Paintball Barrel Tips

So how do you find the right barrel for you?

Barrel Material
There are many materials that are used for paintball barrels. These can include: steel, aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber. Generally, carbon fiber barrels are the lightest, resulting in higher cost. Steel barrels can handle wear and tear, as well as weather, but can be slightly heavier. Aluminum barrels, are the most common but can be affected by weather. Aluminum barrels are usually the cheapest.

Here are some commonly found barrels:
Dye Ultralite Barrel
Custom Products 2Piece Barrel
Stiffi
Much much more.

Barrel Length
Many people believe that a longer barrel is a more accurate barrel. The fact is: Anything longer than a 12" or 14" barrel will decrease the ability of your barrel. The efficiency of your gun will decrease, as more air will be used to shoot the ball. Another downfall of a longer barrel, is that the paintball will decrease in speed, causing short distances.

I personally use a 14" for speedball, and I've heard of 16" or 18" barrels working well for woodsball/scenario players

Porting
Porting- Holes near the tip of the barrel.
The main purpose of porting, would be to let air gradually be let out.

Porting is sometimes spiraled or straight.

The Golden Rule

Almost all paintballers agree, that the most important paintball barrel tips would be, finding the perfect paintball to barrel bore match.

What I recommend is the paintball 'blow test'. This is done by placing your paintball at the back of your barrel. If it rolls out, the paintball size is too small. If it doesn't roll out, continue with the following. Put the back of your barrel on your lips, and naturally blow the paintball. The paintball should come out without tiring and making you light headed. If it does, the paintball size is too big.

Here is a helpful tool about barrel to paint match
Chart that shows the bore sizes for most paintball barrels