IMO another caliber is a better choice for a gun you'll shoot a lot.
The thing with the CCA 54K .20 cal is that it's chambered and rifled for a particular pellet. That cuts down on the "let's get a gun in a whole new caliber!" work and cost. After getting home, I ordered 5 000 .20 cal Exacts from Germany, problem solved. It's not like pellet shortages aren't affecting shooters in every caliber, and the antidote is getting 'em when and where available.Some .20 cal critics have claimed shooting .20 cal is more expensive than the common calibers. This is just not true. 500 count tins of .20 cals aren't any more expensive than .22 cals. In fact, the two tins I bought today were substantially cheaper, for lack of sales in that particular joint. Even the pellets I ordered from Germany cost me less, with S&H, than Exact .22 cal would locally. .20 cal Polymags ARE hideously expensive, though. But a domed pellet beats them in the all-ranges category. Honestly, I have so many .22 cal springers, and even .177 cals (which aren't really my thing), that I wouldn't have wanted yet another common caliber gun, anyway. I'm stoked to get the D54K going, and will have the ammo to do it for years to come.
Shooting these lightweight .20 cals, I'd like to see a muzzle velocity of around 265 m/s / 870 fps.. . . Still, the truth is that even the D54 needs to shot with correct and precise, gun-specific technique for worthwhile results. FWIW, I did use the classic artillery technique to shoot the 54, floating the gun like a flower in my hands. Maybe the gun would respond better to a tighter grip altogether, given the recoil sled taking care of artillery business. All in all, I need to shoot this behemoth more to fall in love with it.
Hector,Isn't 870 fps clear inside the diabolo pellet stability limit of 875 fps? Is the .20 cal pellet a special case that has to survive 25 yards of labile flight to stabilize? Or isn't the 875 fps a usable limit after all? If so, this is news to me.By my math, a 13.73 gr. pellet traveling at 870 fps yields 23 fpe, or clear inside the 24 fpe safe upper heavy use limit of magnum Dianas.These were my reasonings for the MV preference. I'll have to try the firmer grip at the front shooting style with the 54. Artillery technique is so well ingrained in me that I would like to use it with all my guns - lest I'll mess up my zone. But it's a given that some springers don't shoot well that way.
After years and years of pooh pa-ing the .20 due to lack of pellet choices, I now believe to to be a virtue. Two or three are quality pellets and should shoot well.In reality, it does every thing that a mid-powered .22 rifle does, but better. Not talking magnums.....I never could decide whether it was a flatter shooting .22 or a harder hitting .177.... -Y
Thanks, Rudy! This one's literally a dream purchase. Winter conditions still prevail, but come spring and summer the .20 cal 54 will fling some serious lead.
Thanks, ChrisYeah, I need to make a custom block to keep the plastic shelf alive. Another thing is the spring compressor I use, which relies on getting the front of a springer action against an upright jaw. I've gleaned from my research I need to put the static jaw into the moving chamber cavity, as it offers the only solid 90-degree angle in the sidelever Diana action.