Diana 52

[NickG]

I have recently been considering building my own springer action with lighter materials and reduced comp tube diameter , as my 21mm seems to have been well received . I was considering building it for FT, the format I came up with featured side lever cocking ( minimum interference with the barrel) and sliding comp tube.
So it looks like I have invented the Dana 52 , So maybe convert a 52 first to see if I can get on with the cocking when I have my sightron on top , and see if the "free floated "barrel is inherently more , or less accurate than the underlever set up.
I don't know much about the Dianas , who makes the barrels for them ?, does any one own one and what do they shoot like .177 of course .Thanks in advance.

[air-tech]

The barrel is not free floated in the proper sense, in fact it is sleeved, and between the sleeve and the very skinny barrel there is a spring steel shim or liner. The front sight retains the sleeve in place, remove the front sight and the sleeve and shim slide off. Who makes the barrels for them? They are built down to a price, so either in house, or the cheapest bidder. I am not sure how the barrel is retained nowadays but there used to be a huge "rivet" under the rear sight, pressed into the breech block and presumably putting pressure on the barrel too. I could never get my 52 in .177 to shoot acceptably (and I tried...) and even my 54, seriously fiddled with, and shooting de-restricted, in .22, does not shoot as accurately as a bog standard TX200, though it's not bad - just not worth the effort. Only go down that route if you like starting from the back row...

[MikB]

The barrel is not free floated in the proper sense, in fact it is sleeved, and between the sleeve and the very skinny barrel there is a spring steel shim or liner. The front sight retains the sleeve in place, remove the front sight and the sleeve and shim slide off.

Yes, I had one some years back. I thought it was a cheapskate idea. It meant you couldn't get rid of the foresight for a clean scope picture without exposing that tiny, spindly barrel. There are ways around that, of course, but you don't expect such an unsatisfactory solution to an ordinary air rifle requirement from a maker like M&G.

[DSidelever]

make their own barrels.

I believe they favour 8 or 12 land rifling (flat topped, of course). 12 land is what I see on my rifles.

Regarding barrel outer dimensions - they have little importance to either a PCP or a non-breakbarrel springer for, I hope, obvious reasons.

Air Arms used 12mm OD barrels on their AA300 series of PCP's, FX / ABwhatever used similar barrels on the FX2000 and Excalibre rilfes, again PCP's but the principle remains.


No doubt someone will start up on "Barrel Harmonics" shortly

(ignore them, they are ridiculous).

[Captain Bongo]

I sleeved and fitted an LGV piston to my 52 for benchrest.
It's quite nice but the project stalled once I got my TX200SR.

A good solid platform and capable of fantastic consistency/accuracy.

[Barryg]

make their own barrels.

I believe they favour 8 or 12 land rifling (flat topped, of course). 12 land is what I see on my rifles.

Hi DSidelever, can you tell me what models you have that have 12 land barrels?
This is the reason I ask
http://www.network54.com/Forum/184474/thread/1364692329

[DSidelever]

I must be wrong on the lands number Barry, I certainly don't have one the brief period China made barrel rilfes (it was limited to a few models in their range).

[Geezer]

Agree it is an odd set up. I presume they did it to save weight from an already heavy rifle.

You used to be able to get nice little suppressors that replaced the front sight and locked properly into the outer shroud. Not sure they did much suppressing. Diana still do a barrel weight along similar lines.

And, yes, barrel harmonics. I vaguely understand them, but they are a great thing to say when someone has an accuracy problem. You just say it, and smile knowingly, and people think you are some kind of expert. If that doesn't work, try TP size, port pressure, or something about spring stiffness.

Not saying there aren't experts on here (you know who you are, and you aren't me).

[imorik]

I have recently been considering building my own springer action with lighter materials and reduced comp tube diameter , as my 21mm seems to have been well received . I was considering building it for FT, the format I came up with featured side lever cocking ( minimum interference with the barrel) and sliding comp tube.
So it looks like I have invented the Dana 52 , So maybe convert a 52 first to see if I can get on with the cocking when I have my sightron on top , and see if the "free floated "barrel is inherently more , or less accurate than the underlever set up.
I don't know much about the Dianas , who makes the barrels for them ?, does any one own one and what do they shoot like .177 of course .Thanks in advance.

My thoughts, perhaps insane ones, were of a side lever with 21/22mm piston with no seperate comp tube (like a break barrel set up rather than under lever). Piston being directly moved by side lever and designed in such a way as to allow it to rotate, could use latch rod type designed piston ? Very short T/P which would have to be fixed somehow into comp tube/body. T/P design similar to BAM 40. Loading port similar to TX but instead of comp tube sliding back/forward the barrel slides back and forward to enable pellet loading, similar to AirLogic Genesis.

Like I said..ramblings of a madman