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Paintball Guns

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PM El Pirata, he runs a few Paintball type activities. If anyone can answer that question, he can.
 
Good god that's one ugly barrel. I played the sport for 16 years, 1986 - 2002 so I have pretty much been playing the sport from the time pretty much every theory was tested and proven true or untrue. Back in the late 80s some of the more prominent gunsmiths would state you never started getting a paintball marker accurate until the barrels reached 18" or longer and I, like most, believed this to be true because it was what was in the magazines so it must be truthful.

Later in the mid to late 90s and beyond I found that porting and barrel internal diameter made the barrel accurate. However the paint that you shoot and how consistant the diameter of the paint you shoot played a big part.

As a rule of thumb if you buy the least expensive paint and the least expensive barrel then you generally get the least accurate shots, hands down, PERIOD!

There are still a few diehards that will claim the length is always the determining factor in the accuracy but they are getting fewer and fewer day by day. For the record, not busting you out or anything but a Spyder and the other markers like the Spyder are only a step above a WalMart marker. They will get you into the game. They will be acceptable for the average player but for serious tournament play you really have a better chance with a higher end marker.

Now that I've bashed your marker I'll tell you what I would recommend, while being one of the few who have really taken several markers way beyond what their makers had ever dreamed of and pushed them to their extreme limit to make them some of the most simple, accurate and efficient markers on the fields.

The barrel I aboslutely loved and used time and time again without any problems whatsoever was a J&J ceramic barrel. The interior finish of the barrel is impregnated with teflon making the barrel have a super slick surface so that if you happen to break a ball in the barrel or the breach cleaning is extremely easy. The down side which is why most players never wanted to get a J&J ceramic is that they only came in a dark gun metal gray exterior finish that really mached no anodizing that any stock marker came with. There was also the fact that since J&J ceramic barrels cost about $50 and the barrels the pro players used and didn't look as cool as say a DYE Boomstick or DYE Ultralight, which run about $100 for either of them and man do they look cool!!!

Since I worked at a store for almost 3 years as an airsmith, specifically as one of the few true cocker gods in the world, I literally had access to try and buy any new product on the market and I can honestly say the the J&J ceramic was by far the best barrel I ever used, I owned 8 of them when I took a hiatus from paintball. Hope this helps.

As far as my favorite length I generally used either a 12" barrel or a 14" barrel with the 14" barrel being my most favored barrel length. I have tried almost every barrel from 6" to 20" and a 14 is my favorite.
 
So which barrel would you reccomend for my Cheesy Wal-Mart gun? I really dont have that much money to spend so i would like to keep the price reasonable. What barrel would you reccomend? And what length?
 
If you don't really have the funds to fork out $50 for a J&J then I'd think about just saving your money and waiting until you have the funds. I mean is there something totally wrong with your barrel that makes you absolutely need a new barrel? Something along the lines of a deep gouge in the interior of the barrel (this will generally come from picking paint off the ground at the field and the tiny specs of dirt you didn't see on the paintballs that reayy do a number to your present barrel) or sis your 10 year old brother drop the barrel putting a heavy dent in the barrel? If neither of these apply then I would suggest you saving your money and buying some decent consistant diameter paint and you would be astounded in the accuracy improvement just by using decent paint. While not being the top of the line high end markers Spyder is not a bad marker for a recreational paintball player and their products are known to be really reliable for new players as well as consistant specs for each markers. I'd use your barrel money on paint.
 
It's about damn time there's another J&J fan. I could not see the point in dropping 100 bucks on a barrel becuase it looked cool and was occasionally accurate. Everyone I've talked to has always hovered somewhere in the lines of: "Yeah, J&J's are accurate, but they dont match my gun."

I remember the days of accurate shots and camoflauge... Nowadays its all spray as much paint as you can and hope one hits. (I quit playing a while back.):D

I had a J&J on my cocker... sweetness.
 
Originally posted by bloodredmaxx
when i said i wanted to keep the price reasonably i was thinking no more then $60-70. Now. Is this the barrel you are talking about... http://www.jjperformance.com/ceramic2.html

Or is it this barrel.... http://www.jjperformance.com/ceramic.html
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I can give you their number as well if you need it and might still be able to get a discount price from them. I think their shop retails them for $55 plus shipping which is like another $5 or so, wait according to the note stapled to my wall the last time I ordered it was $4 for shipping and their retail price was $50 even. In regards to the specific barrel I really liked it would be the second link you posted, I also was jarred in my mermory that they just started making black ano'd ceramic barrels also.


Originally posted by KMN
It's about damn time there's another J&J fan. I could not see the point in dropping 100 bucks on a barrel becuase it looked cool and was occasionally accurate. Everyone I've talked to has always hovered somewhere in the lines of: "Yeah, J&J's are accurate, but they dont match my gun."

I remember the days of accurate shots and camoflauge... Nowadays its all spray as much paint as you can and hope one hits. (I quit playing a while back.):D

I had a J&J on my cocker... sweetness.
Click to expand...

I used a ceramic on my all of my Cockers, on my Angels and on some of my Impulses. While I am not saying that the $100 - $200 barrels are not made well and you are not getting a great product I am saying that you are not getting a better product than a J&J, IMHO. Besides no matter who you talk to that really knows paintball, paintballs at present are rarely completely round no matter how good of a paint you shoot. The balls will swell is atmospheric changes, temperature changes, relative humidity, etc...

Also the balls will rarely travel down the barrel or enter the breach exactly the same way each and every time in relation to the seam. Unfortunately there is no technology that will get you consistant enough paintballs that will say hit within a 6" circle 40 out of 40 shots no matter how consistant the paint is or how well the person shoots. So endeth the sermon. Hope you enjoy your ceramic as much as I have enjoyed mine over the years. One more thing about the teflon coating on the ceramic barrel, the finish is extremely tough and one of my barrels had shot over 100,000 balls over the years and the finish still looked brand new, however I am extremely anal about the paint I used and no matter what would never pick up a ball off the ground and try to desecrate my beloved J&J (bows head).

As far as your spray and pray theory, while back in the day going through 100 balls through an entire day was considered shooting a ton of paint, while I was playing on an Amateur A team I was the back player that's only mission in life was to stay on the trigger the entire game and keep the other team's players in their bunkers so my front playters could move up and take the other teams players out. It was never uncommon for me to shoot 1500 balls in one single 5 minute game, god bless "team paint." Yes, that was not a typo 1500 balls in 5 minutes.
 
Ok. Looks like i'll be buying the Ceramic barrel. When i order it, which gun would i choose? I'll be using it on the View Loader Genesis. Are the spyder threads the same as the ViewLoaders? I just want to make sure i buy the right one.
 
Hey El, i own a 2002 cocker with a lapco big shot barrel, what's a good paintball match with jj barrel? are all jj barrel of same diameter size? most of the time, i use big ball and blazer...
 
Originally posted by bloodredmaxx
Ok. Looks like i'll be buying the Ceramic barrel. When i order it, which gun would i choose? I'll be using it on the View Loader Genesis. Are the spyder threads the same as the ViewLoaders? I just want to make sure i buy the right one.
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I am unfamiliar with that marker, might be new or it might be one that I have never seen. Call them and ask them which one, I would think that you'd need Spyder threads, but don't quote me on that one.

Originally posted by SilentHunterKellen
Wow...El have you ever used a flatline? I wanted to get one fo my Tipper!
[move]-Kellen[/move]
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I have never owned one but I have tinkered around with several. The back spin the barrel produces does just what they claim, makes the range of the barrel second to none. Literally youy can shoot balls out of the flatline system over 150 YARDS. The kryptonite of the system is that the barrel system is a pain in the butt to clean if you have a ball break in the barrel, the accuracy sucks, the efficiency sucks because you are making the ball turn a direction it was never supposed to turn and lastly the efficiency and accuracy is also affected since the barrel has a rough, non-polished internal finish. One more thing, while you can get shots out 150 yards plus, you'll never break a ball on a target at that range unless your target is a concrete wall.


Originally posted by mquejr
Hey El, i own a 2002 cocker with a lapco big shot barrel, what's a good paintball match with jj barrel? are all jj barrel of same diameter size? most of the time, i use big ball and blazer...
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What paint do you normally shoot? Find what diameter the ball you normally shoot and get a J&J to fit that paint. For the most part RP Scherer paint is a good mid sized ball, about .688 - .691. With the exception of Blaze which is about the RP size, Diablo paint is really small ranging between .679 and .682. Most J&J barrels you buy from a shop or anywhere unless you specify the size will be about a .688 - .689. If you buy one directly from J&J you can have them make one specific to your desired size, at least they make them for about every size between .679 and about .695. They'll do this at no additional cost. The only additional cost you might have is if you ask for a size they don't normally make such as something below or above the numbers listed above. For the record those are just approximates of the sizes they make. Any size they have their machines tooled to make will be no additional cost, it it's a size they don't notmally make then you will be looking for an additional cost.
 
I emailed J&J asking them if the spyder threads were the same and they said yes. However it would have to be custom made for my gun. Heres what they wrote...

They are the same thread as the Spder but the rear end (that goes into the gun) is shorter than the Spyder. You would have to custom order it.
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Just wanted to let you know.
 
I say you should go with a Dye excel it is right around 50 bucks and it is a great barrel. I am kinda biased to Dye products because I have owned six now and they have all been great for me right now I shoot through a Boomstick and personally think its the best barrel available but IMO the excel would be the best for that price range
 
thanks El, i guess my next question would be, what's a good paintball? not taking barrels into consideration, just paints...
 
Originally posted by TWIZTIDNINJA
I say you should go with a Dye excel it is right around 50 bucks and it is a great barrel. I am kinda biased to Dye products because I have owned six now and they have all been great for me right now I shoot through a Boomstick and personally think its the best barrel available but IMO the excel would be the best for that price range
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While having been given a ton of DYE stuff through sponsorship, I paid for most of my J&J barrels and would still pay for them again. Something about DYE barrels never really caught my attention to the point I would want to use one. While I thought the accel, or however they spell it, might have potential since it was an all alum barrel and thus not a god awful heavy thing like a boomstick I was overall unimpressed with it's performance.

Originally posted by mquejr
thanks El, i guess my next question would be, what's a good paintball? not taking barrels into consideration, just paints...
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RP is good, Diablo is good. For the most part when it comes to paint, the more it costs the better it is. Some people will swear by a particular ball that works well for them and the current setup for their marker. My absolute favorite combo was a J&J ceramic, my sub 100psi custom made cocker, and smart paint. Smart paint was a really non-forgiving paint for the average consumer. The shell was the most brittle shell I have ever seen after 16 years. It was so brittle that if you chopped or broke one in the barrel you would not have a solid ball leave your barrel until you cleaned it out. Another bad side of smart paint was the fact that only a few markers on the market could even shoot it because it was so brittle. The best side was that you never had to worry about a ball bouncing off your target. What you hit was out, period!

My best advise is buy small amounts of pretty much all paint your local pield uses and see what paint fits your barrel best, is the most accurate with your current setup and last, most importantly, suits your style of play the best.
 
I like using Pro-Balls. The ball rarely breaks. I found a site on the internet that has 2000 of them for 50$
 
For my setup I choose all star but in my old gun that paint sucked for me so like El said try a bunch of different paint out I would get one of those gauges though to get the right paint size there only like 5 bucks and it can save you from trying some paint that is way off
 

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