Flatline for Sniping

my brother has one and it sometimes gives him trouble. sometimes it turns and the balls curve. he is thinking about getting a lapco bigshot because he is fed up with the flatline. its all personal preferance anyways. lastly, you dont have to pay 120 for it. go to paintballgi.com. its 100 or 110 there.

The flatline problem stated above about balls curving is a by-product of tilting your gun.  If your gun is straight upright, the balls will have a perfect backspin, and will fly straight.  If you tilt your gun to the left, the balls will have an up-left diagonal spin, and will curve, just like a curveball in baseball.  If used properly, this tendency to curve when tilted can be a nice tactical advantage.

^^^This is what I've heard from other players who know what they're talking about, but for my personal opinion you're gonna have to wait untill tuesday when my flatline will arrive and I can test it for you.

flatline is a lot better on the A-5 than the 98c i have one on my 98c and its not horrable but i have had to mess with it for 2 years to get it perfect.  but after messing with it for so long iv got it to shoot pretty damn good for a flatline.  but if your shooting into a headwind (wind is blowing towards you) the balls iv noticed like to curve stright up.  personally i wished i would have gotten something else but i stuck with it and having the distance it has and will come in handy.  it isnt nearly as accurate as other barrels.
over all it has its pros and cons like other things in life but i personally think this barrel has a bit more cons than pros.
hope this helps

nopers...ball breaks and u wont be protected(sp)in short range...stay wit ur barrel or get a dye ultralite or boomstick

i have a flatline on my A5, and im very happy with it, although as notorious bob said, it is hard to clean, cant be cleaned with a battle swab. i only use it for woodsball though, because it allows me to shoot at a low trajectory to avoid hitting low branches and brush, its not as accurate as ur smart parts though, but you will appreciate the range it gives you that no one else has. So yes, i think it is worth the money, but thats just my op.

 

For "Sniping" (and I hate that term) you definately want accuracy as the other gentleman mentioned.  In Paintball, you will not be able to take out targets at a range that will allow you to be safe from return fire unless you shoot with a flatline...and from what I've seen Flatlines lack the required accuracy for placing your first ball on target.

You want to get something that is accurate over range here.  (To date I've seen only one marker that has a Flatline's range but maintains the accuracy of better barrels...)  Also, paint to barrel match will be critical as well as this has a great affect on accuracy.

So what you will do with this set up is get in close so that you know you're first shot is going to be on target.  Then wait for the right time to pull the trigger.  Take one-two shots and wait to see what happens.  The more you shoot the easier you will be found. If you tke your target out and there is no one around, move to your next spot.

Don't think that being a "sniper" means you set up somewhere and wait...if you want to do that join the boy scouts and go camping for real.  "Snipers" in paintball are more like marksmen...they use stealth to get in comfortable range of their target and then take it out.  Usually, these guys are also scouts and, unless you're playing a scenario game, don't really have a role in walk-on rec games and do not exist in Speedball. 

i have a flatline on my 98c and for some reason, mine is reeeeal finicky.  i love playing woodsball but living in Phoenix, Arizona, there's not too much woods to play around.  so rec-ball is pretty much all there is at the parks around here.  also, to be truthful, i'm getting kinda tired of my flatline in rec-ball.  it's a damn good barrel for woodsball, but for when you're in close range, it's pretty frustrating.

if you're a woodsball ONLY player, get it, if you're more of a rec ball player, i suppose you could give it a try, but you'll prolly want the arc that non-flatline barrels have.

Flatline is only worth it if you are playing in the woods with a very low canopy.

get one, and buy it from paintballgear.com it is only 115

A gentleman by the name of Ezekiel made a very good point in the Flatline forum.  I won't quote the whole thing here but basically it comes down to the right tool for the job. There are times when a Flatline can be very helpful.  I just don't think that "sniping" isn't one of them.  If you are in a situation where you have a good shot at someone who is far away and can put 3 or so balls in the air to try to hit him then yes, the Flatline is terrific.  In a one or nothing kind of situation...there are better barrels.