Tuning an SSP 250?

[superchikn]

While I have my SSP 250 apart are there any worthwhile tuning mods I can make?

I bought it new, it only came with a .177 barrel. The breach is metal and I have a centerpoint 2 x 20 scope on it.
It shoots great now.

I may go to a longer barrel in .22 sometime but I do not want to add a stock or necessarily change the breach.

I have done some trigger work so its not bad now.

All seals seem good except at the transfer port which looks good but has oil blow by.

Should I open up the transfer port, if so in the valve or the breach?  I know the valve design is supposed to be really good.

Anything else to consider performance wise?

Thanks

[jimhenry2000]

Ray,
First, I now have (2) 250s.  The first one I bought new back in the day and it still looks brand new since I rarely shot it. Not because I didn't like it but because I misplaced it for 20 years and just recently found it. I just resealed it and put a stock .22 barrel and a shoulder stock on it.  I absolutely love it.  I just bought an 18" .22 barrel for it but have not yet installed it.
Second, I recently purchased another 250 on ebay for $75. I was a little disappointed when I received it because the seller described it as "Good pre-owned condition, works." Well it is actually slightly rusted and does not hold gas. Also while I was offered and paid for "expedited" shipping the gun did not hit the Post Office for 3 business days after I won the auction. That said I am only a little disappointed because, IMO, the 250 is a great gun and much better than the 2240. I would still buy any more that I could find if the price was reasonable. SO, this one I have sent to Rich Dudek to have it completely tricked out, re-blueing, powder coating, 18" barrel, new trigger, and valve mod.  Rich tells me he thinks he can squeeze another 80 fps out of it but I'm not sure if all or part of that increase will be due to the 18" barrel or the valve mod.  Anyway when I get it back I will be able to compare it to my original 250 and see if one performs better than the other.  They will both have 18" .22 barrels so I should be able to make a good comparison.  I'll be happy to post the results.
Jim

While I have my SSP 250 apart are there any worthwhile tuning mods I can make?

I bought it new, it only came with a .177 barrel. The breach is metal and I have a centerpoint 2 x 20 scope on it.
It shoots great now.

I may go to a longer barrel in .22 sometime but I do not want to add a stock or necessarily change the breach.

I have done some trigger work so its not bad now.

All seals seem good except at the transfer port which looks good but has oil blow by.

Should I open up the transfer port, if so in the valve or the breach?  I know the valve design is supposed to be really good.

Anything else to consider performance wise?

Thanks

[superchikn]

Jim,

I had read your posts a few weeks ago with interest.  I just love my 250.  I killed a mess of rats soon after I bought it and it was up until 4 months ago the only pellet gun I ever owned.  Mine sat around for several years, at some point had a cart. stuck in it and I only recently rediscovered shooting this baby. 
I've done some trigger work on it and as I said i may go to a little longer .22 barrel but want to keep it a pistol.  The scope made a world of difference. 
I'm in the process of trying to make my own aluminum loading gates as I have worn out two plastic ones. 
I have not found any info yet on messing with the valve so I thought I would ask around.

I look forward to feed back on the one you sent to Rick.

[miltoncaniff]

Since you bought your SSP 250 new, I have a question. Did it come with a tie wrap around the barrel and the CO2 cap? I just picked up one on eBay and the sellers seemed to believe it was in the package that way.

Curious in Iowa

[jimhenry2000]

Since you bought you SSP 250 new, I have a question. Did it come with a tie wrap around the barrel and the CO2 cap? I just picked up one on eBay and the sellers seemed to believe it was in the package that way.

Curious in Iowa

Christopher,
I bought my first SSP-250 around 1990 and I honestly don't remember if it came with a tie-wrap came around the barrel and CO2 cap/tube. Was something like a hang tag attached to it? Otherwise what would be the purpose? Is the barrel band loose and possibly screw missing?
I do remember that it came in a blister pack, not a box as my older Crosman pistols. I'd love to hear more about this situation.
Regards,
Jim

[jimhenry2000]

Since you bought you SSP 250 new, I have a question. Did it come with a tie wrap around the barrel and the CO2 cap? I just picked up one on eBay and the sellers seemed to believe it was in the package that way.

Curious in Iowa

Also can you provide the link to the one you bought? I need to up my game, I shouldn't have missed it!

[jimhenry2000]

Hi Ray,
  Rich is just about finished modding my other 250.  I wanted him to take his time and not feel any pressure to turn it around quickly.  So I do not yet have it to do some tests against my other SSP-250 that is completely stock except for the 18" barrel and muzzle brake I put on it. One other thing I will do is put a NEW .22 loading seal in the loader on my original 250 as I'm concerned that even though the .22 barrel and loading seal were NIB NOS, the seal may have deteriorated being 30 years old and a really new one might seal better, even though I can detect no leakage on the current one with  palm test. Then I will compare the two on a chronograph. Rich has sent me pictures of the one he modded for me and it is gorgeous.  However, from the chrony results he is reporting to me it looks like he is getting over 12 fpe and 50-80 fps more than my stock gun so that is pretty significant! Since both his and my numbers were produced with 14.3 CPHPs and both guns have 18" barrels I predict that I will be very pleased. Many of us have read here and elsewhere that the SSP-250's valve design is so good that it is hard to improve upon; that makes it even more significant. As to loaders, I think I have seen them online and ebay. Not sure if those are aluminum but I THINK I have seen aluminum ones.
You should definite convert yours to .22 and take better advantage of the CO2. Since you want to keep it a pistol, if it were me I'd get a 14.6" barrel. If you bought a .22 barrel for a 2240 you would need to modify the breech end slightly, either plug the transfer port or cut off and finish the breech end past the transport barrel. If you are looking for a barrel of stock length I have seen them NOS on ebay and in fact I bought one. Since I then went to 18" I don't need the stock one any more and will probably put it on ebay when I get a chance. Even though this stock .22 barrel was genuine Crosman it did not fit inside the barrel tube. I sanded it down with emory cloth as much as I could to no avail so I then had to hone out the inside of the tube with a Flex-Hone and that took all of a minute!
Jim

Jim,

I had read your posts a few weeks ago with interest.  I just love my 250.  I killed a mess of rats soon after I bought it and it was up until 4 months ago the only pellet gun I ever owned.  Mine sat around for several years, at some point had a cart. stuck in it and I only recently rediscovered shooting this baby. 
I've done some trigger work on it and as I said i may go to a little longer .22 barrel but want to keep it a pistol.  The scope made a world of difference. 
I'm in the process of trying to make my own aluminum loading gates as I have worn out two plastic ones. 
I have not found any info yet on messing with the valve so I thought I would ask around.

I look forward to feed back on the one you sent to Rick.

[superchikn]

Since you bought you SSP 250 new, I have a question. Did it come with a tie wrap around the barrel and the CO2 cap? I just picked up one on eBay and the sellers seemed to believe it was in the package that way.

Curious in Iowa

Christopher,
I bought my first SSP-250 around 1990 and I honestly don't remember if it came with a tie-wrap came around the barrel and CO2 cap/tube. Was something like a hang tag attached to it? Otherwise what would be the purpose? Is the barrel band loose and possibly screw missing?
I do remember that it came in a blister pack, not a box as my older Crosman pistols. I'd love to hear more about this situation.
Regards,
Jim

Christopher, I am sorry but the same goes for me,  I only remember the pistol being in blister pack.

[superchikn]

Hi Ray,
  Rich is just about finished modding my other 250.  I wanted him to take his time and not feel any pressure to turn it around quickly.  So I do not yet have it to do some tests against my other SSP-250 that is completely stock except for the 18" barrel and muzzle brake I put on it. One other thing I will do is put a NEW .22 loading seal in the loader on my original 250 as I'm concerned that even though the .22 barrel and loading seal were NIB NOS, the seal may have deteriorated being 30 years old and a really new one might seal better, even though I can detect no leakage on the current one with  palm test. Then I will compare the two on a chronograph. Rich has sent me pictures of the one he modded for me and it is gorgeous.  However, from the chrony results he is reporting to me it looks like he is getting over 12 fpe and 50-80 fps more than my stock gun so that is pretty significant! Since both his and my numbers were produced with 14.3 CPHPs and both guns have 18" barrels I predict that I will be very pleased. Many of us have read here and elsewhere that the SSP-250's valve design is so good that it is hard to improve upon; that makes it even more significant. As to loaders, I think I have seen them online and ebay. Not sure if those are aluminum but I THINK I have seen aluminum ones.
You should definite convert yours to .22 and take better advantage of the CO2. Since you want to keep it a pistol, if it were me I'd get a 14.6" barrel. If you bought a .22 barrel for a 2240 you would need to modify the breech end slightly, either plug the transfer port or cut off and finish the breech end past the transport barrel. If you are looking for a barrel of stock length I have seen them NOS on ebay and in fact I bought one. Since I then went to 18" I don't need the stock one any more and will probably put it on ebay when I get a chance. Even though this stock .22 barrel was genuine Crosman it did not fit inside the barrel tube. I sanded it down with emory cloth as much as I could to no avail so I then had to hone out the inside of the tube with a Flex-Hone and that took all of a minute!
Jim



Jim,

I just got off a plane from Atlanta and read this quickly.  Sounds awesome,  I need to reread and digest this.
Just noticed on the Zee map i live about 45 minutes away from you.  maybe when you get your second one back i can swing by and we can compare notes.

Regards

[superchikn]

Hi Ray,
  Rich is just about finished modding my other 250.  I wanted him to take his time and not feel any pressure to turn it around quickly.  So I do not yet have it to do some tests against my other SSP-250 that is completely stock except for the 18" barrel and muzzle brake I put on it. One other thing I will do is put a NEW .22 loading seal in the loader on my original 250 as I'm concerned that even though the .22 barrel and loading seal were NIB NOS, the seal may have deteriorated being 30 years old and a really new one might seal better, even though I can detect no leakage on the current one with  palm test. Then I will compare the two on a chronograph. Rich has sent me pictures of the one he modded for me and it is gorgeous.  However, from the chrony results he is reporting to me it looks like he is getting over 12 fpe and 50-80 fps more than my stock gun so that is pretty significant! Since both his and my numbers were produced with 14.3 CPHPs and both guns have 18" barrels I predict that I will be very pleased. Many of us have read here and elsewhere that the SSP-250's valve design is so good that it is hard to improve upon; that makes it even more significant. As to loaders, I think I have seen them online and ebay. Not sure if those are aluminum but I THINK I have seen aluminum ones.
You should definite convert yours to .22 and take better advantage of the CO2. Since you want to keep it a pistol, if it were me I'd get a 14.6" barrel. If you bought a .22 barrel for a 2240 you would need to modify the breech end slightly, either plug the transfer port or cut off and finish the breech end past the transport barrel. If you are looking for a barrel of stock length I have seen them NOS on ebay and in fact I bought one. Since I then went to 18" I don't need the stock one any more and will probably put it on ebay when I get a chance. Even though this stock .22 barrel was genuine Crosman it did not fit inside the barrel tube. I sanded it down with emory cloth as much as I could to no avail so I then had to hone out the inside of the tube with a Flex-Hone and that took all of a minute!
Jim

Jim,

I had read your posts a few weeks ago with interest.  I just love my 250.  I killed a mess of rats soon after I bought it and it was up until 4 months ago the only pellet gun I ever owned.  Mine sat around for several years, at some point had a cart. stuck in it and I only recently rediscovered shooting this baby. 
I've done some trigger work on it and as I said i may go to a little longer .22 barrel but want to keep it a pistol.  The scope made a world of difference. 
I'm in the process of trying to make my own aluminum loading gates as I have worn out two plastic ones. 
I have not found any info yet on messing with the valve so I thought I would ask around.

I look forward to feed back on the one you sent to Rick.

Jim,

I just got off a plane from Atlanta and read this quickly.  Sounds awesome,  I need to reread and digest this.
Just noticed on the Zee map i live about 45 minutes away from you.  maybe when you get your second one back i can swing by and we can compare notes.

Regards

[jimhenry2000]

I just got off a plane from Atlanta and read this quickly.  Sounds awesome,  I need to reread and digest this.
Just noticed on the Zee map i live about 45 minutes away from you.  maybe when you get your second one back i can swing by and we can compare notes.

Regards

Sure thing Ray

[miltoncaniff]

The forum won't let me post the link to the auction on eBay. Here's the item #: 263654136398 Use the advance search of completed items.

The pistol is currently winging it's way from the Bronx. I should have it by Saturday.

Christopher

[jimhenry2000]

The forum won't let me post the link to the auction on eBay. Here's the item #: 263654136398 Use the advance search of completed items.

The pistol is currently winging it's way from the Bronx. I should have it by Saturday.

Christopher

Unfortunately It doesn't come up for me in advanced search either, searching for 263654136398

[jimhenry2000]

Christopher,
Ooops, I found it once I found the option to add completed items.
Looks like a nice score, especially since it includes both .177 and .22 barrels. Great score for $95!

The forum won't let me post the link to the auction on eBay. Here's the item #: 263654136398 Use the advance search of completed items.

The pistol is currently winging it's way from the Bronx. I should have it by Saturday.

Christopher

Unfortunately It doesn't come up for me in advanced search either, searching for 263654136398

[jimhenry2000]

Christopher.
Please let us know what you think once you receive it! I think $95 is a good price since it include two barrels.

The forum won't let me post the link to the auction on eBay. Here's the item #: 263654136398 Use the advance search of completed items.

The pistol is currently winging it's way from the Bronx. I should have it by Saturday.

Christopher

[miltoncaniff]

Came today! I had my doubts about new. But There was a slip sent with the pistol explaining that there was an empty Co2 cartridge left in the gun (which is now stuck). It even has a pellet loaded with instructions to load a Powerlet  to ready the pistol for use. Why they did this, I have no idea!

Has everything it came new with as well as a spare .22 barrel with the box loader sleeve as well as the allens to do the swap.

I had plans to mod this pistol but think it is too nice to mess with. I'll look for another one with a little use.

Christopher

[miltoncaniff]

I got the cartridge out and put a new one in with a little pelgun oil on the tip. It holds air fine. I test fired on low and high power and both work as they should. Next time I am shooting, I will do a fps test on both settings.

Christopher

[jimhenry2000]

It looks real nice! I had repeated problems with carts sticking in one of my 250. Glad you got it out easy without having to drill it.  I never heard of a new pistol coming with a pellet and a cart in it though.
BTW I received my modded 250 back from Rich Dudek today.  What a hunk of eye candy! Tomorrow I hope to mount some glass on it, sight it in and do some shooting.

I got the cartridge out and put a new one in with a little pelgun oil on the tip. It holds air fine. I test fired on low and high power and both work as they should. Next time I am shooting, I will do a fps test on both settings.

Christopher

[miltoncaniff]

It looks real nice! I had repeated problems with carts sticking in one of my 250. Glad you got it out easy without having to drill it.  I never heard of a new pistol coming with a pellet and a cart in it though.
BTW I received my modded 250 back from Rich Dudek today.  What a hunk of eye candy! Tomorrow I hope to mount some glass on it, sight it in and do some shooting.

I got the cartridge out and put a new one in with a little pelgun oil on the tip. It holds air fine. I test fired on low and high power and both work as they should. Next time I am shooting, I will do a fps test on both settings.

Christopher

I thought I was going to have to drill it out, but I used some of my secret sauce on it: Sili Kroil. I have included a picture of the cartridge, pellet and note that came in/with the gun.

[jimhenry2000]

You know it's very possible that mine came with a used cart in it also. I bought it in 1990 so it's hard to remember. However I think I would definitely remember if it arrived with a pellet loaded in it!  As to preventing carts sticking in 250s, someone (probably in this forum) suggested wiping down the outside of the carts with an oily rag before insertion and I'm sure that helps, but in the end I also had to hone out  the inside of the gas tube.  BTW when I upgraded my first 250 from .177 to .22, I also needed to hone out the inside of the barrel sleeve in order for it to fit, even though the .22 barrel was NOS Crosman. I'd be interested to know if your .22 barrel fits.
Also, where can I buy that Sili Kroil?  Might be handy to keep on the bench.
Jim


[/quote]
I thought I was going to have to drill it out, but I used some of my secret sauce on it: Sili Kroil. I have included a picture of the cartridge, pellet and note that came in/with the gun.
[/quote]