Which Brass?

[Red Dog]

Ok, finally ready to join the rest of you and order my brass... But which one is the question...

Already decided on the non-vented black, just don't know which bore or length. Leaning towards the 10" since I'll be adding my Apex.

[Andrew]

I said 10"/.685 because I think I remember hearing that 10" of un-ported barrel length was optimal for an A-5. Bore/paint sizes have never meant anything to me, my Smart Parts Linear barrel has shot anything I've put through it with zero breaks. I chose .685 because a paintball marker's caliber is .68 so that is the closest to the standard.

Edit: Formatted for clarification.

[Party of A-5]

Well since you are going with the apex I say the 12" or 10" non ported in the .685 bore. You where leaning towards the 10" so I wnt with that.

[Hwyman]

I hate to contradict Andrew, but most paintballs are no where near .680" as he stated. In fact, they tend to be a lot closer to .690". From what I've noticed, most after-market barrels tend to have a bore size around .688"-.689". The Marbs I've been shooting this year so far have all been .686" and so has the Visual Impact I use as well. You have to look up what paint you commonly use and based on that. Personally speaking, I tend to think that the .685" is kinda small but the .690" is kinda big. I'm curious to see the outcome of the poll in that regard. As for length, since you are going unported I'd go shorter than longer.

[simmy952]

12" .690 black unported. Just like mine. You may have some problems shooting larger paint when using the smaller bore. If you can size your paint and see if you usually shoot the small caliber paint, then you will be OK. But I would tend to use the .690 because you cannot always shoot the same paint.

[Scroldier]

I use the.685 10" unported with my apex and could'nt be happier, it has shot every paint i'v put into it so far without a problem. Hope this helps in your decision making, either way you will love any palmers brass you end up with.

[Party of A-5]

I also have no problems at all with the smaller bore size, just great accuracy. In fact i've yet to have a break that I noticed!

[ForgottenSoldier]

12" .690. It has yet to fail me. Again, you wont always be able to shoot the same paint, so I would go with the .690. As for length, 10 and 12" are probably the best sizes, but, between the two, there is next to no difference.

[Zealot]

I have the 12" .690 bore size. I have had nothing but great accuracy and not a single break with many different types of paint. I wouldnt mind having an 8 or 10 inch either though- I'm starting to like shorter barrels.

[Andrew]

I hate to contradict Andrew, but most paintballs are no where near .680" as he stated.

That's alright, I said that the marker's caliber is .68, not the average paint size. As I stated, I know nothing about varying paint sizes or matching (although, according to your chart I shoot paint that is .688 to .691), and I don't worry about them, I just chose .685 because it was the closest to the marker's advertised caliber. It seems now that you would probably be better off with the .690.