[C9H13NO3]

First off, I'm not sure why Spyder still sells markers with those worthless barrel plugs. Condoms FTW.

I've been seeing more and more markers coming with the short condoms now though. They are usually 2 to 3 inches long. I forgot to turn my marker off after a game and bumped the trigger. The ball shot into the condom, then flung back and hit me. The condom came off the barrel, so any subsequent shots would have been unprotected. I'll be using a full length barrel condom from now on, and I recommend everyone else do the same.

[euglow54]

I bought a barrel condom from SO in Digi. Love it.

[T-Freak]

i havent seen any Short ones, atleast i dont think..but yeah i can see how they'd be dangerous. Thanks for the headsup

[piccardalpha3]

that sounds almost as useless as a barrel plug

[Spike21]

I personaly love Opsgear's plastic barrel condom. It is one thing they did right!

[CdnNinja]

That's not good. I use full size ones, but I've never actually seen a short one.

[125blackfire]

i havent seen one yet, but it sounds like they are cheap and wanting too save money on miterials

[Match99]

Barrel plugs aren't bad as long as you have porting to release the air. But bags are way safer

[Huff n Puff]

Match99, on May 26 2008, 02:20 PM, said:

Barrel plugs aren't bad as long as you have porting to release the air. But bags are way safer

Actually barrel plugs were first made for barrels without porting. They used the air pressure buildup to stop the ball before it hit the plug. I've done this experiment with my SL-68 II on its unported barrel, and the ball never even broke.

But I still believe barrel sleeves are better. Like the SO ones. They can take the hit and stay on if they're tight.

[thisissparta]

I did a test with a Kingman plug that I found in my A5's 3 inch barrel, and the ball didn't even get to the end of the barrel. However I still use a condom anyways (even if it is longer than my barrel.)

[Aaron723]

I used to use the barrel plug that i had with my brass eagle and switched to a barrel condom because it is easier and I don't have a plastic missle that could go airborne. I have never seen a short one before though.

[blackcelldrumr15]

I've had the same thing happen to me. Expect for me it happened as I was putting the condom on. I went to put it on and it went half way and caught and didn't go all the way on. I hit the trigger and it hit the condom, my hand, then the condom flew back and it me in the arm. It could have been avoided if I would have turned the marker off first.

I've seen a few of these short condoms and I've always thought they looked unsafe.

[slowerpig81]

Well, Tyger did a tech tip vid about almost all conceivable BBDs, accepted as safe or not.

The way i do it is to make it so that I have to slide the sleeve on the barrel before I hook the elastic cord around a grip or feedneck. BAsically, I can't really remove the sleeve from the barrel before I remove the cord, because the cord gets taut to the point where there is no more stretch. That way, if I can't do it with my hand, I know that a PB can't do it.

Also, at the end of a game, I fire off the chambered ball in my Phantom and don't pump it, or with my Pro/Carbine I slide the foregrip forward so the feedneck cant access the breech and then fire the chambered ball, that way there is no chance of firing a ball, since I hate cleaning out barrel sleeves. It's sort of like keeping the action open on firearms.

The problem is that guns that can fire quick shots in succession are the ones you cant mess with the action, except maybe turn off the electronics.

Pumps are also safer in this respect b/c, if you fire once, the BBD will catch it, and you can't accidentally fire again. You have to pump it on purpose.

This post has been edited by slowerpig81: 21 October 2008 - 09:22 PM

[Violator]

I would never use a small one- it would never fit correctly.
If anyone needs to use a small condom; they do have pills and things that will help that nowadays...

On a more serious note, I don't care what marker you run with or what barrel length you have- long barrel condoms are safer, and a plug/condom combo is even better if you have a long walk to or from the game/parking lot/chrono station.
Can never be too careful, especially in an environment when people are more likely to do something dumb like removing a mask, etc. And make sure you learn from Blackcell to turn the marker off (if it can be) whenever possible to avoid misfires.

This post has been edited by Violator: 21 October 2008 - 11:22 PM

[Tyger]

Ok, for the record...

Barrel PLUGS are perfectly safe, providing they're the right kind. I would still trust my eyes to the old style aluminum plugs with the 3 o-rings, if they were still allowed on the fields. Several companies made barrel plugs later on out of plastic with no o-rings, just plastic on metal friction. Those didn't work too well. Then there was the one place that insisted their hard plastic plug was safe, even though everyone who owned one could launch them at least 30 feet with a misfire. The problem was that most o-ring plugs had a REALLY tight fit, so players would remove o-rings or modify the plug so they could get it back out quickly. That's when they became less safe.

I still don't like how the barrel sock came into being the standard, to be honest. It smacks of dishonesty. Warrior Sports gear pres. Larry Cossio also ran the company doing insurance for NPPL. He also had a lot of "barrel condoms" that nobody wanted because plugs were doing the job just as well. Then the NPPL insurance rules changed overnight and required "barrel condoms" only. It kinda smacked of "things that make you go hmmm..."

I also remember the old days, before plugs existed. Most of the players were gun types, so there was an understanding that "every gun is loaded". I actually remember getting a lot of grief being the first guy to buy a barrel plug and using it. "What do you need that thing for?" Then again these were the same guys who used UVEX goggles and no face mask either. Some dya I should scan the magazines I've got with all the barrel blocking experiments that were tried.

All of this being said, I *still* have a dislike for camouflage or black barrel socks. It's like the brilliant idea Smart Parts had with their "splash anno kit" where you got a rail, foregrip, barrel, lock cap and barrel plug in all matching anno. From any distance more than 5 feet away, it looked like you had nothing in there. Same with "stealth socks". Sure, camo barrel socks are cooler looking, but with the blaze orange one people in the next county can see the muzzle is covered.

-Tyger