What's in a Paintball Barrel?

For more than 20 years, customers have been asking us, "What is the best upgrade for my paintball gun?" In most cases, our answer is simple, Upgrade your barrel!

Take a look at the typical paintball barrel that comes stock with a new paintball marker - it is short, lacks porting (the holes drilled along the length or at the end of the barrel), and does not have a nice mirror finish on the inside of the barrel. Why is this the case? Well, the shorter the barrel, the less money it costs to produce.  Less porting means less machine time, which in turn also means a lower cost of production. Likewise, with the polishing on the inside of the barrel it takes time to polish a barrel, and time is money.

Paintball Barrel Length - Does it matter?

The length your paintball marker barrel makes a difference to the range, accuracy, and efficiency of your paintball gun. Paintballs guns are not firearms, however, and it does not hold true that the longer the barrel is, the more accurate it will be.

Although there is no consensus on the optimal length of a paintball barrel, most would agree that anything beyond 14 inches will not significantly improve your accuracy, and anything beyond 18 inches will simply create so much friction on the paintball as it travels through the barrel, that overall performance will be greatly reduced (more friction means more resistance, which means more gas will be used to propel the paintball out of the barrel).

While accuracy is important, you might choose a shorter barrel to lower the weight of your paintball gun, or to make it more maneuverable. You might opt for a longer barrel to better penetrate the bush and to allow you to stay under cover while making your shot.

The overall look of your paintball marker is also important, especially for scenario players. In some cases, you might choose a longer or shorter barrel to achieve the look you want with your paintball marker, and this is perfectly fine.

When it comes to choosing the length of your paintball barrel, your personal preference will influence your choice. For the best combination of maneuverability and accuracy, Badlands recommends that you choose a 14 inch long paintball barrel.

Paintball Barrel Porting - Do all those holes make a difference?

The porting on a paintball barrel makes your paintball gun more accurate, because it vents the gas that is used to propel the paintball out of the barrel before it reaches the end of the barrel. If a barrel lacks porting, when the paintball leaves the end of the barrel, it will be caught up in a swirling mass of gas, which will buffet the paintball, and throw it off its trajectory. This is especially true for paintballs that are not very round, as any inconsistency will be exaggerated by the swirling gas, and the paintball will be more likely to curve and slice off its intended path.

Porting also serves to quiet your paintball marker. The more gas that the porting on your paintball barrel can vent before the paintball leaves the end of the barrel, the quieter your shot will be. Without porting the gas propelling the paintball explodes noisily from the barrel all at once.

Of course, not everyone want s to be quiet for those who want to announce to the world where they are, we recommend the LAPCO Bigshot Assault with the Dishka Thunder tip.

Paintball Barrel Polishing - The importance of a mirror-like finish

A good quality paintball barrel will have a very smooth, mirror-like finish, on the inside of the barrel. Simply put, the smoother the inside of the barrel, the less friction there will be on the paintball, and the less gas can be used to get that paintball out of the marker. The smoother the inside of the barrel, the more shots you will get from your tank.

Paintball Barrel Bore Size - Why it matters

Bore size refers to the inside diameter of your paintball barrel. Most paintball barrels are made with an internal diameter of 0.689 or 0.690 of an inch.

Even the best paintballs are not consistent in size, and the diameter of a paintball often varies substantially, especially between manufacturers. You should use a barrel that best matches the paintballs that you shoot. This will improve the accuracy and consistency of your paintball marker, and can also reduce ball breakage.

If your barrel is too tight for the paintballs that you are shooting, then you are more likely to break paint in your barrel. If your barrel is too large, then the paintball will not create a good seal as it travels down the barrel, and this will make your paintball marker less efficient and less accurate.

A paintball is considered to have a good fit in your paintball barrel when you can place it in the end of the barrel that screws into the marker without it rolling out of the other end of the barrel, and when you can blow it out of the barrel like a blow gun without trying so hard that your face turns blue.

It is always preferable to use a larger bore paintball barrel then it is to use one that is too tight. A barrel with a larger bore will accept a wider range of paintballs, and is less likely to break paint.

Paintball Barrel kits - How they help

A paintball barrel kit, like the Eclipse Shaft Boost Kit, or the TechT iFit series, help the performance of your paintball marker by allowing you to better match the paintballs you are using to the bore size of your barrel.

Many kits also allow you to change the tip of your paintball barrel, increasing or decreasing the length of the barrel.

Specialty Barrels-   Empire BT Apex2 and the Tippmann Flatline barrels

Some paintball barrel manufacturers offer specialty barrels that will greatly affect the performance of your paintball marker.

Both the Tippmann Flatline barrels and the Empire BT Apex2 put a back-spin on the paintball as it leaves the end of the barrel. This back-spin creates lift and vastly increases the range of your paintball marker. You will be able to shoot incredibly far with one of these barrels, far outdistancing any other barrel.

 Do not believe any claims that the Flatline or the Apex2 will increase your accuracy they will not. It is very important that you use a high quality paintball with these barrels because if the paintballs are not very round, then your shots are likely to spin and slice off as the back-spin exaggerates the egg-shape of the paintball. You cannot use crappy paintballs with these barrels and expect good performance.

The Apex2 has an advantage over the Flatline, because with the Apex2 you can adjust the amount of back-spin applied to the paintball, allowing you to fine-tune your range, or you can turn off the back-spin altogether and use the Apex2 as a regular barrel.

Still have questions? Write us at info@badlandspaintball.com