RWS Diana Model 24.

[Ethangsmith]

I work at a gun shop, and we often get people bringing in pellet guns they no longer want- either as part of collections or just by themselves. Since I'm the only guy that shoots pellet guns that works at the store, they always come my way. Recently, I picked up a whole pile of nice pellet guns and one of them is a slightly beat up RWS Diana Model 24. There's some light surface rust here and there, the front sight shroud is cracked, and there are a few dings in the stock. I can't really find anything on the internet about this rifle. It's .177 caliber and cocks easily and shoots well. No adjustable trigger. Seems to be a great quality gun too. I noticed when loading pellets the chamber seems tight and you've really got to shove them in place. Do they require a certain pellet?

Thanks,
-Ethan.

[Bolillo]

Don't let the folks you work with know how much fun you're having.  That sounds like a great situation since you like air rifles.

[Ethangsmith]

They think air rifles are for kids and are silly. I love the fact that pellets are dirt cheap, I can shoot all afternoon basically where ever I want, and I'm still practicing proper grip and trigger control. They can keep burning through twenty dollar boxes of ammo. I'll be completely happy with my twenty dollar tins of pellets that contain 10x the amount of shots!

I'll probably take some of them up to the indoor range we have at the shop and let them take some shots. I suspect opinions will change.

[Keen]

I'll probably take some of them up to the indoor range we have at the shop and let them take some shots. I suspect opinions will change.

Don't do it!

[SteveP-52]

Good lot of the parts you might need for it:
https://www.gunspares.co.uk/products/24370/24/

Some are now obsolete and the company is in England but as old as your rifle is they still have some...lol.

[Roadworthy]

No special pellet required.  Older rifles seemed to have tighter breeches than current ones.  If you must align the pellet perfectly to load it you may need to taper the lead into the chamber very slightly.  Ive done that by hand turning a tapered Dremel stone into the breech - just two to three turns by hand.  Generally older Dianas shoot well with RWS Super Dome pellet.  You'll have to play t bit to maximize accuracy trying different pellets.  If the front sight fits into a dovetail in the barrel you may not find the hood anywhere though will probably be able to replace the entire sight.  The best price I've found was one made for Chinese rifles - the Xs-26, I think from Flying Dragon Air Rifles.  The sights are Chinese but nicer than the original.

[Ethangsmith]

I think this is a very late production 24. The front sight assembly is all plastic, which is why the top cracked. Someone probably dropped it. I'll probably just glue it back together. It also has no adjustable trigger.

Is there any way to figure out how old it is or what type of velocity it's capable of? Judging by how easy it is to cock, I'd put it in the same class as my Beeman R7, if not even a little below on velocity.

[DanD]

JSB RS ot Express and RWS Hobby or Basic might be good pellets for an RWS 24 with a tight bore.

[Ethangsmith]

I'll have to get some and give them a try!

[HectorMedina]

I think this is a very late production 24. The front sight assembly is all plastic, which is why the top cracked. Someone probably dropped it. I'll probably just glue it back together. It also has no adjustable trigger.

Is there any way to figure out how old it is or what type of velocity it's capable of? Judging by how easy it is to cock, I'd put it in the same class as my Beeman R7, if not even a little below on velocity.

Older DIANAS have TWO REALLY SMALL numbers at the rear left of the mechanisms tube. Those numbers, if they are there indicate month and year of production of the tube itself, not necessarily the complete gun.

If the gun says "Made in W Germany" you know it is older than re-unification.

Hope you get it sorted out, they are small but lots of fun!







HM

[Ethangsmith]

04 00 "MADE IN GERMANY"

[lefteyeshot]

There are three on Ebay now with TO2 to TO5 triggers, $240-270.

[HectorMedina]

04 00 "MADE IN GERMANY"

So, that's your answer: April, 2000

Not an antique, and in the point where Rastatt was still making some really good guns.
It's also about the time that the design of the T06 started. It took almost 10 years to get it perfected (in between the lawyers got their T05), and so, your gun is an interesting gun for a shooter.

;-)

Keep us posted!






HM

[Ethangsmith]

What does T06 mean? I'm not up on the trigger terminology. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

[HectorMedina]

DIANA has followed a completely different trigger development path from the rest of the airgun industry for their sporters.
Match guns have unique triggers, so we will not discuss them here.

Almost every other trigger follows the design of Chinese crossbow triggers from the 8th century BC, but DIANA has always walked a different path.

The "T" designation is not only a trigger difference, but some other iterations that merit a different appelative also receive a "T" designation.

T-01 was the first completely unitized trigger in the airgun world. It uses three balls in a sleeve that slides, when the trigger is pulled, the sleeve is allowed to slide and the balls have room to retract.
It's a very strong principle first used in keyfobs, then DIANA used it in airguns and then H&K used it in their SMG's an SA rifles.
Nowadays it is used in all Foster fittings.
It is an excellent trigger, but a bit "slow" for offhand shooting.
It is also expensive to make. Most parts are precision made and hardened steel.
It can also be adjusted VERY LIGHT, if you are willing to live without a first stage.

When the world, and especially Europe, entered the legalization frenzy after some Scottish kids "sniped" some other kids, the  pressure was on to have a trigger that would be more "fail-safe", so work was begun on a trigger that would be faster, better, more adjustable. BUT the result was TOO GOOD and the lawyers decided they needed something with less "user input" in the final configuration. SO a new design was made using two sliding plates. That is the T05. It is housed in a similar housing to the T01, and uses the same spacing for pins that close the action and affix the trigger in place, so it is interchangeable. BUT the piston stem became different. The two sliding plates could not hold back the mainspring force with the slanted surfaces that the three balls could when using the T01, so the stem had to change.
If you want to change from T01 to T05, you need to change trigger unit AND piston.
T05 triggers are sometimes looked down upon by some shooters, but they can be made good enough for almost any practical purpose with a bit of patience and know-how.

Over time, it was seen that the laws implemented simply could not be enforced, and so the older design was resurrected, delivered to a new designer and it was finalized and perfected, this one uses a "hook" that drops under spring pressure. It received the designation T06.
It is VERY fast, can be adjusted VERY LIGHT. DIANA kept the "user limited" access to settings by using limited length screws.
Under German laws, adding or removing METAL from a gun should be done ONLY by qualified gunsmiths, and if the user does anything like that, the user becomes fully responsible.
The SAME T06 with some variants, was used for the first PCP (DIANA 1000). But the rest of the gun was complicated and completely unadjustable, so the market was very limited. Great guns, elegant, powerful, and accurate, but hard to use when there is no adjustability.

THEN came the gas springs (NTec units) and that required an interference trigger, rather than a stemmed trigger that is logical when using a steel coiled spring. The NTEc spring (also a T06) uses almost all the parts of the Std T06, except that it uses different sears and holding levers and instead of a hook, there is a ramp. That ramp is being pushed down by the full force of the mainspring, and so it has an even faster lock time than the Std T06. While being just as adjustable and consistent. The NTec T06 has the most parts made of MIM (Metal Injection Molded), that is a form of "ceramic steel". While the parts themselves are a bit more expensive, their reliability and longevity are substantially higher and longer.

So, that is the whole gamut of triggers in sporter rifles under the DIANA brand. All of them good enough, some slight differences as for different purposes.
If you want to learn more about the history of the triggers, and if you have the time, you might want to read this:

https://www.ctcustomairguns.com/hectors-airgun-blog/what-links-airgunners-to-the-chinese-warriors-of-the-13th-century

Keep well and shoot straight!




HM

[Ethangsmith]

That's a heck of a lot of good info there. My trigger does not appear to be adjustable- at least I don't see any screw on the trigger or above the trigger. Not sure if that means anything or not. I did fire it at 25 feet and it seems pretty accurate. Seems to shoot a bit to the right, but it could also be a front sight misalignment from the previous owner cracking the front sight light shield.