A-5 Flatline Customization

Ok anyone who has an A-5 flatline check this out:

Take off the very front end cap by removing the socket head screw.
Look closely at it. The threaded hole that housed that screw goes the whole way to the barrel (with a gap in the middle), correct? (It does on mine.)

Here's my question: If you were to bore a hole thru the lower portion of the curved flatline barrel, to line up with that hole through the end cap, then theoretically, that would allow the escape of gas from the barrel behind the ball just before the ball is released from the front of the barrel, and allow it to fill the shroud itself. (That is the basic principle of a silencer.) Would this work to reduce some of the "hand cannon" effects of the monstrously loud A-5, and more importantly, will it ruin my $120 barrel?

If anyone has ever done this, knows anything about it, or can test this theory, I would be greatly appreciative.


Jack



P.S. I'm aware silencers are illegal without an FFL... but bear with me, for information's sake.


Edited by g0dam0ng1n53ct5 - 24 March 2006 at 9:55pm

yeah, seperating your shots is your best bet.  it's hard to pick where shots come from with goggles on when you arn't expecting them.  and loudness will usually just scare them.  you can try it though.

I think I'm going to because I figure if it gets messed up I'll have someone patch the hole with a weld. Anybody know anything about the legality of it?

IronFox wrote: I don't think drilling holes through your barrel is what the designers at Tippmann intended...

  

there is alot that people do to a tippmann that wasnt intended

one time when i was high on crack i thought drilling holes in a barrel was a good idea. If you do it, it will turn your marker into a paint sprayer then you should send it back to tippmann and say that you dont know why it is not working. that would be funny!

You can do it legally.  Nobody could ever say a ported and shrouded flatline barrel could be used as a firearm silencer.  Curved barrels and bullets just don't work well together.  However, I don't think one hole would significantly reduce the noise.  I think what is needed is at least two rows of holes for at least 6" inches to reduce the noise.  However, I'm curious what the impact of uneven venting would do to a backspinning ball.

In order for your idea to work you would have to drill about a hundred holes the size of that screw in the flatline barrel (of course, ruining the barrel and it's properties). Most true silencers have some sort of baffled material surrounding the relief ports. These baffles are equally spaced and ported. The barrel shroud is also ported, most effectively allowing gas relief at the rear of the barrel. In a nutshell, all your idea would do is ruin your flatline.

You would really have to sand the hole, when you drill a hole you always get that little edge that sticks out and can be somewhat sharp, causing breaking balls and lots of splatter. It would take some creativeness to sand inside a flatline barrel lol.