Paintballs slow down in the barrel when the length exceeds 8 inches and
there is no inherent increase to accuracy with a longer barrel. If you like
the look or feel of barrel get what you want, but don't let people sell you
on the "magical" qualities of their barrel. Smooth bore, good paint to
barrel match (helps efficiency and consistency) and "pretty factor" is
pretty much all you should consider. LAPCO has a history of good performance
on Tippys.

--
Jose I. Sanchez
Airsmith
Electric Iguana Paintball
http://www.electriciguanapaintball.com



"PentaQuark" <PentaQuark@witty.com> wrote in message
news:1265c8ea.0401150820.31918871@posting.google.c om...
> I just got a tippman 98 custom with the standard barrel for Christmas.
>
> I bought some walmart paintballs - and did some plinking with them.
> Almost all of them started spinning off to the left and right after
> aprx. 50 yards.
>
> The barrel can't be more than 12 inches. I understand that Walmart
> paintballs are no good and I should invest more money in paintballs if
> I want paint on target.
>
> Should I buy a longer barrel as well or does the standard 12" work
> well ?
>
> Many thanks,
> C

"PentaQuark" <PentaQuark@witty.com> wrote in message
news:1265c8ea.0401150820.31918871@posting.google.c om...
> I bought some walmart paintballs - and did some plinking with them.
> Almost all of them started spinning off to the left and right after
> aprx. 50 yards.

50 yards is an "acceptable" distance for a paintball to travel before it
starts to veer off course. The absolute insanely maximum distance
paintballs generally travel is no more than about 100 yards or so, and
that's with a hell of an arc. If the paint is veering to the left and right
after 20 feet or so, that would be a problem.

Bear in mind that the effective range of a paintball is fairly limited,
probably no more than about 35 yards or so. That's about the farthest you
can reliably shoot at something, hit the target with any degree of
repeatability, and expect the paint to break on target. I wouldn't worry
about paint going left and right at 50 yards. 50 feet, yes, start to worry,
but not 50 yards.

> Should I buy a longer barrel as well or does the standard 12" work
> well ?

The purchase of a new barrel is the single most effective way to improve the
overall accuracy of the gun. Most stock barrels are utter crap, because
they must be very large so as to accept ALL brands of paint put through
them. The aftermarket barrels are pretty much *ALL* a leap forward in
accuracy. However, more $ does not necessarily mean better accuracy, when
it comes to barrel purchase. You can purchase the DIRT CHEAPEST MOST
GODAWFUL barrel upgrade, and get a 90% improvement in accuracy, vs spending
GOBS of money and getting a 95% improvement in accuracy. For most people,
the extra money spent is a waste.

There are certain people for whom the extra 5% improvement is the difference
between "life and death" so to speak. These are tournament players, and the
barrel tends to be the LEAST expensive thing about their guns anyways, so it
doesn't matter if they spend 40 bucks or 200 bucks on their barrels, they've
already got 2 grand into their guns anyways. For the recreational player,
the 40 buck barrel is just as good as the 200 buck barrel. That said, my
recommendation for ALL new players is the J&J Ceramic. Lightweight,
durable, accurate and inexpensive, it's the best bang for the buck you can
buy. 40 bucks or so plus shipping(online all over the place, try ebay
first).

--
Jeff Goslin - MCSD - www.goslin.info
It's not a god complex when you're always right