Posted by: Gunjam_ on September 09, 2003 at 18:05:41

Hey, I like the freak too. It deserves honorary exeption from my list of greivances because its a practical barrel. Paint/bore match what its all about. By the way, I am not critical of step bores due to politics. I'm just critcal of thier design and concurrent price tag is all. I could care less about the whole smart-parts lawsuit. Actually, I'm not really clear on the cause of the 'suit. Anyone care to fill me in? : I am convinced that the insert, step bore, freak system and copies actually work. I will not dump my Freak simply because SP is enforcing what they deem an infringement on their patent rights. I won't get rid of it until I'm satisfied there is a better system out there. I spent close to $200 on mine before they got ugly with all the Freak words and stickers cut into and put on them. Do you think I'm still shooting it out of spite to get my money's worth? Nope, I continue to use it because because it works and works well. I sell paintball equipment and am not under any contractual obligation to use or play with anything and I still choose the Freak, simply because it performs better than anything else I've seen. : Razor : : : : Do step bore barrels really offer any additional performance over regular ported barrels? I mean, do the boomsticks and jj 2 pieces of the world really give us more for the exorbident prices they charge for them? I hear all over the place that 2 peice step bores are more accurate,ect ect... but how can they be if thier design disregards the very thing that gives traditional ported barrels an edge over non-ported barrels? Heres my understanding of it: A traditional ported barrel, by design, offers a solid portion - for acceleration, and a ported end section that vents off the gasses that pass by the ball and cause unwanted, accuracy degrading spin. Spin is reduced or eliminated by friction, contact between the ball and the ported section of the barrel. ( Smart parts used to say porting reduces "turbulence", but it actually reduces spin.) So, if friction is the key to reducing spin, than how can step-bore barrels increase accuracy if there is no friction between the ball and the ported section? How can a step-bore "guide" the ball if any contact between it and the bore is uneven or nonexistent? : : But waitaminute, you say, the top teams all use boomsticks, freaks and the lot, how could they be wrong? Maybe step bore barrels are accurate enough ( or bling enough) to avoid consumer outrage, but only because they have the benefits of a short barrel, that being a shorter acceleration portion which, I guess, incurs less spin simply becuase it is shorter. The only real drawback to short barrels is a hit in gas efficientcy. Maybe we are paying more for less barrel! Ive shot paint through a few boomstick-esque barrels on different guns, I think they perform pretty well, but not $100 more so than any other traditonal ported barrel. So why are they so popular? : : "Sorry" in advance for ranting, but I think there is a conspiracy afoot...

Follow Ups: Post a Followup Show your name as: DefaultRealnameBothNickname E-Mail address (eg: joeschmoe@aol.com): Show your e-mail address? DefaultYesNo Your Password: Don't have a password? CLICK HERE - Forgot your password? CLICK HERE Subject: Subject:Message: : Hey, I like the freak too. It deserves honorary exeption from my list of greivances because its a practical barrel. Paint/bore match what its all about. By the way, I am not critical of step bores due to politics. I'm just critcal of thier design and concurrent price tag is all. I could care less about the whole smart-parts lawsuit. Actually, I'm not really clear on the cause of the 'suit. Anyone care to fill me in? : : : I am convinced that the insert, step bore, freak system and copies actually work. I will not dump my Freak simply because SP is enforcing what they deem an infringement on their patent rights. I won't get rid of it until I'm satisfied there is a better system out there. I spent close to $200 on mine before they got ugly with all the Freak words and stickers cut into and put on them. Do you think I'm still shooting it out of spite to get my money's worth? Nope, I continue to use it because because it works and works well. I sell paintball equipment and am not under any contractual obligation to use or play with anything and I still choose the Freak, simply because it performs better than anything else I've seen. : : Razor : : : : : : : Do step bore barrels really offer any additional performance over regular ported barrels? I mean, do the boomsticks and jj 2 pieces of the world really give us more for the exorbident prices they charge for them? I hear all over the place that 2 peice step bores are more accurate,ect ect... but how can they be if thier design disregards the very thing that gives traditional ported barrels an edge over non-ported barrels? Heres my understanding of it: A traditional ported barrel, by design, offers a solid portion - for acceleration, and a ported end section that vents off the gasses that pass by the ball and cause unwanted, accuracy degrading spin. Spin is reduced or eliminated by friction, contact between the ball and the ported section of the barrel. ( Smart parts used to say porting reduces "turbulence", but it actually reduces spin.) So, if friction is the key to reducing spin, than how can step-bore barrels increase accuracy if there is no friction between the ball and the ported section? How can a step-bore "guide" the ball if any contact between it and the bore is uneven or nonexistent? : : : But waitaminute, you say, the top teams all use boomsticks, freaks and the lot, how could they be wrong? Maybe step bore barrels are accurate enough ( or bling enough) to avoid consumer outrage, but only because they have the benefits of a short barrel, that being a shorter acceleration portion which, I guess, incurs less spin simply becuase it is shorter. The only real drawback to short barrels is a hit in gas efficientcy. Maybe we are paying more for less barrel! Ive shot paint through a few boomstick-esque barrels on different guns, I think they perform pretty well, but not $100 more so than any other traditonal ported barrel. So why are they so popular? : : : "Sorry" in advance for ranting, but I think there is a conspiracy afoot... [ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ WARPIG Tech Talk - High End Paintguns ]