Help IDing Diana Model 50

[45flint]

Andy, it’s my pleasure...I’m a big fan of the model 50. It’s wonderful to have this place where my odd little obsessions have an audience!

I’d be interested to know if you found a serial number or date on that rifle. Years ago I briefly owned a model 50 with that stock (still kicking myself for selling it), which was .22 caliber and had “Original” markings. IIRC, it had the solid metal trigger, so may have been an earlier example.

The Stoeger Peerless connection fascinates me as well. I have two prewar Stoegers now, a Tell 2 and a Webley Straight Grip Senior. Did they customize any of the Diana’s or are they just rebranded? I think every gun I buy seems to open up a new obsession! Lol

[air-tech]

Date stampings seem to have started late 1966 (reports) otherwise early 1967 (definitely)

Serial numbers not sure when but in some countries such as the UK only later guns and in some cases it appears that the importer (probably) serialised the guns as the numbering is quite amateurish.

[MDriskill]

Date stampings seem to have started late 1966 (reports) otherwise early 1967 (definitely)

Serial numbers not sure when but in some countries such as the UK only later guns and in some cases it appears that the importer (probably) serialised the guns as the numbering is quite amateurish.

Thanks, very interesting!

I want to say I’ve seen a date stamp earlier than that somewhere...but that may just be a memory mis-fire on my part!

The oldest date-stamped Diana that I own is in line with your note: a model 60 match rifle with “06 67” on the rear receiver. Another intriguing detail on this rifle, is that the year of manufacture appears to be appended to the front of the serial number, which is 672301x; in other words the “real” serial may just be 2301x.

I have another very late model 60, which follows the same pattern; dated “08 82,” with serial 823692x.

[Lakey]

The Stoeger Peerless connection fascinates me as well. I have two prewar Stoegers now, a Tell 2 and a Webley Straight Grip Senior. Did they customize any of the Diana’s or are they just rebranded? I think every gun I buy seems to open up a new obsession! Lol

Here is a brochure page for Peerless Guns of the period

[MDriskill]

The Stoeger Peerless connection fascinates me as well. I have two prewar Stoegers now, a Tell 2 and a Webley Straight Grip Senior. Did they customize any of the Diana’s or are they just rebranded? I think every gun I buy seems to open up a new obsession! Lol

As seen in Lakey’s post of the catalog page, I believe that Stoeger’s imported only the “high-end” models 35 and 50 after the war. As far as I know the guns were not customized beyond that nice big gold “Peerless” stamping, but I believe all their Diana rifles were in .22 caliber only. I have a Peerless 35/b, and 50M, and both are .22.

Stoeger’s most famous pre-war Diana rifle imports were the model 45 underlever, and its legendary militarized big brother, the model 58.