Paintball Accuracy

[Darkstorm]

Has anyone ever measured what effects the "Accuracy" of a paintball marker the most?

I am not talking about just velocity consistacy, paint match and the like.

For example, in rifles, sights were a huge accuracy improvement. What about a marker with a foregrip vs one without? Etc.

There may even be target effects such as a target where your balls are hittting something, vs a target where your balls are flying free.


So what is the point, well everyone has put a lot of effort into barrels and such, where a simple reflex sight or a foregrip would have provided more improvement.

[spydervenom]

i believe that barrels improve actual accuracy whereas the others improve virtual accuracy
(i made those up but lemme explain)

with a foregrip you can grip the gun better so that you can keep the recoil of the gun to a minium.
-you can hold the body or somewhere else to get a similar effect. this will only affect your shot...not the ball directly.

sights will help you aim so that you can put the ball where you want it.

but the barrel is what keeps that ball going straight.

[Darkstorm]

You are getting the point....

Bingo...That is the point.


So, it may turn out that if you want a really accurate marker, it may be more important to have a way to hold it steady and sight it better.

[drx975]

it may be more important to have a way to hold it steady and sight it better.

Ah yes, steadying the gun... Ive already posted something about this (not that a whole lot of people have probably seen it) so I wont get into details, but its my opinion that a heavier gun is not only easier to steady, but reduces recoil.

Most people think of reducing recoil with decreasing bolt length or bolt speed, but if you think about it, a heavier gun minimizes recoil also (best--stainless steel barrels). I find it easier to hit a target with my gun versus a really light Angel...the gun moves around too much.

If anyone wants to know/argue, I'll explain it more in-depth.

[spydervenom]

thats a really good point and i'm sure its true too. but if a gun has very little recoil when its light...it might's well stay light. right

[drx975]

Yeah sure it can stay light, that makes sense..I mean if it has little recoil and its light, then thats good.

Im just saying, by adding weight, you can minimize some of that recoil..so if you take that gun thats light and has little recoil, and put a heavy barrel and/or body on it, it may reduce the movement of the gun with each shot.

See the thing is, most people dont even realize this point. They dont even consider recoil, probably because its minimal on their gun, and/or they take it for granted and expect some recoil. But really, the heavier your gun (mainly the front of your gun), the less your barrel is going to sway with each shot. Maybe the recoil is a VERY small amount, but havent you shot at someone before and said to yourself "I saw that shot go RIGHT BY your head.. arghh"?

Its all your preference, Im just trying to show everyone something they probably havent thought of before.

[sdsm_99]

Here is an excellent thread on paintball physics and accuracy. Warning it is very long!

http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=64669&highlight=paintball

[rdb123]

Originally posted by drx975

...a heavier gun minimizes recoil also (best--stainless steel barrels). I find it easier to hit a target with my gun versus a really light Angel...the gun moves around too much.

Oh please explain why you say that a heavier gun will produce less recoil. I'd love to dissent.

[drx975]

Sure.

Lets say we have a stock Mag, and then we have a Mag with a ULE body and an X-valve. One is quite obviously considerably lighter than the other. What is the same is the bolt--since theyre both Mags/AGD guns, recoil will be the same.

However...since the ULE Mag is much lighter, the bolt will move the body a little bit more than the Mag with the heavier, stock body. The stock body's weight keeps it from moving around as much from the recoil.

If this isnt making sense, imagine a gun with a titanium body versus one made out of lead. The lead body is so heavy that you most likely wouldnt feel very much recoil at all, whereas in the titanium body it is so light that it can be easily shaken by recoil. Got it?

Things like a heavy tank do not apply here--you need a heavy body or barrel for it to minimize your gun movement/recoil after each shot.

[bjjb99]

drx975 wrote:
>
> Things like a heavy tank do not apply here--you need a heavy body or
> barrel for it to minimize your gun movement/recoil after each shot.

That is entirely dependent on where the point of rotation is on the marker. If you brace the marker such that your shoulder is in contact with the tank (that's your point of rotation), then the mass of the tank plays a much smaller role in moderating the effects of recoil. If you hold that same marker out in front of you like a pistol, then your point of rotation moves to your wrist and the exact same tank plays a much larger role.

Rotational moment of inertia... ain't it cool! :)

BJJB

[drx975]

And because most people shoulder their tank, I figure it does not apply, as you said it wouldnt in that case. Right?

[Kingman01]

Firing technique is certainly a major factor when it comes to accuracy. I've owned cockers that can literally put ball ontop of ball a short distances, but I let a friend use the same marker and he couldn't even hit the same target from the same distance. You've got to have a stable platform to shoot from and have great familliarization with your set up.

[No sKiLLz]

For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction.

It's not so much the movement of the bolt as it is the opposing force of the ball being ejected from the marker. An object of greater mass takes more force to put in motion, and there are a lot of factors about balance and center of gravity that will effect your leverage to counteract any motion, but starting out with a cow of a gun helps. This is the reason I own a Matrix.