I've got a bunch of barrels, and I wanted to test them. Plain and simple. The goal wasn't so much accuracy, but consistency in groupings based on measurements.

Here's the criteria and results:

- Everything was tested on my stock Tippmann X7. I would have used my A5 but it has internal mods which I don't think would be fair in this test.

- Marker is chronoed at 280-290 using an X Radar chrono with each barrel change

- HPA was used for consistency

- Paint used was Draxxus bronze. I figured something middle of the road that wasn't "field paint seconds" or "high end tourney paint that costs twice as much" would be reasonable.

- Paint and all gear was stored at room temperature for over 24 hours.

- Every barrel got 10 shots. No more, no less.

- Distance from the marker to target was 45 feet (measured with a tape)

- dry day, temps 8 degrees celsius, no wind

- Marker was held in a Craftsman type workbench and clamped into position

- Targeting was aided by tactical laser mounted on the underside of the marker

- I initially made a paper target and laminated it, but the paint started tearing it to pieces! I just ended up using a piece of melamine 3/4" thick particleboard and looked for consistency in groupings instead.







I will continue to test a second batch of barrels next week, this is what I had on hand at the time.

- stock A5 barrel (not shown in pic)
- Specops Stiffi C-Series 12"
- J&J Ceramic 14"
- J&J Ceramic 12"
- Smart Parts Freak with bore matched .687 insert / All American front 14"
- Smart Parts Freak with bore matched .687 insert / All American front 12"



Summary as of March 16th:

I'd have to say that at 45 feet, all of the barrels were good in the sense that if a person was standing there and you were shooting at their torso (center of mass). You would probably hit them. This tells me a lot: if you have a stable shooting platform and are not "praying and spraying", you will get decent results with most barrels in that you could hit someone in the chest.

However, if you wanted to hit someone that's peeking over the top of a log or bunker, you're shot needs to be a lot more accurate to hit something that's half the size of the human torso. That's where a more accurate or consistent barrel comes into play.

Of the 5 barrels tested so far, the Specops C series delivered the most ball on ball accuracy. The J&J 14" and Freak kit 14" were a close second. Keep in mind I'm not just basing this on the photos, but what I saw "during" the tests. Some barrels had shots hitting on top of shots, where as others were more spread out. You wouldn't be able to see this in the pics because the paint tends to run all over the place. The only way you can see the results would be to videotape the test, in order to see ball on ball accuracy.

Next week, I am going to try and test the following barrels (if I can borrow them from my team):

- 12" Palmers Brass
- 8" Lapco bigshot
- J&J Edge kit