250Z Are these dings on the entering bevel of the barrel anything to be concerned with?

[GAJoe]

My pellets (JSB Match Diablo Exact King Mk II Heavy 33.95 Domed) and my Tipton cleaning rod arrived at lunch today so I was able to push a couple pellets through to see how they feel. It was snug starting and slightly choked near the end; no resistance in between. That good?

 

[cosmic]

It should start out somewhat tight and then It should be the same all the way through..

 

[Billm]

My pellets (JSB Match Diablo Exact King Mk II Heavy 33.95 Domed) and my Tipton cleaning rod arrived today so I was able to push a couple pellets through to see how they feel. It was snug starting and slightly choked near the end; no resistance in between. That good?

Considering that the 250z barrel is not supposed to be choked, technically that’s not good. But, that is common for the 250z and part of what started all of the commotion. If I were you, I would not take it for granted that any of this means your barrel will not shoot well. I suggest that you push a slug through. Then post a closeup photo of your slug on here. Take a look at the side of the slug, while you slowly rotate it. Do it with two slugs. Push the first one in about 6 inches from the breech and then push it out of the breech, by pushing from the muzzle. Push the second one all the way out of the barrel, starting from the breech and exiting the muzzle. It’s normal for there to be sticky spots in airgun barrels, even in $2500 rifles and a good polishing will generally fix that.

1. The shiny band near the base of the first slug will tell you the groove diameter of your barrel. The same band on the second slug will tell you if your barrel is choked.
2. You should be able to see where the rifling contacts the slug.
3. You may be able to see damage on the base if the Leade is really bad.

Barra told me that my barrel was not actually choked, but improperly (varying diameter) rifled. My 250z would shoot pellets really well, but not any slugs that I tried. It in all honesty it just really peed me off that @Pumacarl and @Cantona256 both had 250z that performed beyond well with slugs.
I could be wrong, but I sense that you’re second guessing your purchase. If you are, please don’t (yet). Give it a polish and a try and see how it actually does and sometimes it takes more than one polish. The 250z is a really fun rifle to shoot and if it does what you want/expect it to do, you’ll be very happy. Keep posting your questions. There are a great bunch of knowledgeable airgunners on here that are always willing to share their knowledge.

 

[GAJoe]

Considering that the 250z barrel is not supposed to be choked, technically that’s not good. But, that is common for the 250z and part of what started all of the commotion. If I were you, I would not take it for granted that any of this means your barrel will not shoot well. I suggest that you push a slug through. Then post a closeup photo of your slug on here. Take a look at the side of the slug, while you slowly rotate it. Do it with two slugs. Push the first one in about 6 inches from the breech and then push it out of the breech, by pushing from the muzzle. Push the second one all the way out of the barrel, starting from the breech and exiting the muzzle. It’s normal for there to be sticky spots in airgun barrels, even in $2500 rifles and a good polishing will generally fix that.

1. The shiny band near the base of the first slug will tell you the groove diameter of your barrel. The same band on the second slug will tell you if your barrel is choked.
2. You should be able to see where the rifling contacts the slug.
3. You may be able to see damage on the base if the Leade is really bad.

Barra told me that my barrel was not actually choked, but improperly (varying diameter) rifled. My 250z would shoot pellets really well, but not any slugs that I tried. It in all honesty it just really peed me off that @Pumacarl and @Cantona256 both had 250z that performed beyond well with slugs.
I could be wrong, but I sense that you’re second guessing your purchase. If you are, please don’t (yet). Give it a polish and a try and see how it actually does and sometimes it takes more than one polish. The 250z is a really fun rifle to shoot and if it does what you want/expect it to do, you’ll be very happy. Keep posting your questions. There are a great bunch of knowledgeable airgunners on here that are always willing to share their knowledge.

Thanks for the thorough clear instructions! It just so happened that I just finished doing that with a pellet. Franco just emailed me that the slugs shipped today. So I will when they arrive. My reasoning for doing that with a pellet was that if at any point the rifling didn't have a "grip" on the pellet there would be different rifling traces between the two. They both came out with the same 12 distinct grooves as they should. and the pellets didn't touch the rough part when inserted front or back first. I understand that I am looking for any sign of a bad chambering with a slug when I try them. My compressor will be arriving in a week so I'll go ahead with the polishing and see how it shoots. My Dad just gave me his old home-made rifle vice that should hold it exactly the same POI if it's shooting well after getting it tuned so that it's traveling the same speed. I'll keep "pluggin' away". If it shoots so well that I don't want to part with it, I may try my hand at polishing the lead. Thanks again for the encouragement!

 

[Billm]

Thanks for the thorough clear instructions! It just so happened that I just finished doing that with a pellet. Franco just emailed me that the slugs shipped today. So I will when they arrive. My reasoning for doing that with a pellet was that if at any point the rifling didn't have a "grip" on the pellet there would be different rifling traces between the two. They both came out with the same 12 distinct grooves as they should. and the pellets didn't touch the rough part when inserted front or back first. I understand that I am looking for any sign of a bad chambering with a slug when I try them. My compressor will be arriving in a week so I'll go ahead with the polishing and see how it shoots. My Dad just gave me his old home-made rifle vice that should hold it exactly the same POI if it's shooting well after getting it tuned so that it's traveling the same speed. I'll keep "pluggin' away". If it shoots so well that I don't want to part with it, I may try my hand at polishing the lead. Thanks again for the encouragement!

The difference between using a slug and a pellet, is that the slug has a larger bearing surface and shows more of the contact. That’s just my opinion and so Also usually do both. Don’t just polish the leade, I’d polish the full length, unless the pellet is literally falling through the barrel in the center- some have reported having that happen.

 

[Pumacarl]

I have been fortunate in my experience with airguns that my bores have been good to outstanding, at all price levels. Now the Barra barrel had issues that I corrected or didn't matter but the bore diameter was consistent. I don't think that you should feel a choke at the end, mine doesn't have one. That doesn't mean that it won't shoot well, especially with pellets, but slugs need a very consistent bore, it seems to me. @Billm was right to be really peeved at both myself and @Cantona256, our guns shot, and shoot Great! Sorry Bill, I couldn't resist!