Posted by: Dustin_ "Weezmaster" Jenot on March 08, 2003 at 15:55:25

: Long post … : I have heard these points debated over and over again but I want to say that these opinions are not as disparate as they first appear. : First let me say a bit about distance. Anyone with the basic understanding of physics will tell you that distance is a function of speed. A paintball traveling at 280 FPS will travel the same distance as a brick traveling at 280 FPS as long as they are traveling the same direction regardless of what gun shot what brick or paintball. Anything that is dropped or released from its support will begin to accelerate towards the Earth at a constant speed. Lateral movement does not mean a thing in regards to the accelerating towards the ground. Fire a paintball parallel to the ground and drop a paintball from your hand at the same time and they will hit the ground at the same time. One will be by your foot and the other some yards away but they will hit the ground at the same time. If you fire a 9mm bullet parallel to the ground and drop a paintball at the same time they will again hit the ground at the same time. Because all projectiles fired parallel to the Earth spend exactly the same amount of time in the air then distance must be a factor of speed alone. And this is true … almost. : More later. : Anyone who has played paintball any length of time will tell you that the more accurate the marker the better distance they will have. This is also true … almost. : More later. : Rifling has long been held as a way to stabilize a bullet in flight. Often call “spin stabilization,” it greatly enhances the accuracy of the gun or rather the bullet it’s self. Bullets are elongated shapes; cylinders and not balls. They have a definite front and back and it makes a big difference if the bullet is traveling point forwards rather than flipping end over end. The spin put on a bullet acts to keep the bullet oriented in the right direction with the same force you find in a gyroscope. Once you get the gyro spinning, it will travel back and forth or up and down easily but resists attempts to alter its pitch and yaw. The same applies to a bullet as it spins. The faster the spin the less likely it will flip end over. As long as the bullet travels point forward it cuts through the air and reduces the effects that wind drag causes. If the bullet were to start flipping end over end it would catch at the wind with the various odd shapes of the bullet and be whisked away at random angles. But paintballs are not bullets. They do not have the cigar shape needed to benefit from spin stabilization. They act more like baseballs and less like darts. : The only thing that is universally agreed on is that the Flatline barrel will increase your distance. This is because the backspin acts to pull slightly on the wind and give the paintball just a slight bit of loft. Because this backspin is exactly the thing that rifled barrels are designed to prevent should be a major clue that paintballs will behave nothing like a bullet. Baseball pitchers have known the effects of spinning a ball for a long time. Spin it right, it goes right. Spin it left it goes left. Paintballs will behave in a similar manner. : So why is it that the more accurate the marker the better distance you get? : From the first paragraph way up there on top we can say that if the marker does not deliver a consistent speed it will drop balls at various points along the path. When you crono your marker for 280 fps you will fire more than a single ball and of that cluster you say your speed is highest point you measured. Already we can see that if your crono speeds jump significantly you will be dropping balls short on a majority of your shots. We also know that a good paint to barrel fit improves accuracy of a marker and some even claim that this fit is the most critical for accuracy. A good fit will fill the barrel and not let the paintball roll out. There should be no gaps between the ball and the barrel. Naturally, if the ball is a little small it will rest in the bottom of the barrel with any left over room causing a gap between the top of the ball and the top of the barrel. Once the marker is fired, the ball will drag along the bottom and spin freely over the top. Add to this that the compressed air will be escaping over the top of the ball. This air flowing over the top creates an airplane effect. A small pocket of vacuum is formed above and in front of the ball thus further inducing topspin. So, if a Flatline barrels back spin increases loft, guess what the topspin does. Yeppers, down drags the ball down. : Conclusions? You can draw your own if you wish. These are just aerodynamics and the physics of a sphere as they apply to paintball. For me, I want a marker that will shot a consistent speed as my primary concern. I also don’t want spin of any kind so add to that paintballs of consistent size a barrel to fit those and I feel happy.

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: : : Long post … : : I have heard these points debated over and over again but I want to say that these opinions are not as disparate as they first appear. : : First let me say a bit about distance. Anyone with the basic understanding of physics will tell you that distance is a function of speed. A paintball traveling at 280 FPS will travel the same distance as a brick traveling at 280 FPS as long as they are traveling the same direction regardless of what gun shot what brick or paintball. Anything that is dropped or released from its support will begin to accelerate towards the Earth at a constant speed. Lateral movement does not mean a thing in regards to the accelerating towards the ground. Fire a paintball parallel to the ground and drop a paintball from your hand at the same time and they will hit the ground at the same time. One will be by your foot and the other some yards away but they will hit the ground at the same time. If you fire a 9mm bullet parallel to the ground and drop a paintball at the same time they will again hit the ground at the same time. Because all projectiles fired parallel to the Earth spend exactly the same amount of time in the air then distance must be a factor of speed alone. And this is true … almost. : : More later. : : Anyone who has played paintball any length of time will tell you that the more accurate the marker the better distance they will have. This is also true … almost. : : More later. : : Rifling has long been held as a way to stabilize a bullet in flight. Often call “spin stabilization,” it greatly enhances the accuracy of the gun or rather the bullet it’s self. Bullets are elongated shapes; cylinders and not balls. They have a definite front and back and it makes a big difference if the bullet is traveling point forwards rather than flipping end over end. The spin put on a bullet acts to keep the bullet oriented in the right direction with the same force you find in a gyroscope. Once you get the gyro spinning, it will travel back and forth or up and down easily but resists attempts to alter its pitch and yaw. The same applies to a bullet as it spins. The faster the spin the less likely it will flip end over. As long as the bullet travels point forward it cuts through the air and reduces the effects that wind drag causes. If the bullet were to start flipping end over end it would catch at the wind with the various odd shapes of the bullet and be whisked away at random angles. But paintballs are not bullets. They do not have the cigar shape needed to benefit from spin stabilization. They act more like baseballs and less like darts. : : The only thing that is universally agreed on is that the Flatline barrel will increase your distance. This is because the backspin acts to pull slightly on the wind and give the paintball just a slight bit of loft. Because this backspin is exactly the thing that rifled barrels are designed to prevent should be a major clue that paintballs will behave nothing like a bullet. Baseball pitchers have known the effects of spinning a ball for a long time. Spin it right, it goes right. Spin it left it goes left. Paintballs will behave in a similar manner. : : So why is it that the more accurate the marker the better distance you get? : : From the first paragraph way up there on top we can say that if the marker does not deliver a consistent speed it will drop balls at various points along the path. When you crono your marker for 280 fps you will fire more than a single ball and of that cluster you say your speed is highest point you measured. Already we can see that if your crono speeds jump significantly you will be dropping balls short on a majority of your shots. We also know that a good paint to barrel fit improves accuracy of a marker and some even claim that this fit is the most critical for accuracy. A good fit will fill the barrel and not let the paintball roll out. There should be no gaps between the ball and the barrel. Naturally, if the ball is a little small it will rest in the bottom of the barrel with any left over room causing a gap between the top of the ball and the top of the barrel. Once the marker is fired, the ball will drag along the bottom and spin freely over the top. Add to this that the compressed air will be escaping over the top of the ball. This air flowing over the top creates an airplane effect. A small pocket of vacuum is formed above and in front of the ball thus further inducing topspin. So, if a Flatline barrels back spin increases loft, guess what the topspin does. Yeppers, down drags the ball down. : : Conclusions? You can draw your own if you wish. These are just aerodynamics and the physics of a sphere as they apply to paintball. For me, I want a marker that will shot a consistent speed as my primary concern. I also don’t want spin of any kind so add to that paintballs of consistent size a barrel to fit those and I feel happy. [ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ WARPIG Tech Talk - Miscellaneous ]