So what makes a good paintball barrel? There are so many factors when it comes to choosing a paintball barrel.
One of the most important things to ask yourself is: what position do I play, where do I play and what will help me the most? Are you a scenario player? Do you need distance? Do you play a sniper position? Need a quiet barrel? Need a shorter barrel to tuck in because you play the snake on a speedball field? Need a longer barrel because you want to stick it in between bushes playing in the jungle or woods?
There are a number of players out there that claim that a barrel is a barrel with holes in it. If that were true then most paintball manufacturers would be out of business! Porting design definitely makes a difference in the flight of the paintball.
How many ports, where the ports are all affect the trajectory and velocity of the paintball. Of course for a lot of players, aesthetics play an important role. They don’t really care how the barrel shoots but it has to match the colour of their gun, or be a unique colour or be of a certain brand.
Then there are those who care more on the actual performance of the barrel than anything else.
Others want more customization options like a complete selection of bore sizes to different threads for different guns to be shorter and/or longer lengths. So choosing a good paintball barrel is no easy decision.
It depends on so many factors and at the end of the day, the paintball barrel that you choose should be the one which you feel will give you an edge mentally on the field. When you feel good about the barrel you have just bought, that does mean you will play better. Sounds strange but that is true.
It is recommended that if possible, shoot a few different barrels to get a feel for the overall trajectory, flight, sound and accuracy on the barrel. How a barrel feels when it has been screwed onto your gun is also an important factor to consider.
Is it balanced? It it too light, too heavy? There are many many other factors to consider when looking for a better paintball barrel.
This will be continued with more articles in the future.
