Let's talk barrels

[goofyman23]

Curious what ya'lls thoughts are on which direction to go with barrel selection for a mech build I'm working on.

1. Dye UL (think it's a 692). Paint generally bores pretty tiny here, and I have some 3D fingers printed in TPU I could use to prevent rollout. I've heard some people dont like these as they can (ironically) cause breaks. But it's free!
2. PE/ID new PWR system. I'm not a fan of the freak system, insert finish is generally garb and aren't always concentric.
3. J4 PAT barrel. Would probably be the most effecient, but I have concern over friction and possible barrel breaks considering it would be underbored the entire barrel length.

[superman]

I like both the PWR and the PAT barrels.

[Trbo323]

UL is free

Sent from my motorola edge 5G UW (2021) using Tapatalk

[Jordan]

I haven't seen to many issues running an overbore with fingers... fairly consistent velocity and little to no breaks/rollouts compared to a Freak when dealing with inconsistent paint.

I'm going to second Trbo's vote. Free is good - UL all the way. Spend the money you'll save - from not buying those expensive barrel kits - on other things.

[nak81783]

Your current barrel with fingers. No point in a barrel system chasing .005" or smaller inserts when the paint varies .020"+ between seam and polar axes on a single ball, more when comparing ball to ball.

[nighthunter]

The UL sounds fine, and you already have it. There's a mild efficiency difference but will you notice in one or two games? I used to try to bore match cause I thought it meant better accuracy, but haven't noticed any real difference from a supertight freak or evil pipe vs my (now ancient) All American barrels that are something stupid like .695.
If you're concerned with rollouts then try the fingers like you mentioned.

[goofyman23]

I like both the PWR and the PAT barrels.

How do you find the PAT does with brittle and/or football paint when underboring?

[Chuck E Ducky]

Why not just get a smaller back for the UL tip. I run a 681 on my open class pump and if I get rollouts I put the detent fingers behind it never had an issue. I have all kinds of options but I just keep some of these laser cut ones in the tool box JIC. Just make sure they are sandwiched between the barrel back and body and they last a super long time. Haven’t had issues with breaks with them.

On anything with detent it don’t matter what you put in front of them as long as the detent system your using is functioning properly.

My SC markers I’m a lil more particular as to what barrel I use because I try and get the most pew out of each shot for efficiency reasons. For that I like a good tight fit often freak bore. But if I’m not on 12g the new tanks provide plenty of air especially with these new 4.5k 2” round tanks they sell now. So efficiency means very little to me outside of stock class play. Making the detent rings a great option IMO. If you’re having issues with the printed ones try the ones from Redleader that are laser cut.

[ChuckLove]

Another option is to buy some Lapco sizers and use the UL. It will make the barrel 1.5-2 in longer but they work great. I'm not a big dummy detent fan but most of my friend are. I also like the J4 PAT but since they are the same bore size down the whole barrel, they don't always handle crappy paint well.

https://ansgear.com/lapco-cocker-breech-sizer-678-br-sz-cc-678/

[Chuck E Ducky]

This is true That full length J4 bore is great when paint is constant. But when it isn’t it puts a lot of stress on the ball especially when under boreing.

[Jonnydread]

I have been using finger detents with a larger bore barrel in my pump cocker for years and it is by far one of the best shooting setups I have.

[iamthelazerviking]

I once experienced magic when using an Emek (open bolt, I know it doesn't quite apply here) with a one piece Boomstick (688) and was landing some gnarly shots. Those markers are already quite efficient and I didn't notice anything lacking in that department. After that experience, I've become a believer in overbore. Maybe one day paint quality will be great again.

[goofyman23]

Why not just get a smaller back for the UL tip. I run a 681 on my open class pump and if I get rollouts I put the detent fingers behind it never had an issue. I have all kinds of options but I just keep some of these laser cut ones in the tool box JIC. Just make sure they are sandwiched between the barrel back and body and they last a super long time. Haven’t had issues with breaks with them.

On anything with detent it don’t matter what you put in front of them as long as the detent system your using is functioning properly.

My SC markers I’m a lil more particular as to what barrel I use because I try and get the most pew out of each shot for efficiency reasons. For that I like a good tight fit often freak bore. But if I’m not on 12g the new tanks provide plenty of air especially with these new 4.5k 2” round tanks they sell now. So efficiency means very little to me outside of stock class play. Making the detent rings a great option IMO. If you’re having issues with the printed ones try the ones from Redleader that are laser cut.

Does Dye make a back smaller than 680? Paint is regularly 67x around here.

[ChuckLove]

Dye makes UL-S backs in .678 I recently bought one from LoneWolfPB.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I know there was a small run of CF .675’s but .680 should be more than small enough and the rare occasion you need it smaller you can Always drop the detent fingers behind it.

I run a .681 fixed bore tight stick on pretty much everything without detents. I rarely have rollout issues. But I keep the laser cut detents on hand just in case.

If paint fluctuates in consistency that much in your area a freak bore may just be a better option for you. I know you said you didn’t want to go that route but Master Sconi has a back that takes freak inserts that works really good with the dye tip. (They come in xL and standard) only real downside to freak is if you break paint they don’t shoot clean like a one piece fixed bore.

[nak81783]

I hope you have better paint in your area, and then various sized inserts/backs might make sense. Below is why I overbore. If I'm using a closed bolt (e.g., Autococker or pump), I overbore with RedLeaderSB's laser cut finger detents shown above by Chuck E Ducky.

Example Ball 1 - Polar vs Seam Axis






Example Ball 2 - Polar vs Seam Axis






Etha 3 - 10.2bps chrono data. Slow fire is the same, as I saw at the field chrono Thursday night. Note that Groups 1 and 2 (not shown) were with nylon paintballs (much more consistent) to test the marker's consistency while taking paintball variation (or most of it) out of the equation. I'll be putting together a post on that later.

[nak81783]

Based on the above and what I saw at the chrono Thursday night, at what point is it no longer safe? I try to get the majority of my shots in the 260-280fps range, but I still get an occasional shot well above 300fps. What about the people that target 300fps? Is the occasional shot over 350fps? The shot I took last summer to the head formed a cyst. 5-ish months later, it's mostly gone, but still noticeable. I wonder if this was a hot shot, a bad ball, or both?