Diana 430L observations

[sd5782]

USA poster here. I have always liked my HWs and Dianas. I am more of a break barrel guy, but couldn't pass up a good price on a beautiful gun. I have always felt that Dianas gave up some efficiency with the fat and very long transfer port. I was quite surprised then on opening up this sliding breech underlever that the TP was still a very large 4mm. It was quite short perhaps 6-8mm but hard to measure as it was recessed.

I know Dianas aren't as popular on your Island except maybe with Barry. I really like my Dianas, especially those from the 80s. More specs and a little write up here. I hope the link doesn't violate any rules. Unfortunately not a lot of technical discussions of springers on most of the US sites.

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA...topic=157430.0

[Dennis74]

Nice read! Haven't seen one of these "in the wild" too in Holland. I look forward to the accuracy part of your review!

$150 was a nice price too

Best regards,
Dennis

[Geezer]

Yup, keep it coming. Dianas are underrated or not well known over here, these days, for a number of boring reasons. They used to be (1960s-80s) in a different place.

[jonnyone]

An interesting read fella. Bending the barrel to correct some alignment issues seems a tad excessive though? Could you not have shimmed the rear mount or perhaps bought a droop compensating mount system? Anyhow I hope it worked for you and you find a sweet spot with the gun.
I picked up a stutzen version of this gun in .22 and it is a thing of some beauty. It is very accurate, and whilst it gives out approx 11.4 from memory its firing cycle is a little harsh. What I have found out almost by accident is that with its predecessor the model 46 stutzen, and I'm sure the 430 stutzen is the same- is that the barrels are actually shorter than base models. This makes for a correspondingly shorter cocking arm and increased cocking effort. I'm no weakling but the 46ST and the 430ST are the hardest guns to cock that I own. I think a youth may struggle with them. The 46ST is in.177 which needs to use a stiffer spring to top 11ft llbs. Again scarificing something in smoothness in firing cycle.
However in saying all this I am still a fan of the marque and agree it can be tweaked to improve on the factory gun.
Like you I'm a big fan of Diana's guns of old with the 45 holding a special attraction for me.
Dave

[Shed tuner]

for $150 I'd buy one !

[Drew451]

Interesting read, Steve and I look forward to reading more. I hope you find it's ultimate sweet spot. What a steal at $150. I recall you put up a good thread on Diana 24s / 27s over on the Dianawerk collective.
Dianas still have their fans over here, mostly folk old enough to remember their "Original" heyday.

[sd5782]

Interesting read, Steve and I look forward to reading more. I hope you find it's ultimate sweet spot. What a steal at $150. I recall you put up a good thread on Diana 24s / 27s over on the Dianawerk collective.
Dianas still have their fans over here, mostly folk old enough to remember their "Original" heyday.

Yes Drew, the 24D. I still want to sometime get some parts to try to make it what it could have been. I would need a beater 24D to experiment with, and a beater 25D for parts. I don't remember if I tried the 27 piston in the 24 or the 24 piston in the 27, but the stroke came out the same, and the combination cocked and worked. The 27 piston at 200 grams is 60grams lighter than the 260 grams of the 24D which it shares with the 26/28. Perhaps a shorter 25 piston along with a 25 cocking arm would get the added stroke, but perhaps the cocking slot would need modified. I think the 24D while very nice, suffered from the accountants and could have been in the same league or better than the HW30. It actually has nicer feel when shouldered.

[sd5782]

An interesting read fella. Bending the barrel to correct some alignment issues seems a tad excessive though? Could you not have shimmed the rear mount or perhaps bought a droop compensating mount system? Anyhow I hope it worked for you and you find a sweet spot with the gun.
I picked up a stutzen version of this gun in .22 and it is a thing of some beauty. It is very accurate, and whilst it gives out approx 11.4 from memory its firing cycle is a little harsh. What I have found out almost by accident is that with its predecessor the model 46 stutzen, and I'm sure the 430 stutzen is the same- is that the barrels are actually shorter than base models. This makes for a correspondingly shorter cocking arm and increased cocking effort. I'm no weakling but the 46ST and the 430ST are the hardest guns to cock that I own. I think a youth may struggle with them. The 46ST is in.177 which needs to use a stiffer spring to top 11ft llbs. Again scarificing something in smoothness in firing cycle.
However in saying all this I am still a fan of the marque and agree it can be tweaked to improve on the factory gun.
Like you I'm a big fan of Diana's guns of old with the 45 holding a special attraction for me.
Dave

Yes those stutzens are pretty. A 46 stutzen was at this show for $425 and caught my eye too. I always though that flip up breech looked interesting too. On looking into the 430L, it seems it has perhaps an inch longer cocking lever. Probably pretty insignificant when cocking that 11-12fpe spring. That is why I went a bit less.

As to barrel bending, do a bit or research and you will see it is not so unusual. We are talking an almost imperceptible amount. It is best accomplished on break barrels though. The Dianas I have from the "safety" era all seem to be harsh and oversprung to me in stock form. Here in the USA it is that .125-.128" diameter wire stock spring. That is probably in the 46/430 guns too with their shorter strokes. A stock HW .122 spring often fits the Diana guide nicely and with a top hat gets rid of all the harshness and still gets nearly 12fpe. It is almost too easy.

[jonnyone]

Yes those stutzens are pretty. A 46 stutzen was at this show for $425 and caught my eye too. I always though that flip up breech looked interesting too. On looking into the 430L, it seems it has perhaps an inch longer cocking lever. Probably pretty insignificant when cocking that 11-12fpe spring. That is why I went a bit less.

As to barrel bending, do a bit or research and you will see it is not so unusual. We are talking an almost imperceptible amount. It is best accomplished on break barrels though. The Dianas I have from the "safety" era all seem to be harsh and oversprung to me in stock form. Here in the USA it is that .125-.128" diameter wire stock spring. That is probably in the 46/430 guns too with their shorter strokes. A stock HW .122 spring often fits the Diana guide nicely and with a top hat gets rid of all the harshness and still gets nearly 12fpe. It is almost too easy.

Another school day for me on the forum! To be honest I'd probably still shim the rear mount or get a droop compensating one but I guess re aligning the barrel achieves the same thing. Unfortunately I've had two Dianas that have come to me with an upward inclined barrel but I suspect these are due to the owner having slipped and released barrel during cocking process. I've had to re align in both instances.
It beats me as to why manufacturers would want to build a downward inclined barrel into their guns. HW used to be prime suspects bit it seems Diana going same way. Most unfortunate but I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason for it.
I have one of the last model 46s off the shelf from SWS in Germany in standard trim and it's a good rifle. The transfer port is lengthy and it loses efficiency due to this but it's a safe method of loading. The 430 is also another safe gun also with stepped arrestor in the cocking stroke.
I'd be very interested to hear further feedback on your take on the gun in time.
Best regards
Dave