Chris Schneck

No.

But they look cool don’t they! Ive secretly always wanted one of those Smart Parts 20″ tacticals for my A5, but i just cant justify it. Instead I own an Apex barrel, which in fact does increase my range quite a bit, but not so much the accuracy. The best way to be as accurate as possible and to achieve optimal range is to buy a barrel kit with multiple bore sizes and learn to arc your shots for distance.

Do longer barrels use more propellant?

Technically, Yes.

The wording of that statement should be revised to be more accurate however. It isn’t the barrel itself that consumes the propellant, it’s the force required to get the velocity of the paintball up to leave the barrel at a healthy 270+ feet per second that consumes more air or c02. As the ball travels through the barrel, its introduced to friction from the interior walls of the barrel. This friction will slow the paintball, however slightly, requiring you to use more force to achieve the same effect as a shorter barrel.

The term bore size and calibre or caliber are interchangeable words. Calibre is the interior diameter of a tube, or in this case barrel. A barrels calibre is measured in hundredths of an inch. For example a 50 calibre rifle, often denoted by .50 calibre, is fifty one hundredths of an inch, or half an inch.

Paintballs tend to be a larger .691 calibre to a smaller .682 calibre. The calibre of the paintball will not effect its performance, however the match between the calibre of your barrel to the calibre of the paintball will effect both performance and efficiency of the marker and the accuracy of the paintballs.

Having a barrel calibre larger then the calibre of the paintball allows for air or evaporated c02 to move around the paintball instead of getting directly behind it. This means it requires more propellant to get a paintball to reach the desired velocity as it leaves your barrel.

Having a barrel calibre smaller then the calibre of the paintball is potentially much worse. Imagine trying to push an egg through a garden hose, yeah you get the idea.

Ideally having a barrel kit, with multiple choices for which calibre to use, is the best solution. Most kits come with a bore sizer, so you can check your paint before you play, and choose your barrel back or insert depending on whats needed.

Here is an old paintball bore / calibre size chart. Keep in mind the calibre of a paintball might change from batch to batch, and this chart shouldn’t be relied upon.