RE: barrel porting,the long barrels....

["erik kump" <ebkump-at-hotmail.com>]

>and has anyone used the backspinn barrels so far? they realy work!... the
>ball climbs up in the air! instead of dropping.
>greetings  Siggy........
>

Hey, here's something I can comment on!

The only barrels that I know of that put backspin on the ball are the 
FLatline barrels from Tippmann. I happen to have one on my A-5 (paintgun) 
and I can attest that they indeed work. Using the backspin, they 
substantially flatten the trajectory of the shot and add a good 50-70 feet 
to the range. Some people gripe that at range, it suffers from accuracy 
problems, but since we're talking about range that a standard barrell cant 
give you, I think the point is moot. Also, many people are put off by its 
price (100-150USD).

My intent is to use my A-5 in T023 because its Cyclone feeder will be more 
robust and reliable that anything I could come up with. I had thought about 
using the Flatline for the benefits I listed above, but decided against it 
for the following reasons:

1) The Flatline is very finicky when it comes to paint. The barrel is 
curved, and it's interior is 'textured' (read 'rough'). That is the 
mechanism that imparts the backspin. It also means it is rough on paint. 
When I play paintball, I have to buy high-quality, near-tournament grade 
paint to the tune of 70USD per case. The paint must be fresh, round, no 
dimples, and no brittle shells, or the rate of barrel breaks rises 
dramatically.

2) If you do have a barrel break, you're SOL until you squeegie the barrel. 
The paint goo ruins the texture effect of the barrel and turns it into an 
expensive paint sprayer. Any ball you try to shoot through the mess that 
doesn't break will be covered in goo and wing off in any direction but 
straight ahead. And a simple push rod squeegie won't work. The barrel is 
curved. When I have a break while playing, I have to pull off the hopper and 
work a Pro-flex squeegie through the Cyclone feeder two or sometimes three 
times to get all the goo. Then, to get all the residue, I have a large 
absorbent 'squeegie' (looks like a big fuzzy pipe cleaner) that i use to dry 
it completely. Now, to it's credit, as long as you are using high-quality 
paint, barrel breaks are rare. I've only had a handful in the two years I've 
owned mine.

3) The barrel is curved. Not too many tanks ever had one of those, eh? The 
IS-4 had a very long gun, and it would look silly with a big curve at it's 
base. I suppose I could put a larger shroud around it, but then the barrel 
would be ridiculously thick.

Instead, I opted to go with a J&J ceramic. It's a high quality aftermarket 
barrel with the handy feature of being self-cleaning. I haven't actually 
used it yet, but all the reviews I read of it gave it high marks. If I ever 
get around to finishing T023, then my next project was going to be a tank 
destroyer. The Soviet SU 122. It has a short barrel with a large squarish 
shroud that would be perfect for it. I had entertained the notion of 
building one of those Stridsvagen Swedish MBT's, but thought duplicating the 
aiming mechanism (raising the angle of the entire hull) might prove a bit 
TOO challenging.

Well, this turned into more of a rant than a comment, didn't it? Sorry. 
Anyway, I think the Flatline will have a place in my tank arsenal, just not 
on my primary vehicle. With it's extended range, it would be good for 
long-balling. Maybe a field piece, or gun emplacement. Hmmm...

Erik "Not enough hours in the day or dollars in the wallet" Kump

_________________________________________________________________
Watch the online reality show Mixed Messages with a friend and enter to win 
a trip to NY 
http://www.msnmessenger-download.click-url.com/go/onm00200497ave/direct/01/