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New Diana Bandit/Chaser Hybrid.

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SpaceBus

SpaceBus

Member
Oct 11, 2020
29
1
ME, United States
A few weeks ago I started searching for an ultra lightweight .177 PCP and stumbled upon the Diana Bandit pistol. The goofy grip really turned me off until I saw the Diana Chaser CO2 Carbine. For a while I thought about ordering both and converting it myself, but found Wes's website and ordered exactly what I wanted from him. He even swapped the bolt to the right side so it can be fired like a traditional bolt action carbine. Today the PCP showed up at the house and I eagerly assembled and began zeroing the iron sights. After a three or four magazines something went wrong and I think I double chambered some pellets. This happened the first time I tried a magazine, but the rifle just fired them anyway. Now it won't fire at all and the pellets are definitely stuck in there. I have a carbon fiber cleaning rod for our .25 Seneca Eagle Claw, but despite the package saying it is a .117 and .22 rod the rod certainly does not fit the .177 barrel of the Bandit. So now I wait on another CF barrel rod from Amazon. 

What should I call this little PCP? Sometimes I want to just call it a PCP Chaser rather than refer to it as a Bandit at all. Especially since the bolt is on the other side now. 

One thing I really don't like about this platform is the bouncy bolt. There's nothing holding it down, so for now I put a rubber band around the PCP tube and put some downward force on the handle. Seems to work just fine but it does look kind of funny. I really like the compact size and it fits in our double rifle case with the Eagle Claw even with the scope mounted, but I do have to separate the butt stock to get both to fit. The Iron sights are not that bad either, but kind of goofy to adjust. The elevation adjustment can also be thrown off if the rear sight gets caught on something and lifts upward. After I become proficient with the iron sights I'll probably get a 11mm to picatinny adapter and mount some kind of reflex/red dot sight.

DSCF0200.1623966145.JPG

 
love the camo stock, yes the chaser stock is about 10 times nicer than that block of wood they screw on the bandit .. i got the same idea in mind but havent decided on whether the rifle or pistol barrel will wind up on it .. leaning more towards the pistol barrel as what i have in mind for it is a close-in sub 30' squirrel rig for back around the chicken coop ... they like to peak around the corners and hang out in the thick trees and taunt me back there .. hard to lug a full size rig back there while im taking care of things to ...

CIMG1925.1623974801.JPG

 
Upvote 0
love the camo stock, yes the chaser stock is about 10 times nicer than that block of wood they screw on the bandit .. i got the same idea in mind but havent decided on whether the rifle or pistol barrel will wind up on it .. leaning more towards the pistol barrel as what i have in mind for it is a close-in sub 30' squirrel rig for back around the chicken coop ... they like to peak around the corners and hang out in the thick trees and taunt me back there .. hard to lug a full size rig back there while im taking care of things to ...

Click to expand...

I do wish ours had a moderator, it's not like the pneumatic nail gun sound of the Eagle Claw, but it's louder than my Daisy 901 at ten pumps. Your comment about the camo made me chuckle, I actually prefer the black! Are your bolts also "bouncy"? Wes was out of pistol barrels in .177 so we only have the rifle barrel, and I don't mind at all since it is setup as a right handed rifle. Eventually I'd like to get a pistol barrel as well since my wife shoots pistols left handed. Sometimes rifles too, but she wanted to try the bolt on the right at first. We have the 901 and Bandit carbine for rats and other coop raiders as well. The Eagle Claw is for coyotes or foxes. Do you have a regulator for your bandit? I ordered ours with a regulator and I'm thinking it is set for max power rather than max shot count. Seems I can only get one magazine at reasonable power/accuracy. 
 
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Hello SpaceBus,

Good to meet you. I must have missed your introduction.

Congrats finding what you wanted. These are very good learning tools. 

I have 2 cousins of that make. One in .177 and one in .22. 

Many, many days not hours have been spent looking, listening, reading and yes watching for bits of information and slowly working on the pistols.

If you have worked with Wes before, you might call him. Aftermarket parts are mostly non existent. Many products meant for other pistols or rifles will work when you match them up. You can do it. Enjoy!

Here are the 2 CO2 original CP1-M pistols.

pistols 2.1626983065.jpg


I put 18 1/2" Stormrider barrels on each.

This is the .22

thumbnail 2.1626983183.jpg


Then a Stormider stock on the .177

177 in mirrir - Copy.1626983268.jpg


Awesome shooters.
 
Upvote 0
Hello SpaceBus,

Good to meet you. I must have missed your introduction.

Congrats finding what you wanted. These are very good learning tools. 

I have 2 cousins of that make. One in .177 and one in .22. 

Many, many days not hours have been spent looking, listening, reading and yes watching for bits of information and slowly working on the pistols.

If you have worked with Wes before, you might call him. Aftermarket parts are mostly non existent. Many products meant for other pistols or rifles will work when you match them up. You can do it. Enjoy!

Here are the 2 CO2 original CP1-M pistols.



I put 18 1/2" Stormrider barrels on each.

This is the .22



Then a Stormider stock on the .177



Awesome shooters.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! I'm considering doing the opposite and buying a Stormrider and putting my Chaser furniture on it. I like the Bandit, but it has been a learning curve. The regulator seems to make up for most of the problems, but I sometimes wonder how well the regulator I have works. Some threads indicate the "Altaros"/Diana regulator might not be very accurate/consistent. Do you know if a Huma regulator is an upgrade? 
 
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The moderator came in this week and while checking zero at different regulator pressures I could not get consistent groups. On a whim I removed the moderator and got the great groups I'm used to. On a second test I removed the baffles and tried again and got terrible groups so it seems to be in the "can " itself. Anyone else have an issue like this? 
 
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