Airsoft Tightbore Barrel Upgrades

Have you got the distance but not the accuracy? An airsoft tightbore inner barrel can add precision to your shots with minimal airsoft teching. Tightbore barrels come in a variety of sizes to improve the accuracy of your shots, or increase your barrel length to make kills at a distance.

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TightBore Barrels

Airsoft barrels come in a variety of inner bores. The standard bore for airsoft barrels is 6.08mm. This bore was originally designed to prevent jams and keep firing even if dirtied. Anything lower than a 6.08mm barrel is considered a tightbore barrel. Tightbore barrels increase the accuracy of an airsoft gun, with the most common tight bores being 6.05mm, 6.03mm and 6.01mm. Although other bores do exist, they are very rare. The 6.03mm tightbore is believed to be the ideal barrel for AEGs that have automatic or burst functionality. This barrel provides an increase in accuracy, but is still wide enough to allow airsoft BBs to fire through it in rapid succession. For snipers and semi automatic airsoft AEGs, 6.01mm barrels provide the greatest possible accuracy without changing the length of the barrel.

Barrel Length

Increasing the length of an airsoft barrel will always increase the accuracy more than tightening the bore. Thought the tightbore barrel will make the most use of the length the BB travels through it, lengthening the barrel will allow more length for the barrel to stabilize the shot. To protect inner barrels that are longer than the outer barrels, players often attach mock silencers or lengthen the flash hider.

Inner Coatings

Most airsoft inner barrels are machine polished on the interior of the barrel. Some barrels have special coatings to make the surface have less friction and reduce the drag on the BB as it is fired. While these barrels do improve efficiency, accuracy and fps, they can also chip and wear down providing problems later on.

Materials

Airsoft inner barrels are typically made of brass. Brass barrels expand at the same rate as stock brass cylinders do inside airsoft guns and maintain a consistent ratio. Other airsoft barrels can be made out of aluminum, Titanium, or steel. Aluminum barrels are usually cheaper and are lighter than their other models. They can however, be scratch if dirt or dust gets in the barrel or a BB hits a Burr. A scratch on the inside of a barrel will kill accuracy in the barrel and can cause some strange inconsistencies. Steel barrels are more expensive, stronger and are usually better machined. Because most machine shops often work with steel, the quality on steel barrels is high with a low price point. Titanium barrels are very light, usually very well made, and are next to impossible to scratch. Though rare, titanium barrels are a great choice for an airsoft barrel.

Inner Barrel Length

The following list compares the stock inner barrel length, with the typical stock AEG. Different manufactures, models and designs can have different than stock lengths for their stock airsoft inner barrel.

• 110mm - MP5K
• 141mm - MP5PDW
• 185mm - M4PMC
• 208mm - G3 SAS
• 229mm - MP5 / AK Beta Spetznas
• 247mm - G36C / P90
• 260mm - AKS74U
• 285mm - MC51
• 300mm - M733 / M1A1
• 318mm - PTS Masada short
• 363mm - M4A1 / SIG 551
• 380mm - PTS Masada long
• 407mm - M4 (long)
• 433mm - Type 89 / VSRAERO
• 455mm - AK47 / AK74
• 469mm - G3 / SG1
• 500mm - M14
• 509mm - M16
• 534mm - SIG 550
• 550mm - M16A1 / AUG
• 590mm - PSG1
• 650mm - PSG1+
• 685mm - CSR / SVD