I will have to disagree though that you can't go wrong with 12 to 20. And the simple truth is that I have been on many fields where the balls would break inside any barrel over 12. Those players with 8-12 (but more around 10 or so) had very little issues.

And also given that you only need an 8-10"a control area, anything over that is overkill unless it is for porting (for reducing noise), for sight alignment (as mentioned) or for looks.

Also consider that you can not make any true comparisons between barrels and efficiency by just looking at porting and length VS no porting and length. You also have to take into consideration the barrel size and that of the balls themselves.

I will also point out that paintballs do not warp as much as folks think they do when fired and you still only need a certain length for them to expand and then gain their original shape. This does not change significantly due to temperature. So you will not see any noticeable difference in that respect with a 10" or a 16" barrel.

And furthermore, once the ball has reached it acceleration point, anything after that will cause drag on the ball should the ball touch the barrel. It can also cause the ball to go in a direction which was not intended. This is seen quite often with large boar mussel loading muskets of the flintlock era. And it can be seen with paintballs as well. So you need to find your balance.

The real problem is that folks want ideal situations all the time, and they are seldom to never found. And another problem is that people take what they perceive to be happening and assign it as a constant rule when in most cases what they think is happening isn't happening at all. Perception is a selling point for many paintball products, in spite of truth.

Good thought process though WarCowboy. I just think some things are not quite as you believe them to be concerning what is really happening. But your points about USE and length are dead on. Those are different issues though, but BOTH important for folks to consider when deciding what length (or even bore size) barrel they should use.

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Well, its cool if you dont agree with me and all, but I have to disagree with your anything over the 12" theory will break paint on occasion. I mean every field gets bad paint from time to time, but I have never seen paint so bad as to being forced to use a short barrel.
Not sure how length has anything to do with that anyhow.
I have never shot barrels less than 14-16" and I never get breaks, seriously.
Seems to me if this is a problem, then you are shooting to hot, have crap paint, or a terrible bolt, or a combination of it all.
Im not sure what you mean by the way I view things, as a lot of the things I was telling in theory was from palmers test, and from things that I have tested myself.
But anyhow, its what ever works for you is what it all boils down to, and there is no dispute in that I suppose.

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I saw it first hand. And it was indeed crap paint. Also players were not forced to use a shorter barrel, they just kept breaking paint all day no matter what marker they were using. Then when the day was done we went over all the possibilities from bore size, type of markers, on down to the last detail we could think of... and what we found out was that the only consistent thing we found with those who did not have trouble with the paint was that they ALL used shorter barrels.

It was not an issue of shooting hot. It was not an issue of having a terrible bolt, or anything other than crappy paint and longer barrels.

We even took a look at where the paint was breaking in the barrels and bingo, it was after the 10" mark.

So was it a theory? Not at all. It was just the way it was.

Now keep in mind that I am not saying that every time you go out with a barrel over 12" you WILL break paint. If that is how it appeared, I apologize. But the fact is that if you do have bad paint the longer you keep it in the barrel the more the chances are it will break there. And in my opinion players should eliminate any potential issues if they can, if it is conducive to their playing style and even visual needs of course.

As for Glen's tests, they are indeed a good place to start. But so are Tom's (Tom Kaye) tests and other independent tests done over the years. I have taken all of these as well as my own personal experience to form my opinions on things, much like you have. We just come up with some slightly different conclusions on some minor issues. I did feel it necessary to post though because I feel both opinions should be read by players.

But you are correct, each player must find what works best for them. And that is what I pointed out in my first post here in this thread.

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I Got a 14inch rifled and the thing shots beautiful love the thing. It is the perfect balance between accuracy and length.

I Have A 12", 14", 16" and 20" and i love them all!

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Agreed!

Me to!

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I have a 14" and it seems to work great, but am thinking about getting a 16".

Again, I must say it's all about preferences.
Like Shartley said and so many people said it : all you need for ''accuracy'' is 8 to 10 inch. That does not mean longer barrels are less accurate. That just means that the first 8 inches will determine the path of the ball.
but then you have porting and/or riffling, and all that might require longer barrels for other things

but just get what you like
If you get what you like, that will be the barrel for you

I like shorter barrels because I want my marker to be compact.. but that is me

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5 inches wasn't a choice, so I went with 8.

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yo bros i found a half bottle of test in the locker room at the gym....can I stack it with some multivitamins, a little creatine, and a package of tic tacs? I cant really afford the $30 for some nolva so I jacked my moms menopause pills to help bring my boys back after my monster cycle. do you bros think this will get me jacked by the fourth of july??

I choose my tip length based on the environment i am going to be playing in. If i know that it will be full of brushes, then i'll go w/ my 16" tip so that it can stick out easier. But if it is more of an open field w/ alot of stumps and bunkers, i'll go w/ either a 12" or 14" barrel length so that I can more around faster.

J&J Edge elite kit FTW!