First Strike FSC Power-Pin Test: 10-Inch vs 16-Inch Barrel Gains

In Z-RAM's historical First Strike FSC comparison, the Power-Pin added a reported average of 30.1 FPS with the 10-inch barrel and 16.4 FPS with the 16-inch barrel. The standard 4.25-inch barrel showed almost no increase. The longest barrel therefore did not produce the largest measured gain in that test.

The comparison is a change within each barrel

The experiment compared the original pin with the Power-Pin for each barrel. Its useful result is the difference between those two conditions—not a claim that a 10-inch barrel is always faster than a 16-inch barrel. A higher starting velocity and a larger improvement are different things.

The figures are also averages reported in Z-RAM's results discussion, not the fastest individual shots. That distinction matters because the presenter separately mentions other, higher results from another occasion. Those other results do not replace the averages from this comparison.

The test introduction identifies an HPA supply, while the full historical discussion identifies an FSC and Z.68 projectiles. The barrels were different items, not simply one barrel cut to different lengths: the stated bores differed between the 10-inch and 16-inch examples. Length was therefore not the only difference between those two barrel conditions. The result is evidence about the examples tested, not an isolated measurement of length alone.

Why extra length need not mean a larger gain

A barrel gives the gas and projectile a path over which acceleration and friction both act. The outcome depends on how gas release, chamber behavior, bore fit and projectile travel work together. Extra length can change that interaction, but it cannot be treated as an independent multiplier.

The small standard-barrel change and the different gains with the two longer barrels make that interaction visible. They show why a component's benefit is best described with its test context. They do not establish an ideal barrel length for a different FSC, PepperBall TCP or Tiberius setup.

FPS gain and the product's Joule wording answer different questions

FPS measures velocity. Joules describe energy and depend on projectile mass as well as velocity. The reported +30.1 and +16.4 FPS must not be relabelled as Joule gains or compared directly with the Power-Pin listing's advertised +14-Joule wording.

The two current pin offers below help distinguish the performance product from the standard-length steel replacement. The latter is described as retaining the original pin length without an intended power boost; it is not being identified as the original pin used in the historical test.

The strongest conclusion is the one the test actually supports: under its recorded conditions, the 10-inch example showed the larger average change. The averages describe the change within each tested barrel; they do not establish a universal gain for other markers or conditions.

For a different component and gas system, the FSC Z-Extension CO₂ comparison explains a separate reported change from 51 to 67 Joules. It is a different test, not another contribution to the Power-Pin figures above.

The performance pin and the standard-length counterpart

Z-RAM Power-Pin &steel Screw (+14 Joule) TCP FSC T8.1 T9.1 VKS

The performance-oriented Power-Pin with a hardened stainless-steel screw. Its advertised +14-Joule wording is a product claim, distinct from the FPS averages in this historical test.

View the Power-Pin

Z-RAM STEEL Firing-Pin and steel Screw (standard length) TCP FSC T8.1 T9.1 VKS

The current standard-length steel firing pin and screw are presented as a durability-focused replacement without an intended power increase. This is a comparison product, not a claim that this steel pin was the test's original control.

View the standard-length pin

The reported barrel-test averages

Z-RAM compares the average Power-Pin change in the 10-inch and 16-inch examples. The separately mentioned higher result belongs to another occasion.

▶ Play on YouTube

Power Pin Impact: 10-Inch vs. 16-Inch Barrel Performance, TCP FSC T8.1 T9.1

Channel: Z-RAM

An earlier Power-Pin presentation and a separate test

This fuller Z-RAM presentation introduces the Power-Pin and reports an earlier 16-inch chronograph test. Its peak readings are a separate result from the later three-barrel averages discussed above.

▶ Play on YouTube

💪70 JOULE! Z-RAM Power-Pin Export Valve Tiberius FSC T9.1 T8.1 TCP Tuning (English translation 2021)

Channel: Z-RAM