New (to me) Diana 48 and Beeman R9

[Oldgringo]

Home again, home again jiggedy jig!  After 16 nights on the road in our modest RV TT, we return home to find that I am still censored on FB until the end of the month.  Apparently, the limpwristed FB dweebs like left-wing burners, looters, murderers, and rapists, etc. more than I do?

Back on topic, thanks to our good neighbor, there is a recently tuned Diana 48 from Hector Medina and a recently tuned Beeman R9 from John in PA lying in well-packed boxes on our LR floor. These two guns were sent off 3-4 weeks ago and have been treated and returned from their master tuners.  I expect that they both will be great improvements over what left their respective factories. 

Tomorrow after my weekly blood tests, I'll see how they do with various pellets from the bench on our covered patio at 30 yards.  Heck fire, I may even break out the chrony?

[Jshooter71]

Congratulations Greg. Glad you & Mrs. Gringo had a good trip. Hope you enjoy shooting those rifles. Being banned, you can stay focused on them fine tuned machines. Social media is stupid anyway. They deleted my first account after numerous temporary bans. For keeping in touch with friends & family, I’m going back to the old black-book & pencil with phone numbers & addresses. I might even write a letter or 2 every now & then, stick a glossy photo of my dinner in the envelope so they know what we’ve been eating. 

[Yogi]

Greg,

Stick with shooting.  Social media is the cause of all the country's current problems.  I'm surprised Kanye West (Ye, as he likes to be called), did not win the election.
Wish people would get off their soapboxs and adjust their scopes.  Rant over.
Hope you like the new Frauleins.

-Y

[Struckat]

Greg, having just completed a “Home tune” of my new 95, I can only imagine how sweet those two will be.

Social media? Yogi is on target.

[Oldgringo]

This afternoon, the Diana 48 and I shot several different pellets off the bench at 30 yards.  While we never quite equaled the groups that Hector Medina sent with the returned Diana 48, we got close with H&N FTT 4.52 TT's.  Oh well, tomorrow's another day.

OTOH, I dearly love my new Beeman R9 back from John in PA.  No twang, silky smooth and still right on target with my spinner spoons at 25yards.  The gold safety button says, "look at me".  Good John, John!

[triggerfest]

The best models from both brands imo !!

Congrats !

[Jshooter71]

That’s great, Greg!!!

[chemclay]

This afternoon, the Diana 48 and I shot several different pellets off the bench at 30 yards.  While we never quite equaled the groups that Hector Medina sent with the returned Diana 48, we got close with H&N FTT 4.52 TT's.  Oh well, tomorrow's another day.

OTOH, I dearly love my new Beeman R9 back from John in PA.  No twang, silky smooth and still right on target with my spinner spoons at 25yards.  The gold safety button says, "look at me".  Good John, John!

I've been thinking about a magnum springer. Can you give me any more info about the Diana 48?

[Oldgringo]

This afternoon, the Diana 48 and I shot several different pellets off the bench at 30 yards.  While we never quite equaled the groups that Hector Medina sent with the returned Diana 48, we got close with H&N FTT 4.52 TT's.  Oh well, tomorrow's another day.

OTOH, I dearly love my new Beeman R9 back from John in PA.  No twang, silky smooth and still right on target with my spinner spoons at 25yards.  The gold safety button says, "look at me".  Good John, John!

I've been thinking about a magnum springer. Can you give me any more info about the Diana 48?

Not really, Ron.  I got it for the novelty of it at a good price from another member.  I sent it to Hector to tune it down and he did a fine job of it.  I shot it pretty much all afternoon without wearing myself out cocking it sideways.  I'm not sure I know what a "magnum airgun" is but my Beeman R9 shoots H&N 4.51 FTT's just shy of 900 fps.  That's plenty magnum for my backyard shooting. 

Good luck with your pursuit.

[Mrblonde40]

John does good work.  He did my HW95 a few months back, and I've been real happy with it.

[Tomcat]

This afternoon, the Diana 48 and I shot several different pellets off the bench at 30 yards.  While we never quite equaled the groups that Hector Medina sent with the returned Diana 48, we got close with H&N FTT 4.52 TT's.  Oh well, tomorrow's another day.

OTOH, I dearly love my new Beeman R9 back from John in PA.  No twang, silky smooth and still right on target with my spinner spoons at 25yards.  The gold safety button says, "look at me".  Good John, John!

I've been thinking about a magnum springer. Can you give me any more info about the Diana 48?

Hey chemclay, I'm not Oldgringo, but I do have a Diana 52 from the late 80's-early 90's and a Diana 48 from 3-4 years ago.  My D52 is .177 cal and has been trouble free and has the original Diana 2-7X scope on it.  I also bought a D52 in 22 cal back then and foolishly sold it. About 3-4 years ago I bought another D48 in 22 cal and love it.  Both guns have had a new spring guide and lube tune (by me) but have the original springs and seals. The 52 has a checkered and walnut stained beech stock. It is very accurate IMO and has taken a few squirrels in it's day.

The D48 in 22 cal was also lube tuned with a new spring guide and is very accurate although I have only shot it indoors at 10 yds.  It will make a one pellet sized hole for 5 shots (not ragged but one pellet size). The D48 is also a wood stock but finished black and came from AOA.

They are two of my favorite airguns and although heavy, are pretty smooth shooters for their power level. I recently gave away my HW95 (.177) to my son-in-law and still have a HW50 and HW30.

If I had to rely on putting food on the table and could only have airguns I would turn to either of the Dianas. That is how much I trust them.

Some say the side cock is difficult to get used to, but I have never found it to be a problem and I am 79 yrs old. Also some say they eat scopes, but that has not been my experience. I have a Leapers UTG 3-9X32 on the D48.

If I was to list a down side, it would be the weight, but that's what makes them relatively smooth shooting for their power level.

[Madd Hatter]

This afternoon, the Diana 48 and I shot several different pellets off the bench at 30 yards.  While we never quite equaled the groups that Hector Medina sent with the returned Diana 48, we got close with H&N FTT 4.52 TT's.  Oh well, tomorrow's another day.

OTOH, I dearly love my new Beeman R9 back from John in PA.  No twang, silky smooth and still right on target with my spinner spoons at 25yards.  The gold safety button says, "look at me".  Good John, John!

I've been thinking about a magnum springer. Can you give me any more info about the Diana 48?

What do you need to know? I've had one since 1993 that I bought used from Beeman that was made in 1987. I replaced the spring with a vortec kit about a year and a half ago because I thought the spring was either broken or just plain sacked out. Turns out it was the altitude I was living at that made it seem so. It's a.177 cal that's very accurate if I do my part. I do wish I would have saved a little more money and bought a.22 version but that's my only regret. I still have the original 2X7 RWS scope on it that I bought in 1993 brand new. My only problem with it was the pin in the windage adj wore down and would walk changing the poi. I solved that problem by using blue loctite.

[Oldgringo]

Ron, Tom and Robert above have given you more Diana 48 experience than I have.  My Diana 48 was tuned down for cocking ease and I like it. 

Below is a 30 yard, 5 shot group made, from the bench, this afternoon with 4.53 JSB 8.44 Exacts. ❤
 

[Jshooter71]

Nice shooting, Greg!

[HectorMedina]

Ron, Tom and Robert above have given you more Diana 48 experience than I have.  My Diana 48 was tuned down for cocking ease and I like it. 

Below is a 30 yard, 5 shot group made, from the bench, this afternoon with 4.53 JSB 8.44 Exacts. ❤

Good shooting!
The gun is the gun, but it is still the shooter the ones that reads the conditions and pulls the trigger!

THANKS!




HM

[chemclay]

My Diana 48 was tuned down for cocking ease and I like it.

Greg
What was your D48 tuned to?

[Oldgringo]

My Diana 48 was tuned down for cocking ease and I like it.

Greg
What was your D48 tuned to?

The cocking effort was greatly reduced and some cleanup was done to its innards.  Hector Medina can give you more definitive and technical info.  Whatever Hector did, I like it!

[HectorMedina]

Ron;

Greg's 48 was short stroked using a specially made piston.

Short stroking allows the fulcrum point of the cocking linkage in the lever to be moved, therefore you use the FULL ARC of the stroke to cock the gun.
Since the energy you are putting in the gun is, in a way, the product of multiplying the peak force times the distance; by augmenting the arc, you are increasing the distance.
For less peak force, you can accumulate the same energy/work.

Ron's 48 had some little problems MOST of them I fixed under "warranty" things like re-crowning the barrel, removing pellet debris from the breech, changing the breech seal to an improved-composite seal, trigger was adjusted to the cleanest possible break, and a light tuning using the OEM muzzle piece was done.

In the end, the gun needs 23# of peak cocking to yield over 13 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle with certain lead pellets. As things go, Greg discovered that the JSB's 8.44/4.53 were the most accurate for HIM, and that is what matters.

It may not be a "magnum" by common measure, but an 8.44 grs. JSB flying at 820fps is no slouch, and if it only requires 23# to cock, it makes for a PLEASANT shooting tool. Which will lead to more shooting that, in turn, will lead to more and better shots, which, in the end, is the whole idea: Marksmanship and proficiency.

If it takes a bear to cock the gun, the odds that you will become really and truly proficient in its use are slim.

Just human engineering.

;-)

Keep well and shoot straight!





HM

[chemclay]

Incredible shooting with an incredible tune. Can short stroking and this type tuning help marksmanship and proficiency in magnum energy guns?

[Oldgringo]

Incredible shooting with an incredible tune. Can short stroking and this type tuning help marksmanship and proficiency in magnum energy guns?

What Hector said above.  He is the man!