I had been waiting for the AirKing Pro to become available in .22 for the better part of a year. When it finally became available for preorder in May of this year, I went ahead and placed an order. Just got it yesterday and of course had to throw a scope on it and try it out. I had forgotten how overlubricated new springers often are. After 200 rounds of JSB 18.1 pellets, it was still smoking but I could tell the rifle was finally starting to settle down. That was plenty of shooting for the first day, so took it inside, cleaned the incredibly filthy bore, and locked down the muzzle weight that had come loose.
Did some more shooting today at 35 yards starting with JSB 18.1 pellets again. The gun is still smoking, but groups are getting tighter. Best group with the 18.1 JSB measured 0.75". Not bad, but was hoping for a little better. Switched to the JSB 15.9 and groups started looking a lot better, which is good because I prefer the higher velocity out of the lighter pellets. By the end of the session, the majority of groups were ranging from 0.50" to 0.55". Very encouraging considering this is from sitting with sticks. Looks like I may have a winner.
One annoying characteristic of the gun is the truly huge first stage travel once you remove the creep from the second stage. Is it true that the first stage travel can be reduced by simply replacing the front screw with a longer one? I think Diana wanted to make sure that people didn't remove the first stage altogether by limiting adjustments at that point.
Another annoying characteristic is the barrel "droop". I had to use up all the vertical adjustment on my scope to get on paper. Diana sells a one-piece mount with built-in droop compensation. Any reason I shouldn't buy one? Reviews seem positive.
Did some more shooting today at 35 yards starting with JSB 18.1 pellets again. The gun is still smoking, but groups are getting tighter. Best group with the 18.1 JSB measured 0.75". Not bad, but was hoping for a little better. Switched to the JSB 15.9 and groups started looking a lot better, which is good because I prefer the higher velocity out of the lighter pellets. By the end of the session, the majority of groups were ranging from 0.50" to 0.55". Very encouraging considering this is from sitting with sticks. Looks like I may have a winner.
One annoying characteristic of the gun is the truly huge first stage travel once you remove the creep from the second stage. Is it true that the first stage travel can be reduced by simply replacing the front screw with a longer one? I think Diana wanted to make sure that people didn't remove the first stage altogether by limiting adjustments at that point.
Another annoying characteristic is the barrel "droop". I had to use up all the vertical adjustment on my scope to get on paper. Diana sells a one-piece mount with built-in droop compensation. Any reason I shouldn't buy one? Reviews seem positive.
