250Z Message from Barra Airguns on Accuracy

[JWAG]

Hello — I’m Jake, General Manager at Barra Airguns. I want to personally acknowledge reports we’ve received about inconsistent accuracy from a small number of our rifles, particularly when customers are shooting slugs.

Accuracy is something we do not take lightly. We believe in being transparent with our customers and doing things right by them. While we still have room for improvement, this is part of our identity. We are a young company and are committed to this principle. In fact, we strive to position ourselves with the following tenets:

Customer Driven – We listen to what customers want and respond to their needs.
Design Focused – Blending heritage concepts with modern designs.
Feature Packed – Premium features for a better value. Features that expand the market.

That being said, I would like to provide context to this issue. There are a small handful of factories in China that manufacture all the air rifles made in China that are sold in the US and around the world. Most of these factories manufacture airguns for multiple US brands, using the same machines, methods, and materials. The information I provide below is not unique to our brand; it is found across almost airguns made in China and sold today. The following information may shed light on what many enthusiasts call the “barrel lottery” and help people make better informed decisions.

Most airgun barrels manufactured in China are constructed from seamless steel tubing. This has also been common practice in many other parts of the world, including the US, especially for airguns where cost savings is important. Seamless steel tubing is an attractive choice for manufacturing airgun barrels because it eliminates the deep hole drilling and barrel profiling steps, thus saving significant cost. As with anything in life, the pros are balanced by cons. To understand the cons, it is important to understand the nature of seamless steel tubing.

Seamless steel tubing generally is made to conform to ASTM A519 or its international equivalents. This standard dictates the tolerances of outer diameter, inner diameter, wall thickness, and straightness over length. Without going completely into ASTM A519, these tolerances generally add up to the following high-level issues with using seamless steel tubing for constructing airgun barrels:

• Tubing tolerance starts with the outer diameter, not the bore
• The bore diameter varies much more than the outer diameter since the wall thickness is allowed 10% to 12.5% tolerance, depending on the percentage the wall thickness is of the outer diameter.
• Because of this, the bore is often not concentric with the outer diameter, nor can it be expected to be very uniform throughout.
• The tubing is generally not straight enough to be used as a gun barrel and must undergo a straightening process.
• The straightening process introduces additional random tight spots into the bore.
• The temper of the tubing is not consistent from batch to batch and localized hardened areas are introduced in the straightening process.
• Inconsistencies in temper affect the degree that the rifling button engraves the rifling into the tubing, as some material has a greater tendency to spring back than others.

Despite these cons, most Chinese airgun barrel manufacturers can produce surprisingly high-quality barrels these days, especially for shooting pellets. Anybody who has been using Chinese manufactured airguns for the past 25+ years knows how far we have come to get to where we are today. This is due to ordering tubing that conforms to standards, better understanding the needs and expectations of airgun shooters worldwide, and the implementation of quality control processes.

Please note, some barrels may show signs of marring even if they are performing accurately.

We’re actively addressing these issues on three fronts:

Long Term: Working directly with our factory partners to improve barrel uniformity, straightness, and quality checks for slug-capable barrels.​

Long Term: Tightening our incoming inspection and testing to catch variations before barrels are assembled.​

Short Term: Exploring offering high quality air gun barrels from manufacturers already known for high quality airgun barrels.​

If you’ve experienced inconsistent accuracy, please contact our customer service team at help@barraairguns.com “slug accuracy issue” plus your serial number and a brief description of the problem (what ammo you used, distance, and sample groups if available). I will personally make sure we evaluate your case and get it resolved quickly. We’ll make it right, whether that means replacement, repair, or refund.

Thank you for the frank feedback — it drives improvements. We value your trust and are committed to delivering airguns that perform reliably for their intended purposes.


Best,

Jake
Barra Airguns

 

[hameditor]

Jake, thanks for taking the time to provide such an excellent analysis and explanation of the issues with barrels on most - not just Barra - Chinese-manufactured airguns!

You have explained the "tube" barrel-manufacturing process, its benefits and issues in a far superior and more comprehensive manner than anything I have seen before. Thank you.

I think that many HAMsters will appreciate your candor and value the determination of Barra to continue to offer high quality products at very attractive prices.

 

[kcender]

Hello — I’m Jake, General Manager at Barra Airguns. I want to personally acknowledge reports we’ve received about inconsistent accuracy from a small number of our rifles, particularly when customers are shooting slugs.

Accuracy is something we do not take lightly. We believe in being transparent with our customers and doing things right by them. While we still have room for improvement, this is part of our identity. We are a young company and are committed to this principle. In fact, we strive to position ourselves with the following tenets:

Customer Driven – We listen to what customers want and respond to their needs.
Design Focused – Blending heritage concepts with modern designs.
Feature Packed – Premium features for a better value. Features that expand the market.

That being said, I would like to provide context to this issue. There are a small handful of factories in China that manufacture all the air rifles made in China that are sold in the US and around the world. Most of these factories manufacture airguns for multiple US brands, using the same machines, methods, and materials. The information I provide below is not unique to our brand; it is found across almost airguns made in China and sold today. The following information may shed light on what many enthusiasts call the “barrel lottery” and help people make better informed decisions.

Most airgun barrels manufactured in China are constructed from seamless steel tubing. This has also been common practice in many other parts of the world, including the US, especially for airguns where cost savings is important. Seamless steel tubing is an attractive choice for manufacturing airgun barrels because it eliminates the deep hole drilling and barrel profiling steps, thus saving significant cost. As with anything in life, the pros are balanced by cons. To understand the cons, it is important to understand the nature of seamless steel tubing.

Seamless steel tubing generally is made to conform to ASTM A519 or its international equivalents. This standard dictates the tolerances of outer diameter, inner diameter, wall thickness, and straightness over length. Without going completely into ASTM A519, these tolerances generally add up to the following high-level issues with using seamless steel tubing for constructing airgun barrels:

• Tubing tolerance starts with the outer diameter, not the bore
• The bore diameter varies much more than the outer diameter since the wall thickness is allowed 10% to 12.5% tolerance, depending on the percentage the wall thickness is of the outer diameter.
• Because of this, the bore is often not concentric with the outer diameter, nor can it be expected to be very uniform throughout.
• The tubing is generally not straight enough to be used as a gun barrel and must undergo a straightening process.
• The straightening process introduces additional random tight spots into the bore.
• The temper of the tubing is not consistent from batch to batch and localized hardened areas are introduced in the straightening process.
• Inconsistencies in temper affect the degree that the rifling button engraves the rifling into the tubing, as some material has a greater tendency to spring back than others.

Despite these cons, most Chinese airgun barrel manufacturers can produce surprisingly high-quality barrels these days, especially for shooting pellets. Anybody who has been using Chinese manufactured airguns for the past 25+ years knows how far we have come to get to where we are today. This is due to ordering tubing that conforms to standards, better understanding the needs and expectations of airgun shooters worldwide, and the implementation of quality control processes.

Please note, some barrels may show signs of marring even if they are performing accurately.

We’re actively addressing these issues on three fronts:

Long Term: Working directly with our factory partners to improve barrel uniformity, straightness, and quality checks for slug-capable barrels.​

Long Term: Tightening our incoming inspection and testing to catch variations before barrels are assembled.​

Short Term: Exploring offering high quality air gun barrels from manufacturers already known for high quality airgun barrels.​

If you’ve experienced inconsistent accuracy, please contact our customer service team at help@barraairguns.com “slug accuracy issue” plus your serial number and a brief description of the problem (what ammo you used, distance, and sample groups if available). I will personally make sure we evaluate your case and get it resolved quickly. We’ll make it right, whether that means replacement, repair, or refund.

Thank you for the frank feedback — it drives improvements. We value your trust and are committed to delivering airguns that perform reliably for their intended purposes.


Best,

Jake
Barra Airguns

Jake, TY you for that frank explanation. I own one of your 250z's and when I initially received it, I patched it as well as scoping it. I have to say I didn't have high expectations afterwards. However, after putting it on target I have NO complaints about its accuracy; it is a tack driver. My main concern was how often it might require cleaning from what I saw initially. I haven't reached that point yet, but I can attest that the rifle is more accurate than I am. It hits where it is pointed. I hate the trigger and you really need to do something about that; it's horrible. That and the butt stock. You fix that and you will be on the way to an excellent rifle. Again, TY.

 

[pan60]

I am going to pin this for bit.

 

[hameditor]

I am going to pin this for bit.

@pan60 Yes, please do so. I thought I had done this already, but please double-check me.

 

[Billm]

Hello — I’m Jake, General Manager at Barra Airguns. I want to personally acknowledge reports we’ve received about inconsistent accuracy from a small number of our rifles, particularly when customers are shooting slugs.

Accuracy is something we do not take lightly. We believe in being transparent with our customers and doing things right by them. While we still have room for improvement, this is part of our identity. We are a young company and are committed to this principle. In fact, we strive to position ourselves with the following tenets:

Customer Driven – We listen to what customers want and respond to their needs.
Design Focused – Blending heritage concepts with modern designs.
Feature Packed – Premium features for a better value. Features that expand the market.

That being said, I would like to provide context to this issue. There are a small handful of factories in China that manufacture all the air rifles made in China that are sold in the US and around the world. Most of these factories manufacture airguns for multiple US brands, using the same machines, methods, and materials. The information I provide below is not unique to our brand; it is found across almost airguns made in China and sold today. The following information may shed light on what many enthusiasts call the “barrel lottery” and help people make better informed decisions.

Most airgun barrels manufactured in China are constructed from seamless steel tubing. This has also been common practice in many other parts of the world, including the US, especially for airguns where cost savings is important. Seamless steel tubing is an attractive choice for manufacturing airgun barrels because it eliminates the deep hole drilling and barrel profiling steps, thus saving significant cost. As with anything in life, the pros are balanced by cons. To understand the cons, it is important to understand the nature of seamless steel tubing.

Seamless steel tubing generally is made to conform to ASTM A519 or its international equivalents. This standard dictates the tolerances of outer diameter, inner diameter, wall thickness, and straightness over length. Without going completely into ASTM A519, these tolerances generally add up to the following high-level issues with using seamless steel tubing for constructing airgun barrels:

• Tubing tolerance starts with the outer diameter, not the bore
• The bore diameter varies much more than the outer diameter since the wall thickness is allowed 10% to 12.5% tolerance, depending on the percentage the wall thickness is of the outer diameter.
• Because of this, the bore is often not concentric with the outer diameter, nor can it be expected to be very uniform throughout.
• The tubing is generally not straight enough to be used as a gun barrel and must undergo a straightening process.
• The straightening process introduces additional random tight spots into the bore.
• The temper of the tubing is not consistent from batch to batch and localized hardened areas are introduced in the straightening process.
• Inconsistencies in temper affect the degree that the rifling button engraves the rifling into the tubing, as some material has a greater tendency to spring back than others.

Despite these cons, most Chinese airgun barrel manufacturers can produce surprisingly high-quality barrels these days, especially for shooting pellets. Anybody who has been using Chinese manufactured airguns for the past 25+ years knows how far we have come to get to where we are today. This is due to ordering tubing that conforms to standards, better understanding the needs and expectations of airgun shooters worldwide, and the implementation of quality control processes.

Please note, some barrels may show signs of marring even if they are performing accurately.

We’re actively addressing these issues on three fronts:

Long Term: Working directly with our factory partners to improve barrel uniformity, straightness, and quality checks for slug-capable barrels.​

Long Term: Tightening our incoming inspection and testing to catch variations before barrels are assembled.​

Short Term: Exploring offering high quality air gun barrels from manufacturers already known for high quality airgun barrels.​

If you’ve experienced inconsistent accuracy, please contact our customer service team at help@barraairguns.com “slug accuracy issue” plus your serial number and a brief description of the problem (what ammo you used, distance, and sample groups if available). I will personally make sure we evaluate your case and get it resolved quickly. We’ll make it right, whether that means replacement, repair, or refund.

Thank you for the frank feedback — it drives improvements. We value your trust and are committed to delivering airguns that perform reliably for their intended purposes.


Best,

Jake
Barra Airguns

I’ve expressed my issues with my Barra250z on here and directly with Barra. I was impressed when Barra reached out to me, listened to my issues, explained to me their issues and their intended remedies. In all honesty I can’t wait to get another 250z. The transparency was refreshing.

 

[Cantona256]

Hello — I’m Jake, General Manager at Barra Airguns. I want to personally acknowledge reports we’ve received about inconsistent accuracy from a small number of our rifles, particularly when customers are shooting slugs.

Accuracy is something we do not take lightly. We believe in being transparent with our customers and doing things right by them. While we still have room for improvement, this is part of our identity. We are a young company and are committed to this principle. In fact, we strive to position ourselves with the following tenets:

Customer Driven – We listen to what customers want and respond to their needs.
Design Focused – Blending heritage concepts with modern designs.
Feature Packed – Premium features for a better value. Features that expand the market.

That being said, I would like to provide context to this issue. There are a small handful of factories in China that manufacture all the air rifles made in China that are sold in the US and around the world. Most of these factories manufacture airguns for multiple US brands, using the same machines, methods, and materials. The information I provide below is not unique to our brand; it is found across almost airguns made in China and sold today. The following information may shed light on what many enthusiasts call the “barrel lottery” and help people make better informed decisions.

Most airgun barrels manufactured in China are constructed from seamless steel tubing. This has also been common practice in many other parts of the world, including the US, especially for airguns where cost savings is important. Seamless steel tubing is an attractive choice for manufacturing airgun barrels because it eliminates the deep hole drilling and barrel profiling steps, thus saving significant cost. As with anything in life, the pros are balanced by cons. To understand the cons, it is important to understand the nature of seamless steel tubing.

Seamless steel tubing generally is made to conform to ASTM A519 or its international equivalents. This standard dictates the tolerances of outer diameter, inner diameter, wall thickness, and straightness over length. Without going completely into ASTM A519, these tolerances generally add up to the following high-level issues with using seamless steel tubing for constructing airgun barrels:

• Tubing tolerance starts with the outer diameter, not the bore
• The bore diameter varies much more than the outer diameter since the wall thickness is allowed 10% to 12.5% tolerance, depending on the percentage the wall thickness is of the outer diameter.
• Because of this, the bore is often not concentric with the outer diameter, nor can it be expected to be very uniform throughout.
• The tubing is generally not straight enough to be used as a gun barrel and must undergo a straightening process.
• The straightening process introduces additional random tight spots into the bore.
• The temper of the tubing is not consistent from batch to batch and localized hardened areas are introduced in the straightening process.
• Inconsistencies in temper affect the degree that the rifling button engraves the rifling into the tubing, as some material has a greater tendency to spring back than others.

Despite these cons, most Chinese airgun barrel manufacturers can produce surprisingly high-quality barrels these days, especially for shooting pellets. Anybody who has been using Chinese manufactured airguns for the past 25+ years knows how far we have come to get to where we are today. This is due to ordering tubing that conforms to standards, better understanding the needs and expectations of airgun shooters worldwide, and the implementation of quality control processes.

Please note, some barrels may show signs of marring even if they are performing accurately.

We’re actively addressing these issues on three fronts:

Long Term: Working directly with our factory partners to improve barrel uniformity, straightness, and quality checks for slug-capable barrels.​

Long Term: Tightening our incoming inspection and testing to catch variations before barrels are assembled.​

Short Term: Exploring offering high quality air gun barrels from manufacturers already known for high quality airgun barrels.​

If you’ve experienced inconsistent accuracy, please contact our customer service team at help@barraairguns.com “slug accuracy issue” plus your serial number and a brief description of the problem (what ammo you used, distance, and sample groups if available). I will personally make sure we evaluate your case and get it resolved quickly. We’ll make it right, whether that means replacement, repair, or refund.

Thank you for the frank feedback — it drives improvements. We value your trust and are committed to delivering airguns that perform reliably for their intended purposes.


Best,

Jake
Barra Airguns

I only shoot slugs out of my .25 gal and accuracy has been great… I have an Instagram full of scope cam footage of the 250z putting in serious work out to 125y+

 

[Jaabaa]

I appreciate the Answer. But I still must say as a customer it is your responsibility for those few flawed ones. You made the decision to have them built and then sold to the public. Knowing that a small amount does have the flaws mentioned above. There should be no problem making good with such a small few amount of customers as stated.
Thank you.

 

[TAPnAR]

I am considering this brand. I was looking at the 1100z as well as the 250z. From what I have read, the issue seems more prevalent in the .22 caliber than the .25. Has most of the affected product been remedied. So if one was to place an order today, would they receive a better quality barrel. I really want to love this brand for a few reason's When looking at the website, it appears they have parts stock for the guns they sell. Also the Company is in NW AR where I live, they are only about 40 minutes from me. This will be my first introduction into PCP. I know there is not any perfect product, and will require some tinkering to get it the way I want it.

Thank you Jake for the great write up!

Todd

 

[JWAG]

I appreciate the Answer. But I still must say as a customer it is your responsibility for those few flawed ones. You made the decision to have them built and then sold to the public. Knowing that a small amount does have the flaws mentioned above. There should be no problem making good with such a small few amount of customers as stated.
Thank you.

I totally agree, please send me a direct message if my customer service team hasn't adequately resolved your case.

 

[JWAG]

Jake, TY you for that frank explanation. I own one of your 250z's and when I initially received it, I patched it as well as scoping it. I have to say I didn't have high expectations afterwards. However, after putting it on target I have NO complaints about its accuracy; it is a tack driver. My main concern was how often it might require cleaning from what I saw initially. I haven't reached that point yet, but I can attest that the rifle is more accurate than I am. It hits where it is pointed. I hate the trigger and you really need to do something about that; it's horrible. That and the butt stock. You fix that and you will be on the way to an excellent rifle. Again, TY.

@kcender, Right back at on the frank feedback! I'll send an update on this soon.

 

[Northeastbeast]

I have gone through several barrels for the 250z and have worked are many more. All bad barrels I've seen have the same issues. Gaps. Running a slug down the barrel with a wood dowel it will go from tight to lose to tight so on and so forth. Ive seen them with irregular crowns, breech end of barrel being under sized to where even a .216 slug is hard to load. Both in 22 & 25 these issues are present.

What is good is you guys are admitting there has been some QC issues and that you are ready & willing to make things right and work towards a resolution. Good on you guys.

 

[Cantona256]

I am considering this brand. I was looking at the 1100z as well as the 250z. From what I have read, the issue seems more prevalent in the .22 caliber than the .25. Has most of the affected product been remedied. So if one was to place an order today, would they receive a better quality barrel. I really want to love this brand for a few reason's When looking at the website, it appears they have parts stock for the guns they sell. Also the Company is in NW AR where I live, they are only about 40 minutes from me. This will be my first introduction into PCP. I know there is not any perfect product, and will require some tinkering to get it the way I want it.

Thank you Jake for the great write up!

Todd

Bro get the .25 cal and just get ready to have more fun than you ever thought possible with an air rifle. A lot of really good people have been super active in the barra threads on here so tuning it is all laid out. If you wanna mod it, you’ll find all that info here and really solid sensible advice.

Barra has had a few quality control issues but I’d wager a big part of that is they’ve sold so many of these freaking 250z’s that it’s been hard to keep up.

As for the barrels as a machinist my money is on the .22 and .25 barrels being produced on different lines/machines. Most of the internals are the same. There are few parts that are different and the barrel is one of them. My guess is some crappy tooling or a crappy setup machinist on the .22 barrel line.

Considering we have an actual Barra rep here standing tall for the company I think it’s pretty safe to say that if you do have any issues that you’ll be able to get them resolved easily. Everyone has had their ups and downs with customer service and/or frustrations but at the end of the day I don’t see another gun, especially a slug shooter, outperforming this gun at that price. You can take this thing right out of the box, put the reg on like 2500/2600 psi, a few cranks on the hammer spring and you’ll be banging 28-32gr slugs at 900fps+. That’s money dude. Honestly the gun will outshoot you at first. I’ve had mine since march and it still takes my breath away how accurate it is. Plus 55-64fpe is nothing to sniff at. I can still hear the slugs expanding violently when I drop a squirrel at 125y… and doves sound like I taped an m80 to them.

 

[TAPnAR]

Bro get the .25 cal and just get ready to have more fun than you ever thought possible with an air rifle. A lot of really good people have been super active in the barra threads on here so tuning it is all laid out. If you wanna mod it, you’ll find all that info here and really solid sensible advice.

Barra has had a few quality control issues but I’d wager a big part of that is they’ve sold so many of these freaking 250z’s that it’s been hard to keep up.

As for the barrels as a machinist my money is on the .22 and .25 barrels being produced on different lines/machines. Most of the internals are the same. There are few parts that are different and the barrel is one of them. My guess is some crappy tooling or a crappy setup machinist on the .22 barrel line.

Considering we have an actual Barra rep here standing tall for the company I think it’s pretty safe to say that if you do have any issues that you’ll be able to get them resolved easily. Everyone has had their ups and downs with customer service and/or frustrations but at the end of the day I don’t see another gun, especially a slug shooter, outperforming this gun at that price. You can take this thing right out of the box, put the reg on like 2500/2600 psi, a few cranks on the hammer spring and you’ll be banging 28-32gr slugs at 900fps+. That’s money dude. Honestly the gun will outshoot you at first. I’ve had mine since march and it still takes my breath away how accurate it is. Plus 55-64fpe is nothing to sniff at. I can still hear the slugs expanding violently when I drop a squirrel at 125y… and doves sound like I taped an m80 to them.

Thank you for the great info. It is great to hear from actual users of a product about it's performance.

Todd

 

[Cantona256]

Thank you for the great info. It is great to hear from actual users of a product about it's performance.

Todd

It’s a really good product and a lot of us really love it.

Besides the quality control issues I don’t think the rest of us have many complaints. The trigger isn’t great but really it’s the stock that’s the weakest part. Looks cool but very flimsy. Also for the next gen add a bigger plenum do we don’t have to make them please haha. With the plenum mod I’m at 45cc of plenum and I really can’t wait emphasize enough how much better the shooting experience is with that. I can keep the gun at 55fpe and get 50+ shots a fill. Or I can put the reg at 2500psi and get 70fpe like now… but it’s an effortless 70fpe with almost no preload on the hammer spring. So the gun cocks easy, has zero barrel flip and is still whisper quiet. Shooting a dove at 70-80yards feels like like clicking a mouse… except instead of opening an application I’m shutting an invasive species down permanently

 

[TAPnAR]

"I want to personally acknowledge reports we’ve received about inconsistent accuracy from a small number of our rifles, particularly when customers are shooting slugs."

I re-read what Jake said, and just wondering is the issue more about Slugs than Pellets?

Thank you,
Todd

 

[Billm]

"I want to personally acknowledge reports we’ve received about inconsistent accuracy from a small number of our rifles, particularly when customers are shooting slugs."

I re-read what Jake said, and just wondering is the issue more about Slugs than Pellets?

Thank you,
Todd

I really only had an issue with slugs.

 

[TAPnAR]

I really only had an issue with slugs.

Thanks for the info Bill. I went ahead an ordered one, I will see how it does. I will mostly be using pellets. Might do a little pesting with it, but doubt any real hunting.

Todd

 

[Cantona256]

"I want to personally acknowledge reports we’ve received about inconsistent accuracy from a small number of our rifles, particularly when customers are shooting slugs."

I re-read what Jake said, and just wondering is the issue more about Slugs than Pellets?

Thank you,
Todd

I think it is but only because slugs have a lot more contact surface and thus more friction in the barrel. So you’re more likely to suffer from imperfections in the rifling… add to that the fact that slugs are spin stablized and it’s easy to see why a slug could spin wrong when it hits a patch of wonky rifling.

 

[cosmic]

Anyone heard anything yet ? I have 2 barrel now and neither are acceptable..