1100Z New Barra 250z Review

[MountainSportAirguns]

Here is a closer look at the New Barra 250z in .22 caliber. I have spent some good time with the gun in a variety of different shooting/hunting conditions and feel confident to pass on my honest opinion. This is a gun I've much enjoyed shooting and will continue to use it.. definitely not going back. Lol Hopefully this video will answer a few questions people have and showcase another lower cost option. Cheers

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[Pumacarl]

Good video, nice gun, good power. What I'd like to see is some actual numbers from someone shooting the .25. I think that besides not supplying a dust plug, they also should have made the stock a folder because of how long the gun is. It is a p.i.t.a. dealing with long gun cases.

 

[MountainSportAirguns]

Good video, nice gun, good power. What I'd like to see is some actual numbers from someone shooting the .25. I think that besides not supplying a dust plug, they also should have made the stock a folder because of how long the gun is. It is a p.i.t.a. dealing with long gun cases.

Yeah the length is crazy to travel with... brought back FUX memories. Lol All jokes aside it's a powerful gun, I bet in .25 70 fpe would be easy...I absolutely love it, cleaned out a permission with it in about 20 minutes.

 

[Farmplinker2]

Airgun Detectives had the stock .25 getting 46-47 fpe.

 

[Pumacarl]

I watched the airgun detective video, but he didn't run it up, and though he loved the gun, I think he liked that Discovery scope more. Sometimes things come together and are freakishly better than one would expect, maybe the view out of that thing is, I am waiting to hear more reviews on that because a 1-8x scope has certainly not been on my radar before.

 

[Pumacarl]

Yeah the length is crazy to travel with... brought back FUX memories. Lol All jokes aside it's a powerful gun, I bet in .25 70 fpe would be easy...I absolutely love it, cleaned out a permission with it in about 20 minutes.

It is just really nice to have some affordable options, not everyone can go the DRS route.

 

[Pumacarl]

I have a Hera Arms SFU adapter to put on an AR style gun to make it a folding stock but this adapter did not work with how Macavity made their stock(still furious about this). Does anyone know if the Barra stock will work with this adapter? It would be good to know because I would not recommend this gun to anyone without having a workaround for the length. I think about long term ownership too, and I would not recommend it to people who wouldn't, or don't like, working on their own guns either. It hasn't been discussed here yet, but it does have 50 orings to deal with doing a complete re-seal. At the value, compared to a DRS, this doesn't phase someone like me at all. Though, I absolutely like the fewest parts possible, it doesn't intimidate me, or make it a deal breaker. I do know that it does bother some, and they are usually over vocal about it. You know who you are, so be advised.

 

[Sr.airgunner]

Wow! 50 O-rings? Is there a good parts blow up to show all the parts and availability from Barra?

 

[Pumacarl]

Wow! 50 O-rings? Is there a good parts blow up to show all the parts and availability from Barra?

I will let you know, I have one on the way. Orings don't scare me, they're just a part of all of it. I think just about everyone that complains about leaks all of the time, spend a lot more time complaining about them, than what it actually takes to just fix them.

 

[Sr.airgunner]

I would like to see a precision review of the Barra 250Z by a regular airgun shooter who buys a production model without the free loan or gift of the pre production 250Z. Are there any such reviews out there?

 

[MountainSportAirguns]

I would like to see a precision review of the Barra 250Z by a regular airgun shooter who buys a production model without the free loan or gift of the pre production 250Z. Are there any such reviews out there?

No, you should be the first one!

 

[TerryE1]

I would like to see a precision review of the Barra 250Z by a regular airgun shooter who buys a production model without the free loan or gift of the pre production 250Z. Are there any such reviews out there?

Contact Barra. Find out when you can purchase one. When you get it, develop your own social media vehicle and have at it with your own UN-biased opinion. We'll wait.

 

[Pumacarl]

I have started working on my 250z. I don't envy, and don't want to be, a professional reviewer. There is a lot that I would say to someone face to face, where I could explain myself better, that I would not throw out into the ether. Southern Gunner got sued by some idiot who didn't understand what he was saying. No thanks! I won't be giving out tuning or modding techniques (dealing with triggers and safeties). It would behove anyone to buy some cheap airguns and learn how to work on different parts that the manufacturers really don't want you to. Once you develop an understanding anything becomes possible. It takes doing though, reading only gets you so far.

I will say, because it is true, that I got a problem child. What I am not sure of is whether my gun was a return, or if the o.e.m. screwed it up. It had a mark on the castle nut and on the pic rail, nothing major but noticable. I wanted a winter project, and I certainly got one. I thought for sure that I would be returning mine, but I started fixing it and have changed my mind. I'm keeping it.

The problems that I had were that the stock was stuck closed, the gun would not cock, the trigger wouldn't set. I fixed those problems and set the trigger to 20oz and took out the play. It's really nice now. I was hoping originally, that the gun would show up the way it is now, but no. The pins in the stock adjustment lever were so bent by someone reefing on the lever that the stock was never going to move. I had to knock the pins out, straighten them, and took a little off of the pin stop to get it to work. I also used cylinder hones on the butt stock because it was too tight to slide on the buffer tube. It still is tight, but can be moved now. It's plastic so I didn't go crazy on it. Since the gun was now at least functioning properly, I cleaned the barrel, aired it up, set the reg to 2300psi, and chronographed some 21gr .218 H&N slugs, to see what power I was at. It is doing 975fps, 44fpe. I was using 50 psi per shot, so I should get 20 easy, which is what I wanted. Nice! I had a Ronin on it and it was surprisingly quiet, so then I put on my STO Levitas and it was louder but not bad and only weighs about 2oz. Now I wait and check for leaks.

I have a plan for putting a ARCA swiss rail on the bottom of the stock so that's going to take a while. It will probably be spring before I am shooting it at this point.

Edit: The speed that I got was with the hs adjuster being flush, just like all the reviews I have seen, but I got there differently. I try to get my HS to have some free flight or be very close to being at rest. I use to work at finding one stronger spring and keep cutting a little until I get what I wanted, but that was really really tedious. What is only, just tedious, is using two springs. I cut the original down so it did not have any compression, and then put a second smaller spring inside that one. Yes, it is, or can be, a lot of trial and error, but in the end there is less of a chance of hammer bounce, and the rates are pretty much the same. I also put Teflon tape on the HS adjuster because it turned a little to easily for my liking.

I was relieved that this gun has zero ping. My P15 did, and I ended up putting a brass plug in the hammer face. SPA seems to have that under control now. Some of the screws on the gun were loose, you really need to check them all in these guns. That's why I think it is crazy to take these guns straight out of the box and just shoot them, unless you already had someone check it for you. I pushed a .218 slug down the barrel and while the push was very consistent, it was very light. Feeding into the chamber from the mag is good until right at seating. The leade seems to be rough. I will fix that as soon as I check the accuracy of the gun. If it shoots well, I'll leave it. It's all about accuracy.

Not a fan of how the fill port is so deep, that you can't push the probe to it's stop while connected to a hose because the shoulder of the connector hits the stock. It does work, obviously, but I don't like it either. And like Dana's review mentioned, WHERE IS THE PLUG? What genius thought that it was a good design idea to just leave that open to the elements? These things need to be said, -out loud! I was planning on leaving the fill probe in the gun, with a cap on that, but can't because the cap can't snap on to the probe when it is pushed all the way down, and I don't want to risk losing it. Small details, and not deal breakers, just a nuisance.

 

[Sr.airgunner]

Incredible patience and skill to work out these problems with a production airgun. Hopefully this will be a rare example of what to expect out of the box.

 

[Pumacarl]

Incredible patience and skill to work out these problems with a production airgun. Hopefully this will be a rare example of what to expect out of the box.

This really was an unusually bad example for sure, I expect loose screws, but not a non-functioning gun. I really do like SPA designs, it's just their assembly and qc that needs work.

 

[Pumacarl]

I am at a standstill waiting for some parts, but the gun has been holding air and the reg shows no signs of creeping, so at least the orings were installed properly.

My Hera Arms SFU adapter won't work on this stock either. I can't seem to catch a break with that thing. I do like the hand grip enough that I don't plan on changing that though, so that's a win.

I have been looking for reviews where people talk about the slugs they tried but haven't found much. I know that I am going to stay in the 20-21gr weight zone but I am not sure what diameter I should get. The .218 H&N's almost seem loose. NSA jumps right to .219, if they had a .2185 I would definately try that, but they don't, and they say specifically, that the .219 is for the Edguns, so I'm leary of getting those. I just don't want to buy everything under the sun again, like I did for my .30. To cover my bases I am planning on getting the NSA 20.2gr in .2175 and .218 first.

 

[Billm]

I just received my 250z. I haven’t fired it yet for accuracy, as I ordered a Discovery ED 5-25x55 scope that is arriving in a few minutes. No issues filling it. I could not adjust the butt stock. It was extremely stubborn. I’ve owned several AR15s and never seen one this tight. Not really an issue at this point. Well the scope just arrived. I have a variety of .22 pellets and slugs to try.

 

[Pumacarl]

Yes, Barra told me that they are aware of some problems with some of the stocks. Mine was plain ol' broke, there was no adjusting it. My lament is, if they are aware that there is a problem, why aren't they opening the box and checking them before shipping them out? It would save them not just time, but also face. They are great people to talk to though and are willing to help in any way you want. Because I opted to just fix the gun myself they sent me a spare magazine, nice!

And congrats on your gun! I've used that scope, it's big but works well.

 

[Billm]

Yes, Barra told me that they are aware of some problems with some of the stocks. Mine was plain ol' broke, there was no adjusting it. My lament is, if they are aware that there is a problem, why aren't they opening the box and checking them before shipping them out? It would save them not just time, but also face. They are great people to talk to though and are willing to help in any way you want. Because I opted to just fix the gun myself they sent me a spare magazine, nice!

And congrats on your gun! I've used that scope, it's big but works well.

Well, I’m disappointed. I had to press really hard on the butt stock latch to extend the stock. Now it’s stuck in the max extended position and will not collapse. It appears that the button does not raise the locking pin. It has not been a great experience purchasing this rifle so far. It took Barra 11/12 days to ship my “in stock” rifle. Their only response to my status requests was “be patient”. It arrived yesterday, two weeks after I ordered it. They would not sell me just the rifle, they would only sell me it as a package with their scope that I have no intention of using. Their scope and pellets that they required me to purchase are still drifting around in the USPS network somewhere. Now it is obvious that they shipped me an item that they knew might be defective.

 

[Pumacarl]

Well, I can certainly understand your frustration, but this situation isn't unique either. Most of the retailers of budget guns made over seas, don't check them. This is part of keeping the price down, and the reason Pyramyd Air charges you a fee to check your gun if you want. If someone has that kind of service, even I will use it, just to save time. Since Barra knows there was a problem, they really should be checking them until the issue is cleared up, but they are a new outfit and might not have enough hands on deck yet. Who knows? But they will work with you and make it right. The customer service is pretty good, by all accounts, including mine. There are bigger companies that are not as good.

What makes these guns inexpensive is that there are fewer craftsman's hands on them checking for problems along the way of assembly. I think that their engineering and design is actually quite good, it's when they get made is when the problems hit. To take advantage of the deals that these guns are, you really have to know how to spot and fix the simple stuff, or you will be sending them back and playing the lottery until you get one with out problems. Knowing this, I just kept what I got and just started fixing it.

Barra, and anyone else, that sells any airguns from large, cheap labor companies, knows that the products could be defective for any number of reasons. It's the price of doing business with them, for all parties involved. That is why one of the biggest seller of airguns will check your gun, for a price. They wouldn't have an established service if it wasn't a common problem. There would not be a budget section of airguns if you want a guarantee that your gun isn't defective out of the box. All kinds of folks will be upset about me saying that, but that's how I see it. And here's the part that is going to tick off everyone else, you can buy a top-tier $3K airgun that comes with problems too, even they are not immune. That's why from top to the bottom they come with a warranty, you wouldn't need one of those either if they all always showed up perfect.

These guns, by all accounts, shoot very accurately, and powerfully, for less than half the price of a high-end brand. Once Barra sends you one that works, you will be happy to have had the problem on a cheaper gun than a more expensive one, because that really sucks.

I hope your next one meets your expectations.