What happened to 12 inch barrels

[Psycho91]

So what happened to companies making 12in barrels or offering 12in fronts for their kits, there's a lot of cool looking barrel systems out there but literally no one makes 12 inch barrels any more it seems like, yeah I could always chop one down but then the end would look like shit

[iamthelazerviking]

Maybe the idea that longer means more accurate, or the ability to "push into" air bunkers or something I've heard like that. For me, it's the visual aide of a 14-16" barrel, at least on a sniper platform.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Definitely for me its sight picture. I find with the longer barrels I can aim them more effectively quicker. Giving the perception of being more accurate. I know I definitely hit more shots with longer setups, especially at range or on moving targets. I don’t think one is more accurate over the other I just think for me they are easier to aim.

[maggot]

airball is what happened

[Quickling]

I remember my first 16” barrel. It was a splash all American that I bought at the 1998 Skirmish world record game.

Up until then I had always run an 8” stainless steel Check-it barrel. Which was great at my home field which was 75% woods ball and 25% speed ball on a wood pallet field.

i honestly thought I was going to snap that AA barrel I half cause I banged it off of everything. It was stupid long and I couldn’t manage.

In college everything was air ball and if the barrel did hit anything it was soft and I didn’t notice so I never cared.


I think a 16” looks the best on a marker but I think the majority of my barrels are in the 12-14” range.

[MrKittyCatMeowFace]

That 8in stainless steel Check It Dragon Series 2 piece is still my favorite cocker barrel. I like a short barrel.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I feel like a lot of companies are going for longer control bores these days. I think this is naturally making barrels a lil longer.

You can get Deadly wind barrels made any length you want for just about any fit.

I personally prefer a longer barrel I find them much easier to point shoot quickly. I guess it depends on the field though. Some small tight fields, I can see a short barrel being an advantage. For me the slower I play the longer I want my setup.

[glaman5266]

airball is what happened

Bingo. The market & the players decided that to push into an inflatable you needed a longer barrel. 16" was deemed too long (though not unusable) and 12" was deemed too short. With tourney ball/airball being all the rage pre-2008 this is what happened.

Though there is something to be said for sight picture for some people, being that 14" is a good length.

I prefer 12" barrels because I don't normally play airball. My sight picture is good with a 12" and I can move around easier behind a hard bunker with that than with anything longer. But I have no qualms with running a 14" for airball. It does help in that particular application.

[The Hobbit]

What advantage does a 14-16 in barrel give you in this scenario over a 12?

[Psycho91]

I prefer 16 inch on my open class pumps but that is because it's easier to aim, on anything else I prefer 12 inch or less on semi or electric just throw a couple out and compensate once I know the marker it's just point and shoot though

[Trbo323]

I wouldn't be surprised if the move to 8" backs played a roll as well. 8" back only leaves 4" for porting on a 12" barrel

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[Psycho91]

Ehhh who cares about porting IV shot a lot of little barrels with only an inch of porting and not one time did I ever think man I need more porting on my barrel 😂

[El Super-Beasto]

My favourite set up was a Mini with an old large bore 18" SP AA and a pocket hopper and a 13ci tank. When I can run again I'll use similar goofy setup.

[tyronejk]

It sounds like you have a good reason to buy a lathe and carefully chop one down.

[wunderbarsafari]

I have a lapco fuse 12” tip for my M170r.
PE makes a 12” “operator” barrel.
Dye tips still pop up often.
DW will make whatever length you want.
Lapco still has new big shots in 12”.
I think the ID Stellas can be configured in shorter lengths.
If you want to chop one down, I did a stock PE shaft tip easily with a pipe cutter. I’d recommend that. Probably a few stock Etha2 barrels out there to be had for cheap.