Diana Skyhawk Lourney

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fderry

Member
May 2, 2019
225
159
Colorado, United States
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



1592607546_14725552715eed433ad18a12.11276299.jpg


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



1592607667_15151097055eed43b310f8b6.55456340.JPG


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!).



1592607847_10248823245eed4467391064.07561405.JPG

 
I think Diana and Pyramid Air making this gun get noticed in the US might be a blessing in disguise. Eventually a $600-700 gamblers gun is either going to get fixed or vanish. The P15 was flying way below the radar because nobody was hardly even aware of the little distributor in the US. If you were resourceful enough to find one, you also were resourceful enough to know you weren’t getting a good gun, but it was pretty cheap. I don’t think there are many people left who aren’t aware of the Skyhawks shortcomings. Even fewer wanting to build a Chaipan but be stuck with a low resale value. Oh, I referred to your barrel as a cannon barrel that has been at the bottom of the ocean for 100 years. Your getting there. Judging by your latest 30yrd group, a entry level unregulated pcp will still outshoot it but you seem committed so you’ll get it. You might have to play with your pellet speed after you get the Huma installed.
 
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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



1592607546_14725552715eed433ad18a12.11276299.jpg


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



1592607667_15151097055eed43b310f8b6.55456340.JPG


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!).



1592607847_10248823245eed4467391064.07561405.JPG
Click to expand...

Going rate for a USED Skyhawk NO MATTER HOW MUCH $$$ Thrown into it $400-$550 even if seller asks $600 based on FACT and last sold price with lots custom work and CZ custom machined barrel and all the extras. I will offer $550 for yours to use towards a Taipan Veteran that should make you even happier. Yo!
 
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I'm sorry to hear about your "lourney' and or your adventures with your Skyhawk but someone once told me, "buy once, cry once". I'm always telling people that, "just because it doesn't smell, doesn't mean that it's clean". Looks can be very deceiving as we've always heard but it cost to be the boss. My first bullpup was the Mrod P12 in .22 and for what it was and still is, it's proved to be a shooter until I bought the FX Wildcat in .25 and then the Daystate Renegade in .25. The Skyhawk does have the look but and there's always going to be a "Butt", it's always going to cost more to get it to where you're comfortable with it. I am happy that you're getting it to where it should be but the only thing that really matters at the end of the day is that your happy with the end results.
 
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Most of the financial pain of purchasing a Skyhawk with the intent of fixing it has passed for me with time.

I also lost the barrel lottery, the shroud lottery and opted for a Huma reg with Lee545 plenum and avoided the regulator lottery.

In the end I exited that Skyhawk land of the lost with a 45 FPE 22, that is highly adjustable and extremely accurate, and Of course beautiful.

However, it does not make monetary sense to most, unless you really like to mod and personalize airguns, which I do.

To bad Diana did not purchase a quantity of Skyhawks without barrels and then rebarrel them with a choice of LW and BSA barrels like Benjamin did with the Field target Marauder and Lw upgrades.


I think a cottage industry could be started as Jim Gaska did with machining LW barrels for the early 22 Mrods, this time just buy up the FX pellet and slug liners made obsolete by the FX Superior liner, sleeve them and machine them to be drop in Skyhawk/p15 and other guns prone to barrel quality issues.



A few weeks ago my wife was telling me I should buy another airgun, not wanting to spend too much money because we’re building a house in Asia, I was cruising through P.A,’ site and saw the Diana Mauser 98. I have owned a few extremely expensive customized M-98 that I abused chasing Oregon Rocky Mountain elk. I stared at that rifle and decided, no not a Diana, I will never ever purchase another Diana. They had the chance to make the Skyhawk a great air rifle, as it is they just screwed a lot of air gunners.

Regards,

Roachcreek


1592613170_10052340475eed59322918b3.58251215.jpeg





 
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Vetmx - Loved your analogy even if I mis-quoted it. My Skyhawk is a work in progress and a love/hate relationship. I am committed to getting it right because it fits me so well. The target was the first pellets through the new barrel. I managed a better 7 shot group later in the day. The hole to the left is my doing not the gun's fault.

1592616525_9267812495eed664d96dcc2.80655141.JPG


YO - I have a Taipan Veteran, a Cricket Mini Carbine, a FX Impact and had a FX Wildcat. None of these bullpups/semi-bullpups fit me like the Skyhawk. I will admit the quality of the Skyhawk isn't in the same league as those airguns but I want an airgun that fits me like an old pair of comfortable jeans. Of all the airguns that I own or have owned the Skyhawk is that old pair of jeans.

Green-Yamo - JSAR machined the barrel for me.

Roachcreek - I like your concept of a sleeved FX barrel. Not just for the Skyhawk but as an option for other airguns that may need an accurate barrel.
 
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Nicely put Roach. You bring up a great point and Diana did blow it. The Skyhawk, while still a little crusty around the edges, would be worthy of $600 with a German barrel. Would have been at least a little better representation of the Diana company. Some guys are still confusing “mods” with just plain fixing. Mods are done to a perfectly functioning gun to enhance its performance. The defining thing about the gun for me is the titanium tube. It’s a high power bench shooters nightmare but an offhand shooters dream.
 
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My barrel, a LW put in by JSAR and it DID required shims.

Diana blew iw it. They dumped guns with bad barrels on unsuspecting shooters and had to know it. Crosman /Benjamin did the same thing when the Mrod came out. They knew it and kept producing junk 22 barrels. Companies that do that do not deserve our trust.



Roachcreek
Click to expand...


Thanks, I had heard that some of them needed shims.

And I totally agree with you. I mean, come on, it's Diana they could have put one of their OWN barrels in it and made these way better!
 
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