmer-pursuit.com/techpages/barrels.htm

[evan123]

I had an ultralite. It was a 692 though, so I guess I lied

And you lied yet again....you told me yours .688....You e-liar you lol

[deathstalker]

Erm, that's what ball detents are for. :)

Not on a closed bolt gun. The detent will prevent double feeding but once the bolt closes, the ball is past the detent and will roll out if it's too small.

[Eric Cartman]

I've been shooting evil paint through a .688 14" ultralight. It worked well enough, but I just picked up a stainless .692 back (which makes it a boomstick I guess?) and I notice a significant difference in shot to shot consistancy and accuracy. The .688 was just a bit to tight for this paint. I'd say one larger and one smaller bore are probably all you really need.
That's my $0.02

[Miscue]

This small article seems to support the "bore size doesn't matter" theory.

http://www.palmer-pursuit.com/techpages/barrels.htm

Well... it tries to debunk a load of crap... with another load of crap.

"It is far more important to match the barrel to the guns valveing and the way the expanding gas is used/released." What the hell does that mean? (Rhetorical question)

[No sKiLLz]

The finish of the barrel and density of the paintball are also important.

Look down a PHAT performance kit or Empire and then look down a Kaner. The small amount of texture in the lower quality finish barrels can seem like a washboard when the ball accelerates at the rate it does.

A thicker fill paint will have greater inertia and therefore be more consistant and not as effected by vertex shedding or just plain old wind.

[CoolHand]

Three or four years ago, I bought a full freak kit.

Now, want to guess how many bores have never been used?

Six (6) of them.

I started with the .689, and then went up to the .691 when I started popping paint (cause it was getting squeezed too hard).

I have noticed no difference from the Freak, to my Boomer, to my Ultra light, or even a prgessive or JJ ceramic accuracy wise, but I can say that the big bore Freak, and the big bore BoomStick break far less paint than the others, simply cause they don't pop the random oversize ball you may run across.

That's why I use the Freak, not for the "tunability", but because I hate to squeegie barrel breaks. I think its easier to just use one of the big inserts, and leave it at that, rather than having to track down a specific ID Boomstick, or taking the luck of the draw with the others.

All you need is a barrel that is honed pretty smooth on the inside, with a bore size that is big enough to let the fattest ball in the bag through without popping it. After that, its up to you.

[Vanced]

Yep I agree with Ryan,

I own 2 full freak kits ... and only have ever used 3 of the inserts.. the blue .689 and one up and one down depending on the brand of paint... paint theese days is just a lot more consistant than it use to be....

I know, I know, Anti-Smart Parts... Rah Rah Rah.. but they still are very nice barrels... but definatly on par with Dye, or any other well made barrel... Same as everything else in paintball matter of opinion... find what works best for you.... But it does...make that Freak Jr. Kit looks like a nice deal now or the 3 size CP kits... for half the cost...

[LeatherPants]

I've been stuck in situations where field paint was required. Sizing the balls I found out the they must have been old paint since there were bigger than .695 (Zap Tork)

So basically with the standard .689 i would have consistent barrel breaks. I slowly sized up till they stopped at my .695 (Evil Pipe).

Barrel matching does play a huge role but like most of the people on this thread have stated you really only need a couple sizes.