Elite Paintball Guns

If you don’t like the 18in barrels out there then this one is certainly not for you. The Core 21in Sniper barrel will absolutely serve you well if you’re a woodsball player. If you’re into speedball though, you’re looking at the wrong place. Woodsball players know the advantages the longer barrel gives – greater accuracy and the ability to stay covered while poking through bushes and grass. This barrel covers that as well. It’s also pretty light considering the length and balances well on the gun. It’s easy to clean if a ball breaks, although if you’re matching the paintballs size to the barrel one it’s less likely to have problems with breaks. On the other hand – the thing is loud. That’s another well known fact – the longer the barrel the louder it is. Same thing goes for efficiency. It’s not the same if you’re using 14in and 21in barrel – the efficiency with the 21in will noticeably drop. Aiming on the other hand will become easier to compensate the reduced shots. Think about it. If you like woodsball and haven’t tried a longer barrel this is a great thing to start with. It costs only $45 and is really a small price to pay. Don’t jump on the more expensive barrels right away. See if something like that works for you first and then upgrade to something better.

“Core 21″ Sniper Paintball Barrel
Made For Spyder, A5, and Model 98”

Here’s the other barrel choice for the Phantom owners. This one is even better than the Nickel Barrel reviewed last time. It may be a little longer for some of you, but if you can deal with that you should absolutely consider getting it. Yes, the Phantom stock barrels are good, but they have their downsides – something this barrel is here to take care of. For starters you get even better accuracy than with the stock or the Nickel barrel. With the Sniper you can use much wider selection of paint instead of having to use bigball. No more balls rolling out of your barrel. I can’t call it heavy, but being 18in long does add up to the weight and slightly off balances the gun. Something you’ll get used to after some time. Being long can also be an advantage. With it it’s easier to poke through the brush and grass so that you don’t have to expose more of yourself than nessessary. You’ll notice a little efficiency drop, but that’s normal because of the length of the barrel. Ball breaks are not something common with this thing, but when it happens, cleaning is an easy thing to do. Another great feature is that unlike the Nickel barrel (which was one color only) you can have the 18” custom annodized at CCI to match your gun. There’s not too much of a choice when it comes to Phantom barrels, but of what you have the Sniper is definitely the one to get…if you’re ok with the length. It costs around $50 which is pretty cheap in my opinion. It performs well and looks great on the gun. Don’t hesitate to get it.

Phantom owners are lucky as they have the CCI Nickel for a barrel option. It’s pretty much one of the cheapest barrels on the market, but performancewise is great. It has some issues, but for $40 you can’t really ask for a better barrel. Accuracy isn’t one of the things I’ll put as a downside, because this thing is crazy accurate. It’s also pretty light, but durable at the same time. There’s not too much as description but here it is anyway:

“Comes in 8″ ($40), 11″ ($44) and 14″ ($46) lengths.”

If you’ll get the thing, get it because of the accuracy and because it’s cheap. Things like loud and hard to clean kinda get lost when you mention the price. It’s also not the prettiest looking barrel out there, but the really important thing is that it performs well. Note that the best paint choice when you’re using this barrel is anything with a bigger bore. Match the paint right and you won’t have problems with it. It’s simply the best choice you can make for a Phantom gun.

If you still haven’t noticed that the more expensive products are usually better, you will now. The CCM Carbon Graphite Barrel System is really the best one on the market (and I mean that). Yes, it is also more expensive than the others, but absolutely worth every penny. If you think the other barrels out there are accurate, quiet and light you haven’t tried this one. It beats them all in any of these three indicators. It’s not paint picky, in fact with the spacers that comes with it you can shoot pretty much everything through it. It’s also self cleaning and it really works like a charm. Durability is also a big advantage. If you think being light weighted makes it fragile – you’re so wrong. The thing doesn’t even scratch easily. You’ll absolutely love it.

“Incredibly light and durable, ported for quietness and accuracy. The barrel is precision crafted from Carbon Fiber. Comes with 4 aluminum spacers to fit 4 of the most popular sizes (.683, .685, .687, .689) The carbon is supplied by the manufacturers of the “ST!FF!”, and then bonded to “high grade” aluminum components.”

Usually that’s where the downsides are listed – not this time. There’s really nothing to put as a downside. If I have to force it I’ll say it comes only in one color, but that’s not even worth mentioning. If you really think seriously of paintball this is the barrel you want to get. The price as I said is not for anyone, but if you can spare $180 you should absolutely do it. Take as another advantage – it’s pretty sure you’ll be the only one with a barrel like that on the field.

Let’s start with the description for the Ninja Barrel Muffler System:

“The Ninja Muffler System by CenterFlag is a fast and convenient way to keep your marker quiet while dry-firing for testing, or just practicing your snap shooting! The Ninja quiets your marker up to 80% so now you won’t have people screaming at you to stop firing your marker! The Ninja comes with cocker threads. Adapters are available for the Angel, AutoMag, Bushmaster, Impulse, Spyder, Tippmann 98, and Tippmann A5 threads.”

This is not something you can use in a real game as it can not shoot paintballs. It works only for teching your gun or while practicing snap shooting. The barrel quiets the gun quite well. It easily fits almost every gun on the market. Not too many people will have use of it, but if you do you can get it for about $45. It really works like a charm…if you need it, get it.

The BT-M16 Apex barrel is for anyone that loves tactical woodsball.  The thing is very accurate and has awesome range of fire. Like with the previous Apex reviewed you have the curving and dive bomb effects that are very impressive and after some practice you’ll absolutely love them. The barrel is easy to clean and maintain. It looks just awesome on your gun and really deserves some attention. Check out the features before we move on:

•    On/Off capability
•    Adjustable ramp switch - choose the desired level of curve
•    Left hook, right hook, drop shot and long flat trajectory shots with a twist of the barrel
•    Hit previously untouchable targets with new curve feature
•    Easy to “Dial In” targets and change the level of curve
•    Easy to clean

There are not too many flaws to mention - it chops from time to time, but often just shoots through most chops with no problem. It’s a little bit heavy, but pretty balanced so I’m sure soon you’ll get used to it. You will also need some practice before mastering it, but after that you won’t want to leave it aside. As to the price – you can now find it for about $100, which is actually cheap for what you’re getting out of it. Go for it without any hesitation. It’s worthy.

Another Armson barrel you should know about is the stealth. By all means it is better than the previous one reviewed. Most players think of this barrel as extremely accurate and it is.  Paintballs just fly straight due to its rifling. The Stealth barrel is also very quiet and consistent. It’s light and well balanced, but you can still find lighter barrels on the market. The thing looks good and considering its price it really deserves some consideration. Here’s the description for it:

“The Armson Stealth combines the same 6061 T-6 aircraft grade aluminum construction, and Polygon Progressive rifling as the Pro-Series, with the noise reduction of a ported barrel. They are imported from South Africa, where they are machined to exacting specs. External appearance varies by gun. Spyder and Tippmann Prolite/Carbine barrels do not have external grooves. Available for Spyders, Autococker, Angel, Model 98, Pro-Lite, Raptor, and Shocker. Available in silver and black.”

On the downside we can put tings like - Not self cleaning. This really is bugging and if you get paint in the barrel your shots will start to curve. You will absolutely need a squeegee. What’s worse is that the paint gets in the rifles and is even harder to clean. Another thing is that the 16″ model may be a little too long for some people, especially if you’re into speed ball, but that’s easy – just get a smaller barrel. You can get the Stealth in only one color, but it’s black so I don’t think that’s too big of a downside too. As to the price – the barrel costs around $70 which in my opinion is pretty fair, especially for the performance level you’re getting.

The Apex is one of the more expensive barrels on the market, but I think the price asked suits it great. The barrel has some clear advantages over many of the other barrels out there. It’s manly compared to a Flatline, but even then you can see it is better. The greatest advantage over the other barrels is the range of fire you can get out of it. The thing is simply impressive. The accuracy isn’t that much different from the Flatline one, but we certainly can’t call it inaccurate. The Apex is very durable and reliable. It isn’t paint picky as the Flatline and you can shoot pretty much any paint through it with no worries about breaks. You get to choose out of 9 modes of fire - positions 0-3 give average performance, positions 4 and 5 are close to what you’ll get with a Flatline - 4 for thicker paint, 5 for better paint. Positions 6 or 7 operate much like position 8 just to less of a degree. 8 is what’s really impressive. You get curves at any angle, dive bombs and all that at a great range. So here are the features, before we continue:

•    On/Off capability
•    Hit previously untouchable targets with new curve feature.
•    Adjustable ramp switch - choose the desired level of the curve.
•    Left hook, right hook, drop shot and long flat trajectory shots with a twist of the barrel.
•    Easy to ” Dial in ” targets and change the level of curve.
•    Easy to clean

Compatible models - Fits all popular barrel threads including:

BT-4/ BT-16
Tippmann A-5/ Tippmann 98
Intimidator/Autococker
Spyder/Mongoose
/VL/BE Impulse
Angel

What can be put as a downside, beside the average accuracy is the loudness. There’s almost no porting and the barrel is very short (10″), so you get very loud cracks with each shot. You’ll be thankful of the extra range, because everyone’s going to know where you are. Also note that the Apex needs some getting used to (especially when it comes to position 8), so don’t hate it if you can’t shoot with it right away. Sure there is a place for improvements, but overall the Apex is a great barrel to have. Prices vary depending on the place you’re getting it. You can find it for as low as $80 or as high as $140, so it’s preferable to check multiple places before rush into buying. If you can afford it – do it. The thing really is great, especially if you’re a woodsball player.

The BT-1913 is an amazing woodsball barrel. It has its flaws, but overall performs perfectly. It’s extremely accurate and gives you that extra 10-15 feet of distance that keeps you relatively out of range of opposing players. The thing looks great and gives your gun a completely different look. It’s not paint picky, and rarely brakes balls. Here’s the description for it:

“Get real with this hardcore mil-sim barrel. Realistic removable barrelshroud and multi-option picatinny rail mounts are impressive and so are the range and accuracy it delivers! Different models fit A-5, BT-4, BT-16, and 98 threads.”

It’s pretty much everything you can expect from a barrel only there are some flaws that needs to be taken care of. Like the weight – the thing is heavy and unlike some other barrels this time the weight is pretty noticeable. It’s also quite loud. You get to chose from 14 inch and 20 inch, but mind that the 20 inch barrel may be a little longer for some. The BT-1913 isn’t cheap. You can get it for about $90. For that money you can easily replace it with the Apex which in my opinion is better. It’s all up to you though, but it’s not like you don’t have a choice.

Although there are some flaws people seem to like this barrel. Mainly because it’s pretty accurate and pretty cheap. With it you get some very decent range and it really is a tough made barrel. Ball breaks are not something often, but we know how much that depends on the paint used, so I can’t really put that as advantage. On the downside – the thing is known for being loud. Seriously – it is and if loud is something you want to avoid (there are people that like loud) you should look for a different barrel. Also the Armson is heavy. Compared to other most of the other barrels on the market it weights a ton. Tough made – heavy is the price you pay for that. So here’s the description first and then some more info:

“As the originator of internally rifled barrels for paintball guns, Armson has set the industry standard with 6061 T-6 aircraft grade aluminum construction, Polygon Progressive Internal Rifling, and a specially designed Barrel Vent System to properly vent unspent CO2. Pro-Series barrels are available in limited quantities.”

What’s left is cleaning and maintenance. As I said it’s not often that you break paint with this thing, but if it happens you should know that cleaning is a tough job. Straight-Shot style squeegee, or any disc based squeegee, simply won’t catch all the paint. You have to follow up with a soft swab. Trying to put shots through a wet Armson is nothing but a guaranteed miss. Also keep in mind that follow-up shots after a barrel break tend to also break. If you still like the thing after all the flaws mentioned you should absolutely get it. It costs around $50, which really isn’t that bad, but for that money you can certainly find something better. Still, the choice is all yours.