Barrel Discussion Thread (interactive!)

[ferkjace]

Here's the plan:

list all the barrels you've owned

talk about the pros and cons of each

name your favorite and what paint you get the best results with (doesn't really matter with a kit, I guess)

what are the most important features in a barrel to you? (accuracy, consistancy, durability, craftsmanship, weight, appearence, material, finish, lengths?)

[ferkjace]

Let's see

-stock Spyder Classic barrel (9") - never used it
-stock Spyder Rodeo barrels (12") - never used them
-stock Dragun TES/T1 barrel (12") - never used it
-CP two piece (.689, 12") - never used it
-CP one piece (.693, 10") - CP one pieces are my second favorite one pieces (behind Lapco), they are well made, cheap, and quieter, I never used this one much unless I hit a batch of huge paint.
-J&J Ceramic (14") - very cheap, pretty accurate, and very quiet, but I really don't recommend them. Not terribly well made (needed a o-ring to stay on, my Lapco's don't) not durable (easily nicked, the threading wore down to bare metal soon, they feel fragile), and it had too much porting for my liking. It didn't shoot through breaks any better than my Lapco barrels.
-J&J Edge Kit (14") - probably a very good deal for the price (I got mine for $50 with four backs), but like my Ceramic the coating seems weak and it has way too much porting (for me). The backs are also very short (5" total, but probably only 4" of bore).
-CCI Phantom stock barrel (14", .691?) -- really awesome barrel, there isn't much reason to buy a new one for your phantom if you have detent rings. Doesn't have too much porting, but it's quiet and very accurate.
-Lapco Snapshot (.689, .693, 12", 14") - My favorite two piece barrel, but I really suggest the Lapco one pieces over them. The Snapshot is a very accurate and quiet barrel, but its expensive. I love the look, though, and they have a lot of options (.687-.693 backs, but you can order other sizes, 10"-18" fronts). Limited in color options.
-Lapco Accushot kit (Bigshot (.689), Autospirit (.687), Microshot(.684)) - The best barrel kit IMHO. 3 12" barrels, they should fit any paint out there except for extremely large stuff (I got a .693 Snapshot just in case). They are durable, good looking, and an awesome deal ($140 for the kit). They are the most accurate barrels I've used. The Autospirit and yellow(!) Evil paint are an awesome combination.

So the Accushot kit is my favorite barrel kit, and a Lapco one piece that matches your usual paint is my favorite single barrel. Downsides to Lapco are the limited finishes (any color as long as its black, gloss or bead blasted finish) and sound signature (I like it, but some people obsess over quiet shooting).

[MNewman15]

Great Idea hero,

Not A Long List
Stock VL Orion Barrel: Not Bad In Accuracy
SP Teardrop (12"): Great barrel, pretty cheap for the performance ($40 or so), rather accurate for the price...a totally appropriate and smart choice for a 1st aftermarket barrel.Its very conisitant...i acctually dont think ive had a break after about 3 cases through it...but my memory of breaks just makes me think about my VL....It isnt the lightest or heaviest barrel...very well made, paint is chipped on rocks and stuff(1st hand expieriences) but that is expected...All in all this is my favorite barrel i have owned/own....I will be purchasing a full snap shot kit for christmas and will post that after

[MerrSonn]

I have a pretty short list too:

-A5 Stock Barrel: Nothing special at all, I used it for one day and accuracy wasn't that bad. I still keep it in my marker case, although I don't know why.
-Flatline: A fun barrel, great for suppression fire. Very loud (I get comments from people at the field all the time), I found accuracy to be fine with fresh paint. One con is that it's significantly heavier than other barrels. Accuracy goes all to hell when you break paint in it, and it can be a real female dog to clean it out on the field.
-Lapco Bigshot: Great barrel! Very high quality, and it can shoot just about any paint with great results. I remember one scenario game in the snow where everyone else was breaking paint in their barrels left and right, and I didn't break a single ball the entire day (using regular paint, not special stuff for winter). It is a bit on the loud side, but that was never a problem for me. Definitely a favorite barrel, I only sold it because I got a kit and needed some money. If I was ever in the market for another one-piece barrel I'd buy another Lapco in a heartbeat.
-Powerlyte Scepter: This is what I currently use, and I like it quite a bit. It's got pretty much everything I want in a barrel: It's accurate, quiet, affordable, and it looks great. It was significantly cheaper than similar kits on the market, and it came with a nice padded case with space for all tips and inserts. The backs are nice and long, with a control bore of about 6". Only pro that I can think of is that the inserts are seem pretty fragile, but it comes with a hardcase so this shouldn't be a problem.

My favorite paint is yellow Evil, hands down. This stuff is absolutely amazing. Super consistent, about as round as I've seen paint get, and it has a thick bright fill. I've had great luck with the yellow stuff only, though. Steer clear of pink and orange. There's some difference in the shell, it just doesn't compare.

[Snake Eyes 88 USMC]

Well I'm not sure lots of stock barrels from numerous Markers.
And some random ones.

Lapco Big shot: On one of my 98c's is a great barrel.
A5 Flatline: We all know about the Flatline.
I had a stock A5 barrel cut down to about 3" and was killer for CQB.

As far as paint go's I swear by Nelson Special Forces paint.

[RandyA]

A-5
stock A-5
flatline
apex
98 custom
lapco big shot

stock A5 barrel
i didnt use it till i sold my flatline and was waiting for my apex to arive. so i got spoiled by the flatline. i didnt like much about it

flatline
pros range, and accuracy.
cons cant take off without tools

apex
pros has great range. is accurate on flatline mode. will keep heads down on superflatline mode. comes off without the use of tools
cons not accurate on superflatline mode. shooting around corners is overrated.

[marine786]

Good idea hero

When I look at barrels. I look at a number of things. The first thing I look for is accuracy. This usually goes hand in hand with quality. I want to hit what I shoot it, simple as that. Next is durability. If I am looking at kits with inserts, I look at the strenghts of the inserts. How are they made? What are they made from? I am not worried about weight, so thats at about the bottom of my list. I mean, whats a few ounces? Apperance wise, eh dont really care. As long as it shoots darts, I could care less what it looks like. Lenghts are not as big a deal either. I just need a 14in front, and I am good to go.

So, to sum it all up, the main things I look for is accuracy, quality, and durabilty. I find that if the barrel has these 3 things, the rest will not be a problem.

Paint-wise, I usually shoot Xball bronze. It runs REALLY small, usually in the .684 range. It shoots well, no dimples. Its also pretty cheap. It goes for around 40 a case give or take.

Stock A-5 barrel- I never used it, but it hurts when you get hit by it, or so my brother told me.

Freak kit- Eh, of all the kits I used, I liked this one the least. First off, its made by SP, damn nazis. The inserts are very fragile. Dont ask me how, but I somehow crushed one in my gearbag. 2, The inserts are able to roll around in the back. If I can roll it around with my finger, imagine what a pb gun can do. It was quiet with the all-american front though.

Poison Arrow- VERY nice kit. The backs are stainless steel, so you dont have to worry about them breaking. It also shot very clean. Very accurate with my old e-bladed cocker. Seemed to be a little loud though, and it had only 3 inserts. Overall nice kit, but not enough inserts. Also, its VERY expensive

BT Apex- This is a flatline for other markers besided tippmanns. The range is cool, I was outshooting A-5 with flatlines at TWC. The dive bombing DOES work, I used it to my advantage several times. The side to side curving I never really used though. As with the flatline, it starts to shotgun its rounds the further they go along. It is also VERY loud. Zap had one on his dm5, it sounded like a cannon. Overall, a very cool barrel, its not something I will use all the time, but it has its uses

Macdev Matchstik kit- My current barrel kit. Excellent quality, which is one of the reasons why I picked it up. I had never seen a matchstick kit before in action, but I knew Macdev was quality, so I wasnt worried. It has 4 backs and 3 fronts. Very quiet on both my dm5 and immortal viking. Very accurate as well. I like this kit the best so far. Its all aluminum, so its very durable as wel

Stiffi Switch kit- EXTREMLY LIGHT. I couldnt believe this thing was a barrel. Quiet as well. It has 4 control bores, which are VERY small. I dont think that helped accuracy. I like a longer control bore myself. It seemed to be accurate. Quality seemed okay, but I have heard of problems with the carbon fiber unraveling.

Lapco Bigshot- Excellent barrel. Shot great with almost any kind of paint, not too expensive either. It was a little loud, but not bad. Its a great rainy barrel because all its porting is at the end, so the rain will effect the barrel less. I had this for my A-5 and loved it. I would have one for my current guns were it not for my matchstick kit.

[richtoss]

Has anyone ever used the J&J Ceramic S2???

[Medina]

A-5 Stock - owned but never used ;D

14" SP Teardrop (on stock A-5) - This was my first aftermarket barrel. Using Diablo Blaze field paint, accuracy was ok but didn't blow me away.

8" Lapco Bigshot (on A-5 w/ RVA) - Accuracy was comparable to the Teardrop. (Diablo Blaze)

12" Lapco Snapshot (A-5 w/ RVA and Palmers Reg) - Accuracy improved but still had a 1-2' shooting diameter at 60 ft (couple of wingers) Zap Chronic was used.

Apex (same A-5 setup as previous) - Flatline mode really impressed me with the range. Accuracy was dismal. 3 out of 10 shots were wingers.

12" PPS Brass Barrel w/o porting (same A-5 setup as previous) - As loud as the Apex. Best accuracy I've seen on my A-5 ever.

12" SP Freak (on fully up-ed Impulse using Zap Chronic) - Was not impressed by accuracy even with paint to bore match. Switched to the following setup in two games.

SP Freak Back with All-American Tip (same setup as previous) - Sound signature was less than the Freak due to the porting size but accuracy was the same.

CP Back with 6" Stiffi-Tip (same setup as previous) - Overall length was 11 inches and change. Accuracy is better than the Freak. It is suprisingly light and turns heads on the field.

CP Back with 8" CP Front (same setup as previous) - Best accuracy from my Impulse! The extra length really does matter. It is as quiet as the Stiffi-tip due to the size and frequency of the porting.


Conclusion:
My Impulse will always play with either the CP back and either the Stiffi-Tip or the longer CP tip, depending on what position I play. If I want to run and gun and play front I'll go with the Stiffi. If I'm going to play back and want to pick my shots or lay suppressive fire I'll play with the CP tip.
I'm shopping around for a barrel for my Viking. I'll probably go with an Apex, a PPS brass barrel, and/or a Powerlyte Scepter Kit. I presume the Apex will have better accuracy on a low pressure Viking (72 psi). I'll most likely get a brass barrel for the accuracy. Lastly I'm thinking about getting the Scepter kit for its looks. The accuracy gets raves too but it just looks so badass I have to have one! ;D