Getting to know a 54

[mcoulter]

I found a used .22 Diana 54 and while I'm waiting for a super-small allen key (.050) to mount a williams peep sight, I thought I'd get some trigger time with it.  I have had a bullseye mount and decided to see how it did with an AEON scope that has been somewhat problematic.  It's always fun to do slowmo videos of how the mount worked.  I was also interested in how the 54's action looked in slow motion.  Trigger pull is about 15 seconds in.  Looking at the video, I realize just how loose of a hold I have and how much the gun still comes back at me:



Not much to report yet.  It's shooting about 19 fpe with jsb 18s and I've not so much as even cleaned the barrel on it.  It's been a bit breezy so it's a bit premature to come up with a feel for its accuracy yet.  It sure it pretty though!




33 yard testing (jsb 18s)




Playing at 53 yards (jsb 18s)

[Wolfer]

Waiting for my Bullseye.mount,kind of excited to see how it works out. You have a nice rifle there, enjoy.    Mike

[fwbsport]

I told Lizzie I was replacing all my air rifle mounts to ZR.  One by one.

I have them right now on the D54 .20, HW98 .20, and HW80 .25.

I like your rifle very much!

Congratulations!

[mcoulter]

Thanks folks.  Since this is the first 54 I have had, can anyone confirm how much the sled is supposed to move when the shot is fired?

I also found this post which details its adjustment - which would have been my next question here  :-)

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=130183.msg1283281#msg1283281

[Roadworthy]

Thanks for the video.  The ZR mount performed as I anticipated it would.  I was surprised at the amount of recoil the gun seemed to have on the stock to your shoulder.  I expected none.  Perhaps adjusting the sled would reduce it.  I don't know - I've never before seen a 54 in action.

[mcoulter]

Thanks for the video.  The ZR mount performed as I anticipated it would.  I was surprised at the amount of recoil the gun seemed to have on the stock to your shoulder.  I expected none.  Perhaps adjusting the sled would reduce it.  I don't know - I've never before seen a 54 in action.

Yes, I was too.... I guess that I do keep a very loose hold while shooting.  I should also mention that I did have a couple of layers on due to the temperature so there was a fair amount of fabric between my shoulder and the butt of the gun and that probably allows a fair amount of space for the recoil.

After reading sled adjustment posts, I did check mine and it seemed really tight.  I ended up loosening it about 1.25 turns to where it's stable in all positions, but moves much more freely.  I will use this for a starting point and see how the guns performs.

[BeeZee]

Thanks folks.  Since this is the first 54 I have had, can anyone confirm how much the sled is supposed to move when the shot is fired?

My 54 goes back between 1/2" to 9/16".

[Duckfish]

Maybe try it with the mount and scope removed?

[Yarddog]

OP, the Williams sight should have come with the proper Allen key. Let me know if you have trouble finding one

[mcoulter]

OP, the Williams sight should have come with the proper Allen key. Let me know if you have trouble finding one

Thanks!  I bought the rifle and sight used so the key did not come along with the setup.  I was able to get one through my local hardware store and it'll be here tomorrow.  Never having spent time with a peep, I'm looking forward to testing it that way :-)

After loosening the sled a bit, I took a few shots and it certainly feels better (smoother).  It's hard to tell from the video, but maybe it's moving a little more?

[fwbsport]

My D54 moves about a quarter of an inch back, where it remains unlocked in the sled until I point the muzzle down.

The screws were tightened by Hector and they haven't shifted.

[dtdtdtdt]

Thanks folks.  Since this is the first 54 I have had, can anyone confirm how much the sled is supposed to move when the shot is fired?

I also found this post which details its adjustment - which would have been my next question here  :-)

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=130183.msg1283281#msg1283281

The action travels approximately 1cm.  Fiddling with the tension on the detent ball will make it smoother and probably remove the stock movement that you mentioned.  Also check the positioning of the steel and rubber washers on the screws that connect the stock to the action.  About 20 in/lb of torque seems to work.  Another key is to ensure that there is no binding between the action to the stock. Overtightening the stock screws and compressing the rubber washers too much can cause that to happen.  You can fiddle with the stock screw tensions and sometimes see a bit of change in POI vs POA. 

By the way, your first groups at 50+yds look really good. 

I suggest the Straightshooters.com pellet test pack for about $40 that gives you about 18 different pellets to test for accuracy.   Makes it pretty simple to get a good idea what weight range your rifle likes. 

Interestingly, both my .177 54 and my .20 (Hector Special) 54 also shoot about about 19-20 fpe.  I guess that means that the OEM power plant piston and springs are the same across the calibers.

A friend bought a .22 54 on my recommendation a couple years ago and has, at last report, killed over 20 groundhogs out of this front yard with it.  Lots of power!!!

[mcoulter]

Thanks dtdtdtdt for your comments.  Especially regarding the torque on the stock screws.  I have not had a gun with the large rubber grommet like this one does.  That would have been my next question  :-)

[dtdtdtdt]

The order of putting the rubber washers in is important.  They should be metal - rubber - metal both front and back. 

When I got my first 54 (.177) they were installed wrong and I had scuff marks and binding of the metal to wood.  Things got much better when I found a drawing with the correct arrangement. 

I haven't had issues with the sledge system but found that keeping the detent ball gently in place.  Not tight but enough to keep the action forward when cocked and moved around seemed to be the best way.  As you noticed if it is too tight, the recoilless system isn't quite!!!! 

[dtdtdtdt]

Regarding the hold with the 54.  I have tried both soft and hard holds.  I find that the firmer hold seems to work best off a benchrest.  I use a Caldwell Tack Driver bag that supports much of the fore end of the stock and a "cuddle" hold.  That means I sit very close to the bag and arrange my left arm/hand under the rifle so my fist controls the bottom end of the stock. it is almost like crossing my arm across my chest.  My cheek is firmly on the stock - additional cheekpiece because of the high mount.  A small squeeze of my hand can finalize the crosshair position.  I have used this position for over 50 years on various setups and find it worked well. 

The above works well but while I have ZR mounts on both my 54s, I am less than pleased with the height of the mount.  It is too high in my opinion and makes a firm cheek weld difficult. Given the very short ranges of air rifles and the usual daylight shooting, I think the monstrous scopes that many use are a mistake.  The so-called droop would be less an issue if the distance between the center of the bore and the line of sight through the scope were smaller.  I also feel that the heavy scopes and high mounts can cause the shooter to inadvertently cant the rifle adding to the errors.  That extra weight also bothers me a bit on the 54s because of the recoiling action/scope/mounts mass may induce jiggles in the hold.  It's still the best system I have found yet but I keep looking for better.

 FYI, my FWB300 has a 3-9x32 Clearridge scope that is mounted as low as I can get it with the FWB SU cheekpiece putting my eye in just the right position.  The best 5 shot group I have ever shot was less than 0.08" c-t-c at 17 yds.  I also simulated lighting a match at the same time by shooting to hit the striker area on a printout of a real match - the range rules wouldn't let me do a real one.  (When really young and with excellent vision, I did light real matches at 20yds or so with my .22 LR. I wasted lots of ammunition in the process too1!!!)  The group was almost exactly the same size as the test group that was shot with the rifle at the factory (clamped down??) I will see if I can find my picture and put it here. 

However, I find my trigger control and squeeze is even more important.  If I get sloppy and put side pressure on the trigger blade shooting right handed, I find my shots go a bit right.  Only a 1/4" or so at 17 yds but enough to mess up my target.  I use a target with 60 bulls on it and put one pellet in each bull.  There is no way to hide errors by wallowing out the pellet hole. 

I have light trigger springs that I got from Hector-Medina.  That puts the trigger pull in the 12-16oz range.  Even there a bit of side-pull makes the difference. 

I speculate that side pressure makes the rear sledge rods move ever so slightly to the left during its travel throwing the pellet to the right.  The pivot point would be the front sledge rods.   

I continue to experiment but am limited now because my range is closed because of the virus epidemic.  If the weather warms a bit more, I will set up in my back yard at 30yds to do some more tests.  In a city but in woods so I have to be cautious.  The 54 is loud enough that one of my neighbors commented on the sound.  Not a problem from him but.....  My usual shooting position is from the kitchen table through an open window to muffle the sound.  Over 400 chipmunks in about 5 years!!

[Mossonarock]

I had significant recoil going through the stock of my D56 until I removed the metal bracket of the cocking fin that the cocking lever pushes against at the end of the stroke which pushes the gun's action forward. If you remove that bracket, you just have to remember to push the action forward before you shoot. I do that when I also push the trigger safety off. That cocking fin gets pinched between the cocking lever and the gun's action. Its not a fault in the design but rather an engineering trade off.

I speculate that side pressure makes the rear sledge rods move ever so slightly to the left during its travel throwing the pellet to the right.

I do experience that with my D56. I've been thinking of sending mine to Hector to have him put larger rails in and drill the holes in the sled to fit them; he's said that's something he can do. I can control it somewhat with my trigger pull but I shouldn't have to.

Also, DonnyFl does make some 1/2x20unf muzzle adapters that can be used to mount a sound moderator. I did that with my D56 and that along with the Vortek PG3kit greatly reduced the sound my D56 makes. Beforehand, my D56 sounded more like a .22lr.

[mcoulter]

Waiting for my Bullseye.mount,kind of excited to see how it works out. You have a nice rifle there, enjoy.    Mike

Thank Mike.  What will you be using your mount with when it arrives? 

[fwbsport]

There's a lot of thinking involved when shooting a D54.  If a thought goes awry while preparing to shoot it is easy to make a mistake to hurt the rifle itself, and I'm not talking about dry fires either.

The ratchet system allows you to load at ratchet noise ONE, the safest way.  You can pull that lever precisely and deliberately to the rear too fast to break the top piece of the stock in the lever area, or bend the lever system wrong against its own movement.

I like NOT being rushed while shooting the D54 the most compared to any other rifle.  It is too complicated and dangerous in action to get stupid with.

[dtdtdtdt]

The felt recoil That you mention?  I guess I am numb or something.  I don't recall feeling any such pass-through recoil. 

I did put a drop of oil (most likely CLP that the military uses on M-16s)  on the recoil rods when I had them apart last and did adjust the detent spring to make it release pretty easily.  Now that I think about it, I also used a countersink taper by hand to break the edge of the hole that the detent ball sits in.  Just enough to make the edge not a sharp edge.  This would have been at the same time as I "broke" the edges so I probably put a bit of 

It has been some time since I did that so a bit fuzzy on details. 

 

Moss:  I am not sure that you took off but as noted above I haven't had any significant recoil pass-through issues.  Perhaps you ought to discuss putting set screws with a teflon button in the mechanism that the rods move through.  it would be easier and cheaper than rebuilding the whole thing.  That's how Hector "tunes" the ZR bases to remove any residual side motion.  No reason it wouldn't work here too.

Next time I shoot them, I will be sensitive to the issue and watch for it. 

Dave

[mcoulter]

I pulled the stock off for the first time.  Boy, it has some heavy and sticky grease in there.  Given the temperatures we have (still around 40f), I suspect this might be gumming things up.  Dave, you mentioned CLP so I assume thick grease is not what's typically used here?   

It looks like the mounting plates and rubber are in the correct order. 

I got a few shots off today and each time I have it out, I do loosen the sled a bit.  Before today, I certainly felt it wanting to pull to the right (I am actually very glad that was mentioned here).  I also didn't cinch up the stock screws quite as snug as before.  That probably helps a bit too.  The little shooting I did during lunch was a bit better at 33y and a bit worse at 53y. 

My allen wrenches are in so I'll be playing with the peep before too long.  But before I do that, I plan to swap my SWFA 16X on this.  I don't *quite* trust how the AEON scope does.

Thanks folks for all the help!

:-)

And some pics...