What length barrel is best? My buddy and I disaggree on what barrel length is best.

I like 14" then would be 12" in my opinion I think 16" and farther are too long they get in the way.

Best is subjective. For optimal performance you need a barrel which gives you an unported control length of 8-10”. That is from where the ball starts (sometimes before it even reaches the barrel) to where it stops being a real factor. So that gives you a lot of choices out there, and will sometimes change depending on the type of marker itself.

Then you get into playing styles and what you want out of your barrel/marker setup. Some folks want a really tight setup so the shorter the barrel the better for them. And then others want to be able to stick the barrel through bushes or crease into the sides of inflatable bunkers. Then they would want a longer barrel. And some folks like their barrel to be quiet, so you want more porting. And so on and so on and so on.

Me? I like my barrel to be a short as possible while still giving me a control length of 8-10”, and minimal porting usually.

So really IMHO “what is best” depends on many factors. And each player must make the determination for themselves what is best for THEM and their needs/wants.

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Well... Greg Palmer, after measuring the air flow from the valve on an A-5 has found that anything longer than 12" may actually hamper the performance. However, for any other marker, I don't know. For the A-5, I'll go with Mr. Palmer and stay with his 12" brass.

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For most markers, 14" seems to be the best balance in performance, and looks.

For the A-5, my 14" shoots better than any of my friend's 10s, 12s, 16s, and 20s. But...a long barrel looks awkward on the A-5. :/

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For me when I used to use my Spyder, 12-14 was a good length barrel, though I did have an 18" that I threw a bi-pod onto worked great as a machine gun. As for my A-5 the 11" of the Apex isn't too long for the type of woodsball I play, and my 5" is great for indoor play.

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I like a 14" not to long and accurate, you must also ahve a good paint-to-barrel match and your velocity right to have the best results though.

-PT

Sorry, but I kinda think Mr. Palmer needs to re-evaluate somehting here...

And this is why guys;

We all know how a Tippmann's velocity is adjusted right? It's called an FVA (Front Velocity Adjuster) which is nothing more then a screw the disrupts the flow of air from the valve to the barrel. The more you turn up (or screw out) the FVA the less of a "block" for the air flow this creates, and then just the opposite when you screw the FVA in. Either way, the valve is still using the same amount of air each time with only a screw blocking the successful air flow to regulate the velocity of a Tippmann.

Now with a longer barrel, generally people need to increase the velocity, and I know a lot of others out there don't have an issue with creating enough velocity for longer barrels. The only time most people would see a velocity issue at all from one barrel to another is generally with a Flatline. Some people need a spring kit just to reach the optimum velocity range, while others seem to be alright.

My point here is the only way the air flow efficiency would really be different is when you put an RVA on the marker due to the fact it increases the drive spring tension, which in turns increases the impact on the valve pin and that in turn creates a longer open-valve duration because of the impact. Now whether Mr. Palmer measured the air flow from just the Valve, and not from an assembled marker I don't know, but it still doesn't make sense when you have it all together and operating when a player with a 18" barrel is still shooting 290fps or more depending on his FVA setting, and the same amount of air being delivered to the valve with each shot.

Either way, with a 5" barrel, or an 18" barrel the A5 and 98s are using the same amount of air with each shot, with a longer barrel you would have less of the FVA blocking the air flow because you would need more velocity (or successful air flow) as you would with a shorter barrel (less velocity, less successful air flow).The path of least resistance kinda applies here.

Of course Mr. Palmer is a great guy for information and all of that, but just with the simple basic operations of a Tippmann it just doesn't make sense when you look at it from the above mentioned perspective/operation.

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Monitor, as always, is correct. I, for one, am so tired of hearing about longer barrels "needing more air." And, quite frankly, the drag co-efficient of a decent paintball inside a decent barrel is not going to increase perceptibly over the six-inch range you guys are discussing.

So, for all intents and purposes, this discussion over barrel length is immaterial.

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Its not really about being correct, but by just basic operations of a Tippmann alone we should be able to see why it doesn't make sense, or really apply to a Tippmann (unless equipped with an RVA).

All other markers operate on a Spring Tension velocity type adjustment, while Tippmann (to my knowledge) is the only one with the FVA type adjustment.

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