Barrels

[joe bob]

Wat are the holes and cuts in the barrel for

 

[ciaran.mooney]

Not sure about "cuts" because I've never heard of them, but the holes are called "porting". They were originally included in barrel design to create an "air cushion" to make them more accurate. That has since been proven wrong, but they porting makes your marker's sound when firing a lot quiter, depending on how much porting you have.

But be careful, the more porting you have the quieter your marker will be, but the more inefficient it will become.

 

[Rabies]

The porting is supposed to reduce noise as the paint leaves the barrel, by dissipating the air in front off the ball in all directions. Also, since the paintball is usually only accelerated over the first 6 inches of the barrel, the rest is to give the paintball a chance to regain its round shape and straighten up. If there is no porting over this section though, the pressure behind the ball drops, which will slow it down. The porting allows air to enter behind the ball as it moves up the last part of the barrel so it isn't slowed down before it exits.

Phew!