Airsoft range...

[Drakker]

Also, depending on the brand of your gun, sometimes changing only the hop-up rubber is enough to get great accuracy. Upgrading the barrel too is preferable and will normally result in better accuracy, but a great barrel is very expensive, which means you might not get that much more accuracy for your dollars.

[Datawraith]

Originally Posted by daishi

EDGi barrels are thicker and heavier reducing vibrations, if you get any dirt or scratches inside the bore you can actually polish them out unlike a PDI, and once the barrel is installed into the gun... not sure how you would manage to bend it.

But to each his own, the EDGi vrs PDI debate is long and endless. Just go with whichever one fits your budget.

Ummm... PDI is cold-forged steel... You're shooting plastic BBs through it... How are you going to get scratches inside? Besides, even if on the off-chance you somehow manage to do so, you can just hand-lap the scratches out. It'll open your inner diameter a touch, but that'll get scratches out of your barrel. If I remember correctly, HS5 mentioned hand-lapping all the barrels anyways to get rid of any slight factory defects, but that may just be my terrible memory...

Even if your claim that the EDGi's are thicker and heavier are true, that still may not mean they reduce vibrations more than PDI's or other barrels. It depends on the natural frequency of the barrel, and steel is a stiffer material than brass. Honestly though, I don't see the possibility of a slight variation in vibration affecting all that much...

Granted, I do think that EDGI's tolerances are SLIGHTLY better than PDI's, but not enough to offset the cost and material difference.

Originally Posted by Drakker

Also, depending on the brand of your gun, sometimes changing only the hop-up rubber is enough to get great accuracy. Upgrading the barrel too is preferable and will normally result in better accuracy, but a great barrel is very expensive, which means you might not get that much more accuracy for your dollars.

Very true. I rather liked how my stock VFC barrel group shot before I overhauled the whole gun and got one of pesto's barrel groups.

[mikebarkski]

thanks for all the input including the friendly, educational debate on barrel brands. I liked the idea of getting the 6.05 if it is going to make a noticeable improvement (id rather buy a barrel for 150 that adds 40-50 ft of range then spend 80 and wonder if it has even put another 25 feet to my rounds).
i should probably start thinkin of a new AEG to put these investments into....no i am thinking it my be best to pick the gun out with the new hop up as the compatibility may be more trickier then that of the new barrels which seem pretty universal from the video's i've watched on guys upgrading their G&Gs. However i dont want to do this to the Raiders i own (yet), I want to get a new AEG for this project with a well known name for add-ons like TM or VFC...starting looking at hop up tutorials now, i would think that hop up rubbers would be more gun specific than barrels..?



--------------------------
Current collection....i want one really hot decked out Primary to top those shitty field guns of mine.....
G&G CM16 Raider-L DST
G&G CM16 Raider-S BLK
2.5" Dan Wesson BLK
H&K 416
KWC co2 Uzi w/ 2xmags
2x KWC desert eagles w/ 4xmags

[ThunderCactus]

Re read my long physics thread for the right answers.

The barrel wont add any range, and itll only increase accuracy if your current barrel is bad.
The hop is whats going to make all the difference, and its easily transferrable between barrels unless you Rhop.

Theres no real "best" bore. But there are bores to stay away from; 6.01 and 6.23
You wont have the air volume to run a 6.23, and 6.01s foul too fast. 6.13 is even a bit big, but great for LMGs.
If you dont mind spending a bit extra, I highly recommend a PDI 6.05 or prometheus 6.03.
Barrel quality is the #1 defining feature of a barrel, so theres really no reason in cheaping out.

And for the record, hand-lapping a barrel to make it better is bullshit. You might get scratches out, but you'll never be able to maintain the same concentricity as a hone.

[Drakker]

Originally Posted by ThunderCactus

The barrel wont add any range, and it'll only increase accuracy if your current barrel is bad.

This is the most important line in this whole thread. By increasing your accuracy compared to a bad barrel a good barrel will increases your effective range, but it does not increase the maximum range where the BB will fall and hit the ground.

Also, lapping has proved to increase accuracy in crappy stock barrels, but no one has come up with convincing evidence that it increases the accuracy of high end stainless steel barrels. However, whenever you lap your barrel, you are also cleaning it thoroughly, which could result in a temporary increase in accuracy.

[Ricochet]

This is where you'll find spending the extra cash on a good starter goes the distance. Essentially most AEGs, even differing mechbox versions, contain the same internal parts, with the exception of a few proprietary ones. Not all brands are equal though, nor do they necessarily have the same potential. Tolerance and quality will play an eventual role in performance and longevity of a weapon. G&G is solid, but as a starter for people who just want to dip a toe in, or are short of cash/low budget. If you can afford a VFC, or have the cash flow to budget for one in the near future, then you're better off going that route. Saying a gun is "good out of the box", is more or less saying it won't likely break down and should shoot fairly straight, not that it's competitive out of the box. Quality barrels and BBs (with the proper weight) help pull the whole thing together, with your hop-up being your number one component. Honestly, if you're taking this seriously, get your gun properly r-hopped, buy a quality 6.03mm or 6.04mm barrel, and get quality BBs at least 0.28g heavy. If done correctly, that'll bring you up into the "you can cruise now" level of airsoft, so you can focus on gear and other things, while tweaking your gun further as you need. So if you can afford it, start with a killer platform. You can always buy more guns later as projects or whatever, as long as you have your primary ass-kicker to fall back on.

What I recommend:
- Buy a VFC M4 or XCR
- R-hop (Damage in Vancouver does a killer one)
- Standard length Prometheus 6.03mm stainless barrel (send it to Damage with the gun to get it installed/R-hopped)
- Turnigy-nanotech 1200mah 7.4v lipo batteries (hobbyking.com)
- IMAX B6 balance charger (also hobbyking)
- Elite Force 0.28g bio BBs

Best bang for your buck without dickin' around. If it's outside of your budget, do the exact same thing with a G&G.

[Datawraith]

Just one note (my own opinion) to add to Ricochet's post:
I find the trigger response on the stock VFCs to be a little lacking (and the rof a bit too) when using 7.4v lipos. If you get one of the new VFC line, they'll have mosfets already installed and you can go straight to a 11.1v lipo battery which will help in the trigger response and rof. Otherwise, it's a bit more work to wire in a mosfet, but doable and worth the effort in my opinion to be able to use 11.1v lipos without fear of shorting out your contacts.