Definitive Guide to Barra 250z

A few characteristics quickly distinguish PCP airguns from firearms. The air cylinder is usually the biggest giveaway. This large bottle or tube holds the high-pressure air needed for a PCP to operate. Over the decades we've been shooting airguns, the design and placement have changed very little. The most common locations are under the barrel and in place of the buttstock. The AirForce line of airguns is a great example of the latter. Today, we'll look at an airgun that has made a significant departure from the norm. The Barra 250z is a long-range, high-powered PCP that doesn't seem to have an air cylinder of any kind. Instead of going with a traditional air cylinder or bottle, Barra chose to use the barrel shroud as the cylinder. Does it work? Does it deliver the same volume and shot count that we've all come to expect? Let's find out.

From a distance, the Barra 250z PCP air rifle looks like a modern, high-powered tactical firearm with an integrated suppressor. It looks really cool. It's extremely minimalistic, starting with an AR-style grip and buttstock. The 6-position adjustable buttstock incorporates an adjustable cheekpiece and can be easily extended or shortened depending on the shooter's needs. The rest of the stock is molded from a single piece of synthetic composite. The forearm utilizes M-LOK channels for accessories.

The receiver continues the minimalistic design. It has a rear bolt at the back. The top of the receiver utilizes a split Picatinny rail for mounting optics. The magazine sits between the front and rear halves of the rail. The two-stage adjustable trigger is below the mag-well. And then there's the barrel "shroud," which is actually not a shroud but the air cylinder.

It would be understandable to look at this and think that there's just not enough volume to be effective. But with that space, Barra was able to create a 322cc air "cylinder" with a max fill pressure of 250 BAR. Considering mainstream airguns like the Air Venturi Avenger Bullpup II only have a 180cc air cylinder, Barra has delivered some impressive engineering. There are dual air gauges in the forearm located in front of the trigger guard. The frontmost gauge shows the cylinder pressure, and the rear gauge shows the reg pressure. Our sample shipped with the reg set to 2000 PSI.

There is no integrated moderator, so the 250z is loud out of the box. But realizing that airgunners would want to mount their own accessories, they included a 1/2 UNF threaded endcap.

Inside the air cylinder is a 27" rifled steel barrel with a 1:18 twist. We really appreciate Barra providing this kind of detailed information. It really helps enthusiasts looking to source a wide range of ammo options.

The entire package weighs in at just over six pounds with an overall length of 43.5 inches.

Setup & Operation

Before you can send shots downrange, you need to set up your 250z. There are no open sights, so you'll want to pick an optic. The design and elevation of the barrel, as compared to the cheekpiece, should allow you to pick medium or low mounts, depending on your scope's objective. But if you need to use high mounts for scope clearance, you have the adjustable cheekpiece to make sure you get the proper eye alignment.

Once you've got your scope picked and mounted, you'll need to fill your cylinder. The Barra 250z air rifle fills using a fill probe from underneath the forearm. Once filled to 250 BAR, you are ready to load your magazine. Our sample came in .22 caliber and ships with two ten-shot magazines and a single-shot tray. There is a .25 cal option that ships with two nine-shot magazines and a single-shot tray. The magazines are metal and very nice to use.

With full magazines and topped off to 250 BAR, you are ready to shoot. Go ahead and pull back the rear bolt and insert the magazine. Closing the bolt loads the pellet into the breech. Always remember to check your safety, which is located above the trigger.

At this point, you are ready to fire. Sight your target, release the safety, and gently squeeze the trigger. The trigger is decent enough right out of the box, with about a 1.5-pound to 2-pound pull. However, it is adjustable if you want to adjust it further. To fire again, simply work the bolt, acquire your target, and take your shot.

Performance & Accuracy

The Barra 250z pellet rifle utilizes an adjustable power plant comprised of an externally adjustable regulator and hammer spring. Our rifle shipped with the regulator set to 2000 PSI. We did not make any adjustments to the system. Should you be interested in tuning your gun to a particular pellet or slug, please refer to the manual.

We shot a variety of pellets for our accuracy testing, but we used the JSB 18.13 pellets to get our shot count and consistency numbers. For fun, we shot our shot curve test on steel targets out to 100 yards and used the FX True Ballistics chronograph to capture our results. The Barra delivered 47 shots before the main pressure dipped below the 2000 PSI reg pressure. The extreme spread across 47 shots was 32 FPS with an average of 961 FPS and 37.2 foot-pounds. Given there appears to be a good bit of headroom on the reg, it may be possible to get a bit more energy on target if that's your goal.

Now, on to accuracy. We shot groups with the following pellets: JSB Jumbo Heavy, JSB Jumbo Monster Shallow, JSB Jumbo Monster Deep, JSB Monster Light, JSB Hades, JTS Dead Center, and Umarex Brimstone.

Here are samples from our 50 yard testing:

JSB Jumbo Heavy 18.13 grain, Avg FPS 961 / 37.2 FPE

JSB Jumbo Monster Lights 20.83 grain, Avg FPS 900 / 37.43 FPE

JSB Jumbo Monster Deep 25.39 grain, Avg 842 FPS / 39.98 FPE

JSB Jumbo Monster Shallow 25.39 grain, Avg 849 FPS / 40.65 FPE

JSB Hades 15.89 grain, Avg 997 FPS / 35.08 FPE

UX Brimstone 18.67 grain, Avg 942 FPS / 36.8 FPE

JTS Dead Center 18.1 grain, Avg FPS 958 / 36.89 FPE

As you look at those groups, it's easy to see that the 18 grain to 20 grain variants did better, with the exception of the UX Brimstones. We don't know what was up there. The Dead Centers from JTS were right there with the JSB 18.13s and the new 20.83 grain Jumbo Monster Lights. As a note, we really like what we are getting from those 20.83 grain JSB pellets. They appear to be a great option without going all the way up to the 25.39 grain JSB Jumbo Monster shallow or deep pellets.

The 15.89 grain Hades performed well enough to consider them a hunting option, but they were running a little hot, with some shots breaking 1000 FPS. If you want to keep your velocity under 1000 FPS, we recommend sticking to heavier pellets or slugs.

Summing Up

At the end of the day, we really enjoyed testing the new Barra 250z. The new integrated cylinder streamlines the rifle's appearance and reduces its weight. The consistent accuracy and performance, combined with the option to tune it for power or shot count, make this a serious contender.

If you have more questions about the Barra 250z or any of our airgun offerings, please do not hesitate to reach out and give us a call. We are always happy to help.