what barrel to get

[chrisbirley]

Hi All

 

ive got a dilemma. for the past couple of skirmishes now, my BBs have been going off to the right - i wondered whether it was when i had reseated the bucking, and the hop, but it was again doing it - so i removed the barrel, and it is slightly bent, that would explain my shots - it was useful at times to curl it round a tree, but made long sots more difficult.

 

so i need to replace the inner barrel in my G&G TR418 Top Tech gen3. i believe it is a 6.03mm tbb barrel from the outset, but what should i replace it with.

 

im not after making my gun into a DMR - i dont see the advantage in the slight power increase from 350 to 400 (im currently at about 330 and thats quite nice as i can in theory use it for CQB) for the losses - mainly being the MED. i use single shot anyway.

 

ive seen some people say that to improve accuracy and distance that you should use a tbb, but others say a wbb. i cant go for anything like a Orga 6.23 as i dont have the air capacity being an AEG, but what are the suggestions for the barrel bore? as far as manufacturers go, PDI, Prometheus, Miracle Barrel??

 

also my barrel is currently 357mm long, will going for a longer barrel have an impact? i have an extension and a G&G rechargeable tracer/ silencer that i run with, so probably extending the length of the gun by about 200mm - i dont want to loose the tracer's ability though.

 

im currently running a Maple Leaf bucking and soon to be a Maple Leaf Omega nub too when they arrive.

 

thanks

[Lozart]

6.03mm is a tight bore anyway, any decent brand tbb will be fine.

[straffham]

The Madbull Black Python range is popular and generally available, not everyone loves them but I've always found them to be very good. Also started using the ZCI stainless ones from ak2m4 on here, again found them very good and a real bargain price.

[sp00n]

you could always just get a G&G part, direct from G&G, there pretty cheap when i ordered a new barrel for my L85 (i was replacing a after market TBB), and they offered me a large selection to choose from (widths lengths and finishes etc)

[Ian_Gere]

I'm definitely not part of the 'you get what you pay for' camp, as there are plenty of companies in airsoft trading on past glories. But I bought a PDI barrel for my Vz61 Scorpion and the range increase was impressive, so I bought another for my SVD and the range on that is spectacular. So basically PDI are not all hype. Whether their stuff is worth the money is only something you can decide, but as a comparison my SVD gained around 10m of effective range compared to a Madbull Ultimate TBB. So I would say if you can afford PDI, get PDI.

 

For an AEG their 6.05mm barrels are probably best, so you will need to change springs to maintain your FPS.

 

I've also had good results from chromed brass barrels - Guarder 6.02mm and Falcon 6.03mm. I'm not sure whether to recommend the Falcon Dual Point hop rubber which can come supplied with their barrels because, although they do improve accuracy, they struggle to lift 0.25g BB's a little, so I've found i get greater range from 0.2g BB's but, of course, this makes accuracy at extreme range much more subject to wind conditions. However with my AK-74 I can reliably hit crouching man sized targets at 55m so long as the wind isn't gusty, although that has a 455mm long barrel.

 

If you read this thread I go into some of the issues surrounding barrels.

[dex]

+1 for pdi / prometheus barrels. Personally I've found Madbull ones to be disappointing. Stock g&g tbb from the top techs are actually pretty good.

[BrightCandle]

+1 for pdi / prometheus barrels. Personally I've found Madbull ones to be disappointing. Stock g&g tbb from the top techs are actually pretty good.

 

I would say the G&G tbb is very variable, mine is totally rubbish for example. Its not as bad as the CM16 one but the PDI I have was a vast improvement to groupings.

[dex]

 

I would say the G&G tbb is very variable, mine is totally rubbish for example. Its not as bad as the CM16 one but the PDI I have was a vast improvement to groupings.

 

Fair enough, personal experience and all that. I think it's fair to say that if you want the best buy PDI or Prometheus.

[AK47frizzle]

If it's curving, it's probably your hop up bucking positioning.

 

As for tbbs:

 

Madbull python for best value

PDI if you have money to crash and burn

[Ian_Gere]

If it's curving, it's probably your hop up bucking positioning.

Did you not read the OP? His barrel is bent!

[AK47frizzle]

Did you not read the OP? His barrel is bent!

oh.................... nvm then.

[n1ckh]

A quick fix I use is the brass collars from the hop, the barrel end was curved slightly and as I had a spare hop collar, I put that down the inside of the outer barrel and it works fine now

[Lozart]

A quick fix I use is the brass collars from the hop, the barrel end was curved slightly and as I had a spare hop collar, I put that down the inside of the outer barrel and it works fine now

 

Sounds more like it was crooked rather than curved then?

[n1ckh]

Lol it was just slightly curved and the collar put it central again and its pretty damn accurate now

[Guest PT247]

Fitted a 6.20 WBB to my PTS ERG RM4 CQB today, it was shooting bang on 350fps with a Prommy TBB, the WBB is about 2" shorter too so the fps dropped quite a bit but not as much as I imagined it would. Have added a spacer to the front spring and am now back up to 350fps. Have had to fit a flat nub and bucking as the WBB has no groove. If it skirmishes well on Sunday will wrap PTFE tape around the bucking/barrel to aid the seal.

 

Is now hitting a 4" target at roughly 32m with the hop dialled in as best I can, this was outdoors and it is a bit windy today so I imagine either indoors or a calmer day that I'd be able to hit the same target had I the room at much greater distances. I forgot to benchmark the TBB to see the difference against the same target so will have to see what it is like skirmishing on Sunday to see how much better the WBB is vs the TBB (which was never shabby to start with).

[Ian_Gere]

^^Yeah, do me a favour? Try to notice if there is any noticeable difference in range an accuracy between shots taken from a steady and/or supported firing position and shots taken while moving, please.

[Guest PT247]

this was shot standing unsupported. I don't tend to shoot when moving as I don't find it works very well in woodland for me

[Guest PT247]

when moving it is more a case of gun skill rather than how accurate the gun is itself.

[Ian_Gere]

^^Yeah, you're right, but I also wonder whether movement causes the BB to shift around inside a WBB so much that the hop effect is compromised - that the axis of rotation gets knocked so far off horizontal that the range is reduced as well as accuracy affected.

[Guest PT247]

wouldn't effect my game style but guess that is a possibility.... as it could be in any diameter barrelled gun.

[ImTriggerHappy]

^^Yeah, you're right, but I also wonder whether movement causes the BB to shift around inside a WBB so much that the hop effect is compromised - that the axis of rotation gets knocked so far off horizontal that the range is reduced as well as accuracy affected.

Its actually the opposite the biggest effect to accuracy is the bb contacting the inner barrel. In a tighter bore the smaller air cushion around the bb makes it easier for this to happen when you swing the barrel. A widebore has a larger air cushion so while the bb will still move within it, it has less chance of deflecting off the inner barrel. Also the lower the fps the worse this becomes which is one of the reasons a tightbore is crap for cqb.

[Ian_Gere]

The best technical info i've read shows that the BB transits the barrel in contact with the upper surface. Thus movement within a TBB cannot cause the rotation axis to shift as much as within a WBB. Personally I am unconvinced by the air cushion theory - i suspect that it may well produce outstanding results bolted to a bench, but in the real world I feel certain that mechanical movement (and the space within which movement is allowed), even tiny involuntary movement, and unintentional deviation from a firing position perfectly horizontal in the "Z" Axis, must prove to have the greater effect. But I do not have a WBB to test so I maintain an open mind, but hence the questions above...

[ImTriggerHappy]

The bb should travel within an air cushion, travelling along the top of the barrel would cause more uncontrolled spin the same as over hop. This is meant to be a worse problem in 6.01 tb barrels. I have also read the theory that they travel along the top of the barrel the problem is nobody seems to have done any real experiments to prove which theory is correct. I got rid of my prommy 6.01 because I found my pdi 6.05 and orga 6.23 to be better, might have to get a new one and try an experiment of my own.

[Ian_Gere]

The only problem I have had with my 590x6.01mm PDI barrel is that it is finicky over ammo - so far I haven't found a BB heavier than 0.3g that is consistently round enough to not jam in the hop end of the barrel. The range I get from my SVD is truly phenomenal - honestly I can shoot man sized targets consistently at 100m...

[Guest PT247]

I can't back to back vs my old set up, but my mateas are now pretty much all running ERGs so will go up against them on the range and in the field and see who has the best accuracy! :-)