I know this question has been asked a buncha times, but I'm wondering if any
new info has come up. I have a bone stock A5 and I'm looking to get more
distance and accuracy without making my gun temperamental. Prolly what
everyone wants. Anyhow, is the flatline barrel worth it? I've heard its
hard to install correctly, that it eats paint, etc... Is this still the
current sentiment?

For that matter, are barrels really worthwhile mods to consider making?
I've heard some folks say that they don't make much difference at all.

>I know this question has been asked a buncha times, but I'm wondering if any
>new info has come up. I have a bone stock A5 and I'm looking to get more
>distance and accuracy without making my gun temperamental. Prolly what
>everyone wants. Anyhow, is the flatline barrel worth it? I've heard its
>hard to install correctly, that it eats paint, etc... Is this still the
>current sentiment?

Bah. That's all crap. In my experience, the Flatline was well worth it, but it
may not be under your circumstances. In big open spaces, chances are you're
better off getting a J&J and learning to arc correctly. Then again, if you find
yourself under tree cover or shooting into a lot of windows, that flat
trajectory is just what you need.
I'll put down a few mythes, on both sides. It's not a 'sniper' barrel. It's
not as accurate as, say, a Dye barrel, but a few well-placed shots can mark
someone you couldn't with a standard barrel. It makes the consistancy a bit
worse, especially with small paint. It doesn't send balls winging off in every
direction after a certain range, as long as you use decent paint--PMI Premium's
my favorite. It *does* tend to make balls 'float' upward until it's broken in,
unless you drop the velocity a bit, but that wears off as the sandcoating on
the inside smoothens. On the other hand, they don't 'drop and float', and don't
go slower than any other barrel at the same muzzle velocity, like some people
say.
As for it's problems, as long as the paint's decent (Again, Premium, but Game
Face Sunflares shoot well under slightly shorter ranges), it's not particularly
hard on paint. And it's stupidly easy to install. Loosen the front the screws,
shove it in, and give it a quarter-twist so the adapter is at the bottom of the
shroud. Tighten the screws again, and go shoot.

>For that matter, are barrels really worthwhile mods to consider making?
>I've heard some folks say that they don't make much difference at all.

Then those folks are just about stupid. The stock A5 barrel isn't any more
than a pipe. Any after-market barrel would be an improvement.