Quote from: kzz1kaw on January 18, 2024, 05:59:03 AMQuote from: cast on January 18, 2024, 04:16:27 AMHe had model 54 in .20 made the 48 were factory made.Diana replied : As already mentioned we have no information about the production of DIANA MOd. 48 in cal. 5.0 I got in contact with the seller that stated he bought the gun from original owner that bought the gun new🤷🏽 gun was made in November of 2003 and Diana said the model 48 went into production in 1991 until now. Conflicting information here🤔🧐
Quote from: cast on January 18, 2024, 04:16:27 AMHe had model 54 in .20 made the 48 were factory made.
He had model 54 in .20 made the 48 were factory made.
Quote from: Oatis500 on January 18, 2024, 07:29:13 PMI remember Dr. Beeman was promoting 5mm but I got a .22 48 and a .22 52 . They were accurate and the mainsprings broke on them . Almost the power of a m350 .Do you still have them?
I remember Dr. Beeman was promoting 5mm but I got a .22 48 and a .22 52 . They were accurate and the mainsprings broke on them . Almost the power of a m350 .
There were a few factory guns made in .20cal, Thier was an old air gun tuner name Rich who use to use to re barrel Diana 48 ETC for people years ago, I had a few of them made myself in .20cal the 48, they are awesome in .20cal! you might check in the search eng to see if you can pull up this info!
https://www.gatewaytoairguns.com/airguns/index.php?topic=10173.0
Quote from: kzz1kaw on January 18, 2024, 09:34:35 PMQuote from: Oatis500 on January 18, 2024, 07:29:13 PMI remember Dr. Beeman was promoting 5mm but I got a .22 48 and a .22 52 . They were accurate and the mainsprings broke on them . Almost the power of a m350 .Do you still have them? Yes I have them and want someone (not me) to put a new spring in both 48 and 52. If I had a place to hunt squirrel I would shoot them.
OK, since I have been invoked....First off, the "new" DIANA has nothing to do with the "Original" of olden times.The Old Diana kept a "library" of ALL the prototypes and models ever made. They never got to order them and set a museum, but then the Owner till the end of that era had no real interest in Airguns and he was only milking the cow till it was time to send it to the slaughterhouse.Enter the German government and they came up with a salvage program that "sold" the company's assets for €1-00. Gov't took over the labor liabilities and the company got the rest.The company was bought by two original shareholders that were interested in the RF/Repro/Airsoft market and had become very rich as a result. A big group put up the structure and away it went. Factory had to be moved to the northern section of the country and that implied that anything that was not essential had to go.Inclluding the "library". So, asking the new DIANA about older models is quite useless. They do not have the data and the younger persons do not have the memories.Is this why DIANA is still "looking for itself"? Maybe. But it is just what it is.SO, don't take it too rough on the people there. They came on board almost fresh out of college, most of them are under 45, some of them barely over 25. Worrying about what happened half a century ago is simply not in their logical universe.Now, the matter at hand:DIANA has made FOUR rifles in 0.20" cal. One of them, was a short test run of M 48's using In-House made barrels. Not bad, actually more than reasonably good. If you run a pellet through the bore and recover it (or shoot into a Dacron pillow and recover the pellet you will see the normal DIANA rifling that is sort of "star shaped". I've repaired a few, some of them outside the US.The rifles did not sell as DIANA had hoped, probably because at that time the foremost proponent of the "Twenty Cal" decided to pick a fight with DIANA. It didn't help that RWS was also changing hands and the new owners wanted to "gobble up the world in a swallow", PLUS they were friends (German friends) of the Mayer family. So RWS kicked Beeman out and Beeman got a chip on the shoulder, he never forgave the issue and started demeaning what one year before were the "best and greatest". The short memory of marketing people completed the whole thing and the "test" run of 0.20" cal 48's was never repeated.Fast forward to 2011 and yours truly was looking for something to do with his life in the USA, till he gave up trying to find a job and started CT Custom Airguns (CCA).Under that umbrella, we asked the "connoisseur market" (members of the Network 54 DIANAWERK community) what they would like to see/buy and back came the answer: "A nice 20 cal German DIANA"At that time, the 430 had just come out of the prototype phase to replace the 46 and in a meeting between DIANA, Lothar Walther, and CCA, it was decided to launch a limited series of 430 Stutzen (the full length Mannlicher style stock) with Lothar Walther barrels. So 30 were made with L-W 20 cal barrels (to CCA specs), and 5 were made with L-W 0.177" barrels (L-W specs).https://www.ctcustomairguns.com/hectors-airgun-blog/how-a-semi-custom-gun-is-made Once these guns were made, customized and sold, the idea for a 34 came up, but not "just another 34" . This 34 was designed as a carbine/short rifle, and so it was the only "34k" ever made:https://www.ctcustomairguns.com/hectors-airgun-blog/two-caliber-rifle And again after the 34's were gone, we decided to launch a run of 54's. Why not the 48?Well, those that were ready to invest enough money in a semi-custom limited series gun wanted the "top of the line" and so the 48 was bypassed in favour of the 54.This is an excellent writeup on the potential of the guns:https://www.ctcustomairguns.com/hectors-airgun-blog/the-020-cal-diana-54-projectAnd that's it. No other 20 cals have ever been made by DIANA. And getting another "run" made will require, by Group policy, to consist of at least 300 guns.Unless we can get a financial backer to come up with a cool $150,000, that ain't happening any time soon.And, to be impolitely honest, I don't know if I would tackle the project with OPM's given the very bad experience of the last run of 54's. The users backed out at the last minute and the company was brought almost to bankruptcy by that.Anyway, we moved to Maryland and we are still in the Airgun community.All the 20 cals I have tested (well ver 100) have been very accurate. And the 20 cal is a pleasure to shoot in the wind. For years I shot my 20 cal 54 in FT and did quite well, till the rules changed and ONLY 12 ft-lbs was allowed.IF JSB accepted to make the 20 cal "medium" pellet in tin, then we could use it in FT, but without that, the 20 cal has been in the closet for quite some time.The 20 cal is the 7 mm's Rem Mag of the airgun world. It can do anything and everything with the right projectile. It is not too common, and it is just a darned good setup.Congrats on having found "hens teeth", hope you enjoy it for many years.BTW, all the notes that Steve has on the 54 (except for those that apply more to the sled system than to the powerplant), also apply to the 48.Keep well and shoot straight!HM
Yes, he was in Michigan, and he did excellent work! he no longer works on air guns he retired many years ago, installing a spring in a 48 is nothing to do, simple, and yes you can do it! if I were you I would also install a new breech seal and piston seal!
👋🏾sup brah! Thank you for the history lesson of Diana! It’s definitely looks like the factory .20 caliber barrel. Gun was made in November 2003. Do you know approximately how many were made and approximately the production dates for the .20 caliber?
Quote from: kzz1kaw on January 20, 2024, 04:38:11 PM👋🏾sup brah! Thank you for the history lesson of Diana! It’s definitely looks like the factory .20 caliber barrel. Gun was made in November 2003. Do you know approximately how many were made and approximately the production dates for the .20 caliber?Disclaimer: I am talking here from MEMORY. So I may be wrong.Those 48's were planned in the year 1999, then started to be made in the 2000'sThe "Original" DIANA used to make runs of 300's, and they were not all finished at the same time. Orders of a 100 rifles of one specific model were thought as "very good orders", so it could be that the mechanisms tubes were made in the 2000, but the final gun assembled in 2003 and then it was so stamped.According to my workshop notes, I have not seen any 48's in 20 cal with dates later than 2004, but my workshop notes are just a sliver of a sample.Sorry I cannot give you more info.Keep well and shoot straight!HM
Quote from: HectorMedina on January 22, 2024, 12:02:35 PMQuote from: kzz1kaw on January 20, 2024, 04:38:11 PM👋🏾sup brah! Thank you for the history lesson of Diana! It’s definitely looks like the factory .20 caliber barrel. Gun was made in November 2003. Do you know approximately how many were made and approximately the production dates for the .20 caliber?Disclaimer: I am talking here from MEMORY. So I may be wrong.Those 48's were planned in the year 1999, then started to be made in the 2000'sThe "Original" DIANA used to make runs of 300's, and they were not all finished at the same time. Orders of a 100 rifles of one specific model were thought as "very good orders", so it could be that the mechanisms tubes were made in the 2000, but the final gun assembled in 2003 and then it was so stamped.According to my workshop notes, I have not seen any 48's in 20 cal with dates later than 2004, but my workshop notes are just a sliver of a sample.Sorry I cannot give you more info.Keep well and shoot straight!HMSo does that mean the m48 .20 caliber is a rare desirable gun to have ?
So does that mean the m48 .20 caliber is a rare desirable gun to have ?
Quote from: kzz1kaw on January 22, 2024, 12:50:24 PMSo does that mean the m48 .20 caliber is a rare desirable gun to have ?It is NOT common. But it is not "rare". Furthermore, yours has already been altered, so there is really very little "collector value" in it.You DO have an UNCOMMON rifle and therefore it may sell for a bit more than a common one, especially if you find the right client.BUT, my idea is that it has far more value in your enjoyment of it.The powerplant can be tuned to the 13.7 or the 15.90 pellets, slightly different springs and components. It is accurate and powerful enough to hunt badgers, raccoons, groundhogs and other largeish prey. It can be a "one gun" battery if you find the the right tune that will shoot well the FTT (light for caliber), the Predator (expanding hunters), and the two domes by JSB.It can also use most accessories for the 48 / 54, peep sights, Harmonic Tuners, reinforced seals, etc.So, just enjoy it for what it is: a great example of the spring-gun world.Keep well and shoot straight!HM
Now, the matter at hand:DIANA has made FOUR rifles in 0.20" cal.
Factory had to be moved to the northern section of the country and that implied that anything that was not essential had to go.Including the "library".