I had read a lot of reviews and threads about the Diana Skyhawk and Artemis P15 before I bought my Skyhawk. Most of the reviews were neutral or negative about the quality of the bullpup from the factory. It seemed the barrel was the main quality issue with this bullpup (i.e., a barrel lottery). There was also a consensus that this bullpup had a very good form factor and weight for a bullpup. I really wanted to find a bullpup that was a good fit for me and I was willing to take a chance even if I ended up putting time and additional money into making it right. So, I bought a Skyhawk .25 from Pyramid Air on 19 Oct 2019 because I wanted the adjustability of the Minelli stock.
When I received the Skyhawk, I was impressed with the way it came to my shoulder and after adjustment of the butt pad it was the best fitting bullpup that I had held. My satisfaction immediately disappeared when I filled and shot it! I had definitely lost the “barrel lottery”. At this point I decided I would keep the Skyhawk and try to fix the issues with the help of the forums because I really liked how the Skyhawk fit me versus other bullpups.
First, I replaced the stock shroud with a DonnyFL Tanto moderator and adapter. When I took the shroud off, I was surprised at how bad the muzzle was. I then removed the barrel and found the leade was equally as bad as the muzzle. I posted pictures on the forum and one person commented that he had seen boat anchors that were retrieved after a hundred years in the ocean that look better than my barrel! A little over the top but kind of accurate. I had a local gunsmith re-crown the barrel and I cleaned up the leade and transfer port. I then polished the barrel with J-B bore paste. This is the original modified Skyhawk configuration:
Crown rework by local gunsmith (stock barrel)
Transfer port and leade deburred by myself (stock barrel)
Barrel polished with J-B bore paste by myself (stock barrel)
Replacement cocking lever pin (new design w/ knurl at top of pin)
DonnyFL Tanto moderator and adapter
JB3d cheek piece
JB3d Biathlon Lever Cocking Aid
14 shots at 25 yards
Still not accurate (better, but not accurate). So, I committed to having a custom LW barrel made for the Skyhawk.
Installed new barrel yesterday and am pleased with initial accuracy. This is the current configuration:
Custom drop-in LW barrel
Replacement cocking lever pin (new design w/ knurl at top of pin)
DonnyFL Tanto moderator and adapter
JB3d cheek piece
JB3d Biathlon Lever Cocking Aid
BKL adjustable scope mount
Saber Tactical Air Tank Clamp Rail Adapter
Hawke 4-16x44 Airmax 30 SF compact scope
2 CARM magazines
14 shots at 30 yards
Next modification is to install Huma regulator to improve tuning and consistency of the Skyhawk. I love the fit/feel of the Skyhawk and am still working on consistency (reducing extreme spread, standard deviation and better tunability).
I cannot, in good conscience, recommend a Skyhawk to anybody looking for a good bullpup out of the box. In my case, I will get my Skyhawk where I want it but at a cost in both time and money (a lot of money!).
When I received the Skyhawk, I was impressed with the way it came to my shoulder and after adjustment of the butt pad it was the best fitting bullpup that I had held. My satisfaction immediately disappeared when I filled and shot it! I had definitely lost the “barrel lottery”. At this point I decided I would keep the Skyhawk and try to fix the issues with the help of the forums because I really liked how the Skyhawk fit me versus other bullpups.
First, I replaced the stock shroud with a DonnyFL Tanto moderator and adapter. When I took the shroud off, I was surprised at how bad the muzzle was. I then removed the barrel and found the leade was equally as bad as the muzzle. I posted pictures on the forum and one person commented that he had seen boat anchors that were retrieved after a hundred years in the ocean that look better than my barrel! A little over the top but kind of accurate. I had a local gunsmith re-crown the barrel and I cleaned up the leade and transfer port. I then polished the barrel with J-B bore paste. This is the original modified Skyhawk configuration:
Crown rework by local gunsmith (stock barrel)
Transfer port and leade deburred by myself (stock barrel)
Barrel polished with J-B bore paste by myself (stock barrel)
Replacement cocking lever pin (new design w/ knurl at top of pin)
DonnyFL Tanto moderator and adapter
JB3d cheek piece
JB3d Biathlon Lever Cocking Aid
14 shots at 25 yards
Still not accurate (better, but not accurate). So, I committed to having a custom LW barrel made for the Skyhawk.
Installed new barrel yesterday and am pleased with initial accuracy. This is the current configuration:
Custom drop-in LW barrel
Replacement cocking lever pin (new design w/ knurl at top of pin)
DonnyFL Tanto moderator and adapter
JB3d cheek piece
JB3d Biathlon Lever Cocking Aid
BKL adjustable scope mount
Saber Tactical Air Tank Clamp Rail Adapter
Hawke 4-16x44 Airmax 30 SF compact scope
2 CARM magazines
14 shots at 30 yards
Next modification is to install Huma regulator to improve tuning and consistency of the Skyhawk. I love the fit/feel of the Skyhawk and am still working on consistency (reducing extreme spread, standard deviation and better tunability).
I cannot, in good conscience, recommend a Skyhawk to anybody looking for a good bullpup out of the box. In my case, I will get my Skyhawk where I want it but at a cost in both time and money (a lot of money!).