Diana model 34 .177 heavy pellet use

[Ike the GSD]

I went to Pyramid Air shopping today and one of the representatives prompted a customer service chat. While we were chatting I asked him whether using heavy pellets such as the 10.65 gr Barracudas would damage my rifle and he emphatically said no. I've read a few posts on here that concerns me with his answer and was hoping to get some feedback from those of you who have actual experience with this.


Thanks

[jason miller]

I don’t know if they’ll harm the gun. Some claim that heavy pellets can shorten the spring’s lifespan, but I don’t know first-hand. I do know that mine shot barracudas pretty well and made 15 FPE with them, but it seemed like there was a bit more vibration when shooting them.

I’ve been trying to come up with a lower-powered solution that gets minimal movement/recoil/whatever it’s called using lighter pellets. Seems like it should be more accurate/less hold sensitive and still get a better trajectory.

[uswood]

I think the .22 is the same except barrel.The .22 pellet is heaver than .177.Just my thought.

[Hobbyman2007]

To find the best pellet match to any of my air guns spring powered or PCP I’ll shoot a variety of weights to see which produces the most Fpe and that’s what I stick with in that certain gun. In a springer I have yet to find a gun that prefers the heaviest pellet.

[subscriber]

I think the .22 is the same except barrel.The .22 pellet is heaver than .177.Just my thought.

It is the ratio of pellet weight to surface area (and expansion ratios that matter).  The peak pressure reached for a .177 and .22 pellet of the same weight are not the same, when shot from the same platform.

It is possible that a 10.X grain .177 might lead to earlier spring failure.  That only matters if it happens sooner than the OP cares about.

Certainly, member nced has experienced this with a HW95 / R9, where shooting 10.5 grain Crosman pellets caused the main spring to break after something like 2000 shots.  Compared to shooting only 7.9 grain pellets for multiples of that, after replacing the spring.

The Diana 34 is not a HW95, but their performance is similar.  I say, experiment with pellets until you find ones that work for you.  Then see what the long term effects might be.  Pellet hardness and diameter also affect peak pressure, so a softer, thinner skirt heavy JSB pellet may not shorten a spring's life as much as a Crosman of similar weight.

[Mark 611]

First off u need to know the spring wire size in a said rifle u intend to use heavier pellets in, smaller DIA spring wire does not handle heavier pellets as well as heavier wire, the 34's from the factory have a 128DIA spring wire, IMO it is more the capable of handling 10.5gn pellets that said, Factory springs do not have any real longevity to begin with, so the 10gn pellets will probably kill that spring faster then an 8gn pellet, but IMO a better spring wire from ARH or other reputable spring maker using the same wire DIA will last a lot longer then an OEM spring! spring are consumable items like seals so IMO I would not be concerned about using the heavier pellets JMO

[triggerfest]

The heavier pellets will absolutely not damage or harm your spring.

Strange enough my D34 .22 shoots great with JSB Exact Jumbo Monster 25.39 grains. And though I am mixing them shooting the standard JSB Exact 15.91 grains as well, based on the purpose, I do not experience any spring issues.

[subscriber]

I do not experience any spring issues.

After 2 cans of pellets; or 10 cans of pellets?

[Frank in Fairfield]

Beeman (Weihrauch) makes the R1 (HW80) in .177, .20. .22, .25..
The rifle uses the same spring in all calibers.
Keep the spring well lubricated and it will last longer than you.

[Mossonarock]

Subscriber's response above is good. I agree that pellet hardness also matters. A soft, heavy pellet is less likely to make the piston bounce on the air cushion than a hard pellet of similar or lighter weight. I think that's what you need to be concerned with is how terribly the piston will bounce. If I'm not mistaken, the same gun in different calibers are often made with different sized transfer ports to help reduce piston bounce. Thought experiment, a .25 cal gun with a .177 sized transfer port being used to shoot a heavy (30gr) pellet will likely bounce the piston particularly when the pellet is hard.

[fwbsport]

The feel and sound of the rifle when it fires is a good way to match the "right" pellet to the bore/spring/machine.

The less noise and vibration the pellet causes the better it is for that rifle.

[Mark 611]

 Almost all manufactures use the same size TP in a givin model of air gun regardless of caliber!

[Mark 611]

And HW 95/97/77 all use the same size spring wire of .122DIA or .125DIA which is why 10.5gn pellets cause breakage, + again factory springs are designed for the long haul under any usage

[fwbsport]

And HW 95/97/77 all use the same size spring wire of .122DIA or .125DIA which is why 10.5gn pellets cause breakage, + again factory springs are designed for the long haul under any usage

I dunno about that!
My Beeman R9 and HW80 have fired over 2000 pellets each easy and now I feel they are just getting started.  Most of those pellets were the 10.5gr Crossmans, which I even used in my R7 and HW30 as well.

Never had a broken spring, but Ed has done the testing with his two rifles and replaced springs showing his results and the explanation that the spring itself gets "sprung" in the forward region of the chamber or not evenly worn depending upon the compression force and bore and pellet size down to decimals.

My own R9 was a "mediocre" performer with these so called Premier Pellets and Crow Magnums but as soon as I found the light AA Express Diablos the R9 is a top performer along with the rest of the "R9" series of rifles I have now.

My personal take is to forget about "longevity" and favor the pellet that your rifle likes.  Why should you be feeding Brocolli and vegetables to your rife when there's some real hamburger and steak out there?
 

[Mark 611]

If you get 3 to 6k shots on ur factory spring ur doing good!

[Madd Hatter]

I shot 10.65 cudas in my 34 almost exclusively when I had it back in 93. Had no problems with it the 5-6 years I had it but can't tell you how many pellets I shot out of it. CRS!

[Ike the GSD]

I shot 10.65 cudas in my 34 almost exclusively when I had it back in 93. Had no problems with it the 5-6 years I had it but can't tell you how many pellets I shot out of it. CRS!

That's what I wanted to hear, thank you Madd Hatter 😀

[Frank in Fairfield]

The feel and sound of the rifle when it fires is a good way to match the "right" pellet to the bore/spring/machine.

The less noise and vibration the pellet causes the better it is for that rifle.

Absolutely

[EMrider]

I've shot 10s of thousands of pellets in my spring guns and have never worried about shooting "heavy" pellets.  If they shoot well, use them.  If I get 10,000 instead of 12,000 shots because I used JSB 10.3s instead of 8.4s I don't care.

Good luck
R

[T-Higgs]

   This may sound sarcastic but I do not mean it such. Many opinions are correct here. The most important one, in my “opinion” is shoot the most accurate pellet you find for your rifle regardless of weight. It’s just a spring! When it fails, and it will, replace it and start shooting again. 
   I have a 34 pro compact. When new, the most accurate pellet was the 10.3 jsb. I shot them exclusively until my spring broke in two places. Yes, is was early failure likely due to the heavy pellet. You’ll never believe what I did. I replaced the factory internal organs with a Vortek kit!! Crazy I know!! That was the seemingly sarcastic part  . Interestingly enough, the rifle’s favorite Pellet changed, because of the tune kit, to the AA 8.4 grain pellet. The rifle is still one of my best and I’ll never let it go.
   Point being; heavy pellets are known to fail springs, especially the hard Diana factory springs. Hector once explained the science and maths that explain this but it’s above my cabinet making skills to reiterate what Hector explained so well. Perhaps he’ll chime in for our edification and enlightenment. But the simple truth remains, as Colonel Townsend Whalen said “only accurate rifles are interesting” and I agree. Shoot the most accurate pellet and grin unapologetically...

Respectfully written, this has been a T-Higgs public service announcement.