Much like your other equipment for playing paintball, choosing a gun barrel is an intensely personal choice. There are many good name brands and all of them will more than give you your money's worth.

One good rule of thumb for most people is to get a barrel between 10-inches and 14-inches in length. A paintball needs at least 8-10 inches to get up to maximum velocity. And an additional inch or so will bring better aim and guide your paintball where you want it. A longer barrel will use a lot more gas to propel your paintballs, however a barrel that is too short will cost you in paintballs because it's very hard to be accurate when shooting a short-barreled gun.

There is no barrel that will make you an accurate shot. There are types and brands of barrels that are good for certain people and you just have to experiment and see what the best barrel fit is for your paintball playing style. You may play better with a 12-inch barrel and then again a 14-inch barrel may be the one you need.

Also be aware of the size your barrel is in comparison to your paintballs. In warm weather paintballs expand a little, in cold weather they tend to shrink a bit. Make sure the barrel of your paintball gun can accommodate the changes. A gun barrel that fits too closely around your paintballs will affect your accuracy.

It is easy to do a little self-test and see. Simply pick a few paintballs and place them in your barrel that has been removed from your gun, tip your barrel and if they roll out your barrel is too large, if you blow into your barrel and it is still stuck, your paintball is too large. If your paintball came out with a tiny bit of resistance, you have the perfect barrel for your paintballs.

Now that you know the basics for getting the best barrel for your game of paintball, look into upgrading the barrel of your paintball gun to one that will improve your game.