250Z Message from Barra Airguns on Accuracy

[Freddy J]

I also would like to know his supplier.

 

[Cantona256]

Ugh oh… sounds like y’all need a curious machinist who loves the Barra 250z…. Possibly a guy who just did what I believe is the first and so far only LW barrel swap on a Karma EQ .

Keep me posted on what yall find out. Dont be discouraged if the trail leads to a barrel blank. I can machine a barrel for around $125-$175… yes that’s not as convenient as a drop in barrel. BUT considering a gunshop will likely charge you $250-$300 just to thread a barrel I’m confident that my price is about as reasonable as possible.

Even at $150 I make no money. It’s a least $100 just to use the equipment needed. Then it takes 3-4 hours to machine assuming I know exactly what I want to do…. I’m offering this because as I mentioned I did it with my EQ and I’m obsessed. Took a solid light-to-mid weight slug shooter and turned it into a 130fpe heavy slug shooting beast. Weather hasn’t been good lately but I’ve been having some real success shooting accurately to 250y-300y.


I think the barra barrels are good when they come correct. As mentioned before .25 cal seems to have way less issues than .22 cal. I got lucky with mine but I hate that y’all are dealing with this nonsense.

 

[Neu]

Ugh oh… sounds like y’all need a curious machinist who loves the Barra 250z…. Possibly a guy who just did what I believe is the first and so far only LW barrel swap on a Karma EQ .

Keep me posted on what yall find out. Dont be discouraged if the trail leads to a barrel blank. I can machine a barrel for around $125-$175… yes that’s not as convenient as a drop in barrel. BUT considering a gunshop will likely charge you $250-$300 just to thread a barrel I’m confident that my price is about as reasonable as possible.

Even at $150 I make no money. It’s a least $100 just to use the equipment needed. Then it takes 3-4 hours to machine assuming I know exactly what I want to do…. I’m offering this because as I mentioned I did it with my EQ and I’m obsessed. Took a solid light-to-mid weight slug shooter and turned it into a 130fpe heavy slug shooting beast. Weather hasn’t been good lately but I’ve been having some real success shooting accurately to 250y-300y.


I think the barra barrels are good when they come correct. As mentioned before .25 cal seems to have way less issues than .22 cal. I got lucky with mine but I hate that y’all are dealing with this nonsense.

I think the main issue is finding an unchoked barrel blank long enough to work with.

 

[Freddy J]

It's sad. that to find an acceptable Blank and the the cost of machining, equals more than you paid for the rifle in the first place.

 

[BBGunn]

250z shows it's stuff!

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[PestPlasteringPlinker]

250z shows it's stuff!

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Yeah, the 25 cals(because that is all I have experience with) punch hard above their price.

 

[John Leair]

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 love my incredibly accurate 250z. I can't wait for the 350Z. Thank you for your response to complaints about barrels, Barra stands behind their products, that is good for everyone to know

 

[Zelos1]

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

How about ordering tubing with a thicker wall and using some kind of long honing tool to perfect it while it is held in a secure, shaped clamp of some kind?

 

[stmag1300]

I just received my 250z on Wednesday......and last night I ran a few patches through the barrel to clean it thoroughly. Best I can tell by looking though the barrel, it looks great and just by the feel of pushing the patches through, I didn't feel any tight areas. I'm hoping to finaly shoot a few pellets through it this weekend and see how it does.

 

[hameditor]

I just received my 250z on Wednesday......and last night I ran a few patches through the barrel to clean it thoroughly. Best I can tell by looking though the barrel, it looks great and just by the feel of pushing the patches through, I didn't feel any tight areas. I'm hoping to finaly shoot a few pellets through it this weekend and see how it does.

Please let us know your findings

 

[BBGunn]

I just received my 250z on Wednesday......and last night I ran a few patches through the barrel to clean it thoroughly. Best I can tell by looking though the barrel, it looks great and just by the feel of pushing the patches through, I didn't feel any tight areas. I'm hoping to finaly shoot a few pellets through it this weekend and see how it does.

I'll be following to see how your new rifle works out.

 

[stmag1300]

Well my pump arrived....yeah, I got a manual for now. No gym membership is required... Haha. It's a bit windy, but after zeroing the scope that came with the 250z from Barra.....I gotta say at 40 yards this thing is a absolute tack driver. I was shooting the H&N baracuda hunter 27.47 yr and it just them. I didn't measure the grouping, but it was dime size or less. I'm very happy so far. When the wind dies down, I'll try longer shots