Post by BullDog on Jun 11, 2013 0:14:49 GMT
Tightbore Barrel Comparison
Introduction
An easy and popular way to make a gun more accurate is to install a tightbore barrel. We have already seen in the Madbull barrel and bucking review that a tightbore barrel improves both accuracy and velocity, but there are several different manufacturers that offer tightbore barrels and each of them says their barrel is the best. The purpose of this review is to test 3 different manufacturers’ barrels back to back.
The three barrels tested were a Systema 6.04mm brass barrel, a 6.03mm Madbull black python version 2 barrel, and a Bravo 6.03mm. All three are made of different materials and have very different feels to them. The Systema is brass and very similar looking to a stock inner barrel, the Madbull is black anodized aluminum and the Bravo is dark grey hard coated steel.
The Systema barrel looks nearly identical to most stock brass barrels, though the brass is slightly brighter and cleaner looking, at a first glance one could quite easily be mixed up with another. Systema has been producing tightbore barrels for well over a decade so their quality and craftsmanship is well known throughout the industry.
The Madbull Black Python version 2 barrel is the updated version of the one we tested earlier in the Madbull barrel and bucking review. Since it is made of aluminum, it is significantly lighter than the other two barrels here and will result in a slightly less front heavy gun. The trade-off is that aluminum is not as strong as brass or steel and there is a greater possibility of bending the barrel if it is mishandled during shipping or installation. Once it is installed, though there is not really any reason for concern since it is protected by the much stronger outer barrel. If you do install a longer barrel that is not protected by a silencer, though, the Madbull barrel may not be the best choice.
The Bravo barrel is relatively new to the airsoft industry. It is made of a hard coated steel and is much heavier and stronger than the other barrels. One very nice feature is that the bravo barrels come with two notches cut in the barrel so any Bravo barrel can be installed on an M14 as well as all the other standard AEGs.
Test Procedure
Each Barrel was installed in the test gun and the hopup was adjusted to deliver as flat a trajectory as possible. Following this, the gun was securely mounted in a gun vise placed 40 feet away from the target. Ten semi auto shots were fired with each barrel through an Xcortech x3200 chronograph. The target was changed and marked for each barrel and the accuracy number reported below is the diameter of the smallest circle that can be drawn around all ten shots on the paper.
The test gun was a Tokyo Marui M4 upgraded with an M110 spring, a Systema hop bucking and a Fox Custom Hop-up nub. The BB used for all tests were performed with airsoft elite 0.25g biodegradable BBs.
Data/Results
At the time of testing: Temp 56.7°F Altitude: 5894ft Pressure: 30.0 in Hg
Velocity
Accuracy
Conclusion
All the barrels showed a dramatic increase in accuracy versus the stock barrel that shot 5.5 inch groups in our madbull barrel and bucking review. Based on these results, the Madbull barrel delivers the highest accuracy and consistency, but the lowest overall velocity of the three barrels tested. The decrease in barrel diameter from the 6.04mm Systema barrel to the 6.03 Bravo barrel resulted in only a very small improvement in accuracy.
These results bring up a very interesting fact that is very often overlooked; that consistency and accuracy is more important than velocity. As we have seen from this data, even though a player using a Bravo barrel will be shooting an average of almost 10fps faster, the player with the madbull barrel will shoot more accurately and have a better chance of hitting his target on the first shot.
It is also clear that reducing the barrel’s inner diameter by just 0.01mm doesn’t necessarily increase accuracy by a lot. The Bravo and Systema barrels performed very similarly despite the tighter bore of the Bravo. It does appear that the aluminum of the Madbull barrel does result in slightly better accuracy than the brass or steel barrels. One possible explanation could be that the anodized coating is smoother than the bare brass or hard coated steel of the other two barrels.
One final point is that whenever a tightbore barrel is installed, you must make sure to clean it regularly and to only use very high quality BBs. Because of the much tighter tolerances, poor quality BBs can jam in the barrel, especially when dirty, and essentially disable a gun.
Overall, any of these tightbore barrels would be excellent upgrade to a stock barrel. The Madbull barrel has the best performance, the bravo has the highest velocity and durability and the systema is a good compromise between the two.
Introduction
An easy and popular way to make a gun more accurate is to install a tightbore barrel. We have already seen in the Madbull barrel and bucking review that a tightbore barrel improves both accuracy and velocity, but there are several different manufacturers that offer tightbore barrels and each of them says their barrel is the best. The purpose of this review is to test 3 different manufacturers’ barrels back to back.
The three barrels tested were a Systema 6.04mm brass barrel, a 6.03mm Madbull black python version 2 barrel, and a Bravo 6.03mm. All three are made of different materials and have very different feels to them. The Systema is brass and very similar looking to a stock inner barrel, the Madbull is black anodized aluminum and the Bravo is dark grey hard coated steel.
The Systema barrel looks nearly identical to most stock brass barrels, though the brass is slightly brighter and cleaner looking, at a first glance one could quite easily be mixed up with another. Systema has been producing tightbore barrels for well over a decade so their quality and craftsmanship is well known throughout the industry.
The Madbull Black Python version 2 barrel is the updated version of the one we tested earlier in the Madbull barrel and bucking review. Since it is made of aluminum, it is significantly lighter than the other two barrels here and will result in a slightly less front heavy gun. The trade-off is that aluminum is not as strong as brass or steel and there is a greater possibility of bending the barrel if it is mishandled during shipping or installation. Once it is installed, though there is not really any reason for concern since it is protected by the much stronger outer barrel. If you do install a longer barrel that is not protected by a silencer, though, the Madbull barrel may not be the best choice.
The Bravo barrel is relatively new to the airsoft industry. It is made of a hard coated steel and is much heavier and stronger than the other barrels. One very nice feature is that the bravo barrels come with two notches cut in the barrel so any Bravo barrel can be installed on an M14 as well as all the other standard AEGs.
Test Procedure
Each Barrel was installed in the test gun and the hopup was adjusted to deliver as flat a trajectory as possible. Following this, the gun was securely mounted in a gun vise placed 40 feet away from the target. Ten semi auto shots were fired with each barrel through an Xcortech x3200 chronograph. The target was changed and marked for each barrel and the accuracy number reported below is the diameter of the smallest circle that can be drawn around all ten shots on the paper.
The test gun was a Tokyo Marui M4 upgraded with an M110 spring, a Systema hop bucking and a Fox Custom Hop-up nub. The BB used for all tests were performed with airsoft elite 0.25g biodegradable BBs.
Data/Results
At the time of testing: Temp 56.7°F Altitude: 5894ft Pressure: 30.0 in Hg
Velocity
Shot Systema Madbull Bravo
1 319.0 307.3 318.5
2 322.3 307.1 319.6
3 322.9 309.4 319.3
4 314.0 311.6 318.5
5 315.7 308.9 318.0
6 315.9 313.2 324.8
7 315.5 313.7 325.0
8 317.0 311.9 327.0
9 314.4 313.0 314.7
10 317.1 312.8 317.8
Average 317.38 310.89 320.32
Standard Devi 3.098 2.501 3.917Accuracy
Systema Madbull Bravo
3.31 in 2.50 in 3.25 inConclusion
All the barrels showed a dramatic increase in accuracy versus the stock barrel that shot 5.5 inch groups in our madbull barrel and bucking review. Based on these results, the Madbull barrel delivers the highest accuracy and consistency, but the lowest overall velocity of the three barrels tested. The decrease in barrel diameter from the 6.04mm Systema barrel to the 6.03 Bravo barrel resulted in only a very small improvement in accuracy.
These results bring up a very interesting fact that is very often overlooked; that consistency and accuracy is more important than velocity. As we have seen from this data, even though a player using a Bravo barrel will be shooting an average of almost 10fps faster, the player with the madbull barrel will shoot more accurately and have a better chance of hitting his target on the first shot.
It is also clear that reducing the barrel’s inner diameter by just 0.01mm doesn’t necessarily increase accuracy by a lot. The Bravo and Systema barrels performed very similarly despite the tighter bore of the Bravo. It does appear that the aluminum of the Madbull barrel does result in slightly better accuracy than the brass or steel barrels. One possible explanation could be that the anodized coating is smoother than the bare brass or hard coated steel of the other two barrels.
One final point is that whenever a tightbore barrel is installed, you must make sure to clean it regularly and to only use very high quality BBs. Because of the much tighter tolerances, poor quality BBs can jam in the barrel, especially when dirty, and essentially disable a gun.
Overall, any of these tightbore barrels would be excellent upgrade to a stock barrel. The Madbull barrel has the best performance, the bravo has the highest velocity and durability and the systema is a good compromise between the two.
