250Z Getting to know my Barra 250z Gen 1

[250z_FL_Ballistics]

Hey there! I purchased a Barra 250z in March of 2025. Being new to the pcp world I saw really good accuracy results with this platform. I didn't want to spend money on a FX platform. I'm sure they're great but I don't have over a grand to spend on one. My originally wanted to shoot 40gr slugs out of this platform. At this time I didn't realize my barrel twist isn't really enough for this. I also wanted a gun that's capable of opening up hollowpoint slugs which she does very well. I have a budget friendly setup so far and it's worked out pretty well. I have a CV life bearpower 4x16x44 scope with a MOA tree setup. I put a buckrail moderater on it as well. I have a spritech air compressor which I picked up for $170 on Amazon and it still works well. My Barra is still stock and I want to learn my rifle before I add my rogue air hammer and spring kit as well as the trigger kit. My barra is currently set at 2100psi and i havent touched the hammer spring yet. I got a range of slugs from 22gr to 42.3gr. I learned real quick that barrel twist plays a big role. My 42.3gr zans elr and Griffin 40gr bthp both tumbled right away. I then did some research and talked with Google Gemini about this. I was getting velocities of 760 to 800 with these slugs. The 40gr altaros slug in .2165 actually preformed not to bad and had the fastest velocity at 805fps. I liked the 57 ft-lbs of energy from a stock rifle. I then jumped down to the 35gr griffin solid match. I had great results at 25 yards with it. I shot multiple groups between .3 and .4". I thought I found a good one. I found it hard to get consistent results with this round at 100. My best groups so far at 100 were 1.4" and 1.85" but I had 16 to 20 moa drop! Next important factor I learned about was SG factor. My griffin match have a low SG factor because of their length at 10.47mm. After that I switched to the 35gr zan elr slug which comes out to 9.9mm. After getting frustrated with the 35gr griffin at 100 I decided just to see what the zans would do. I had 2600psi left I took 9 shots at 100 yards. I knew my rifles velocity slide and it's very consistent in shots 1-5, 25-30 and 35-40. These shots landed in the 25-30 zone. I stacked 5 shots at .8" at 100. Shot number 6 opened it up to 1.14". I actually ended up with 2 tumblers. I can account this to the variation in diameter. Zan states it's a hybrid between .217 and .218. I believe my rifle likes .2165 and .217 slugs better. Some zan slugs were definitely harder to load then others. The zans are definitely a more efficient design as I had 11 to 14 moa drop instead of 16 to 20. I believe my best slugs with be the altaros 31.2gr and 32.3gr as far as long range go. They have overall the best BC and stability factor they are just expensive. My more budget friendly options would be the 27.5gr, 28.5gr NSA slugs. Let me know what you guys think? I know it's a long post but I have ballistic gel results I think you guys will like. I'll post it in another post.

 

[Pumacarl]

If you're getting results that you like, that's all that matters. When I was working on mine, I set different goals for what I wanted to do with it. I finally met those goals without having to change the gun too much, because I didn't want to shoot any slugs over 23gr. Since you seem to want to want to shoot heavier slugs, you would be well served to get one of the external plenums. You could do much more, better. You should read the threads of @Cantona256 , @Bladefin , and @Northeastbeast. Those guys did a lot of slug and plenum work, they basically did the research for you.

I would add that slugs don't behave like pellets or follow the same rules. They stabilize differently. Slugs spin stabilize and this takes a combination of barrel twist and speed. I personally won't shoot a standard slug slower than 920fps. The Alteros can be shot slower but I don't shoot those either. I like to shoot most slugs between 950 to 1050fps, especially if my twist rate is marginal. I just find they work better there and are more fun to use. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. The 250z is still my favorite gun, it's a blast!

 

[250z_FL_Ballistics]

If you're getting results that you like, that's all that matters. When I was working on mine, I set different goals for what I wanted to do with it. I finally met those goals without having to change the gun too much, because I didn't want to shoot any slugs over 23gr. Since you seem to want to want to shoot heavier slugs, you would be well served to get one of the external plenums. You could do much more, better. You should read the threads of @Cantona256 , @Bladefin , and @Northeastbeast. Those guys did a lot of slug and plenum work, they basically did the research for you.

I would add that slugs don't behave like pellets or follow the same rules. They stabilize differently. Slugs spin stabilize and this takes a combination of barrel twist and speed. I personally won't shoot a standard slug slower than 920fps. The Alteros can be shot slower but I don't shoot those either. I like to shoot most slugs between 950 to 1050fps, especially if my twist rate is marginal. I just find they work better there and are more fun to use. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. The 250z is still my favorite gun, it's a blast!

Thank you for that info i will definitely look into their research. I have been looking at plenums. Now I have seen that the altaros slugs don't like to be shot very fast. I seen they do best around 880 to 900 fps. Which I'm pretty close to. I get 870fps on a fresh fill. I tried lighter slugs the NSA 17.5gr and 20.2gr as well as the fx 22gr slugs. I wasn't really happy with my results. I do want to try to shoot long distance with my Barra. Anywhere from 100 to 200 yards. The heavier slugs give me the best chance. With my barrel twist, velocity I need to shoot shorter slugs to achieve higher stability. My favorite lighter slugs that i shot are the 24gr bthp from griffin at 930 fps and the 26gr griffin at 920 fps. Overall this gun has been a lot of fun for sure. I can't wait to see how the heavier hammer and spring change my rifle. I was a little hesitant to do it at first since my regulator is already pretty consistent.

 

[Pumacarl]

I shoot a 5" duraseal ball at 200y quite easily using 23gr Zan's .217 at 950fps, and JSB KO 20.83gr .216 at 980fps. The wind is the biggest problem in the equation, once you get good with that you're golden.

 

[250z_FL_Ballistics]

I shoot a 5" duraseal ball at 200y quite easily using 23gr Zan's .217 at 950fps, and JSB KO 20.83gr .216 at 980fps. The wind is the biggest problem in the equation, once you get good with that you're golden.

Wow that's pretty good. What's your drop like at that distance?