Yup…… the old physics of “there’s only so far that you can throw 0.2g through the air no matter how hard you throw it”. 
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Just think about what used to be the “holy grail” of FPS… years ago it was 280, gave the best distance and accuracy up to about 20 metres, and we were pretty happy with that. Get your VE right and the blaster was smooth, quiet, accurate and definitely understressed.
Physics, yeah… you can’t fight it. It’s like a paper plane, the harder you throw it, the more erratic the flightpath. The most accurate blaster I’ve had was a Vector hitting 220FPS… reflex red dot sighted in at about 10 metres. I nailed a dragonfly sitting on a car aerial at 15 metres with my third trigger pull and each shot before that missed by no more than a centimetre. 
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My practice/test target was a metal power pole in the middle of the property that was in clear range of the house veranda.
Was 18m distance, which I thought was perfect for testing purposes, as any gels that can make it that far on target aren’t gonna deviate off course much at greater distances afterwards.
If a blaster can continually hit that pole that was only 6 inches in diameter, at that distance, it’s a pretty solid result.
There was a metal plate on the pole that I would aim at and could calculate trajectory of rising/dropping gels depending on how high/low they hit that plate…… perfect for tuning hop-ups.
Being metal, even night time testing was easy done, even though could see the pole well enough to aim for in low light conditions, couldn’t actually see the gels at all…… but each hit was highly audible being a hollow metal pole.
Was especially awesome to watch tracers exploding off of it at night with each hit producing a nice long ring to it 
Surprisingly, probably the most consistent and most accurate blaster was my old modified SKD M4SS.
This used to get all the retired parts from my “Little Pig” Gen8 test mule.
Every time I went further and further with the test pig, any parts I took out would be swapped into the M4SS.
In the end it was sitting on 360-370 fps
(back when 260-270 was big) comfortable and reliable with amazing accuracy.
The Little Pig ended up 430+, but wasn’t accurate or reliable! 
Maybe it was the longer and more stable barrel/handguard than the Gen8’s ……… but whatever it was, I was hitting targets out the 30+ meter range quite consistently depending on the gels and weather conditions.
Did I read in another thread that you’re of the opinion that 7.3 IBs destroy accuracy, Doc?
I’ve got a CYMA M16 that pushes 320-330FPS with a 7.3 IB, no jamming or feeding issues with Ultrs Elites but no hop up seems to work with it. Tried quite a few… VE is okay, so I’ve ruled that out and the IB is rock solid in the outer, no wiggle. 
Think it might be that 7.3 IB?
In my experience there’s no solid answer for 1 + 1 = 2 unfortunately.
Because there’s so much variation between aftermarket gels, parts and blasters, it’s all trial and error for every individual part and build.
It’s also mentioned here about some barrels having terrible internal polishing/finishing, plus the never ending saga of gel sizes and quality.
I really only found nightmares when using tighter 7.1mm barrels, actually had pretty good success with the 7.3’s, especially good quality high polished stainless if available.
I recommended a quality 7.5mm stainless/alloy barrel as the best for an all round trouble free size that performs well on all gels with minimal issues.
I only ever used the little CYMA hop-ups on those M4 CQB models and they worked quite well, only because they fit without modifying the stock look of the blaster.
Trial out a 7.5mm barrel with whatever hop-ups you have on hand and see if you get any improvement in accuracy.
Maybe the length of the M16 barrel is too long for the 7.3mm that is creating problems with getting hop-ups to perform properly
Also check the condition of your current barrel …… might have bad internal finish…… or needs a good cleaning.
People rarely think to have a proper cleaning rod and clean out the barrel after every use, possibly even during game days if performance/accuracy starts to drop off mid game or later in the day, especially if the barrel is left to dry out over any period of time.
Good luck and let us know how you go 
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Cheers for that advice, Doc
The IB is much shorter than the standard M16 length, it’s been cut down to suit a 7" quadrail.
Think you’re right, 7.5 stainless may be the go. It’s an old IB anyway, I’ve spent a lot of bucks on this one so no point skimping on one of the most important components. 
No worries, give it a go and see what happens…. certainly nothing to lose trying
Unfortunately can only comment on my own experience, but there’s plenty of other great experienced people here as well
Because of the bans, I don’t have any modern experience with newer model blasters/gearboxes/HPA etc…. but at least the AEG stuff is still relevant across the board no matter what model it is 
If your IB is only about 6-8" long I’ve had better success with 7.5mm. The 7.3mm I’ve had better success out to 20" length.
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Which is all about the VE…
Might have to do the calcs and port the cylinder…
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Where can we purchase 7.5mm I’d s/s barrels , I’ve purchased from WAT BLASTERS 7.4MM .S/s barrel. From them .
It’s difficult getting 7.5 in stainless, more common sizes are 7.1-7.3.
I’ve seen some usa blasters sell 7.5 mm s/s barrels but won’t post to australia, my falkor recce has a 7.7mm s/s barrel .
On ebay, but it ain’t cheap… up to 500mm length.
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Looks like only 7.3 stainless
You’re right, it is… my bad 
Provided the barrel length you’re after is 300mm or less, there’s always stainless steel capillary tube… 7.5 inner diam X 9.5mm outer diam.
Not sure how polished the ID woul be though.
Yeah, very difficult to find and other correct size industrial ss tube still requires a good internal polish to make useable.
Line with molycoat problem solved
45cm 316L Stainless Steel Inner Barrel Upgrade 9.5mm OD/7.3mm ID Gel Blaster Toy | eBay
These rock, since CHGBB store is offline this is the next best thing. Damn they are up in price, but lowkey is John from CHGBB in China, always follows through if you have trouble shipping or something. Used to be $10.
Aside from less maintenance and a longer barrel life, do you seen any gains in performance with SS?
Highly polished means less friction, are they noticeably better than alloy?
I’m looking for a barrel for one of my M4 builds, was going to go 7.3 alloy, but you’ve got me wondering now…
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