N/A Reduced cocking effort on RWS 54 ?

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1969Nova

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Sep 18, 2018
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Ohio, United States
I'm now 76 yrs. old and it is time to reduce the cocking effort of my .22 RWS 54. This is my starling gun.


I have to be able to cock it while lying prone on the breezeway floor. Velocity is not necessary. Right now I'm getting 764 fps, but only need 500 or so. Heck even 400 fps is plenty for birds at 16 yds.

Who has a decent replacement spring?

And no, I don't want to cut coils, forge & grind new ends, etc.
 
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That gun is sold in other markets with limited power and more than likely has a factory made reduced power spring, and its not hard just to change it for a lower powered spring. Air rifle headquarters should be able to help you out.( That may have been where I got mine but I don't remember it was many years ago) I have used my RWS48 practicing small bore and laying in prone. It's not that bad to cock my detuned rifle (12fpe power) , but you definitely have to get creative rolling on your side. But as far as Spring guns go a side lever is about your only option to keep laying in prone.A FWB 300 is a really good one as well for this.
 
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marflow 777 said:
first of all, that spring is not marketed for that rifle but you could call Vortek and ask them to make you a down power spring
or you could just buy a Chaser kit and be done with it, the cost would be the same
https://vortekproducts.com/
to bring a rifle such as that down that far in power would be a lot of R&D work
just change that tool with something that is better suited for your needs

https://www.pyramydair.com/product/diana-chaser-co2-air-rifle-kit?m=4613
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He is shooting from prone,that chaser is definitely not set up for what he wants to do..
 
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1969Nova said:
I'm now 76 yrs. old and it is time to reduce the cocking effort of my .22 RWS 54. This is my starling gun.


I have to be able to cock it while lying prone on the breezeway floor. Velocity is not necessary. Right now I'm getting 764 fps, but only need 500 or so. Heck even 400 fps is plenty for birds at 16 yds.

Who has a decent replacement spring?

And no, I don't want to cut coils, forge & grind new ends, etc.
Click to expand...
I hear you...it's a hassle to cut and grind new ends.

what about just heating and collapsing a few coils?

I've collapsed coils on my stove top. Just another option.

 
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you can't shoot the Chaser in rifle configuration prone, why the hell would that be, he could shoot it off a bipod
so, if he wants to shoot a, say 8.2 gr pellet at 400 it is 2.9 FPE and at that power he has no right to shoot at any living animal
500fps is 4.55FPE
600 is 6.55 just over the UK pistol limit
800 is 11.66 still under UK rifle limit

all i have
 
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Hector Medina.
He is an airgun fanatic.
He has a shop in Maryland (But used to be in Connecticut).
He offers customized work on all of the Diana Side-cockers.
He can lower the cocking effort without reducing output power..
His website:

www.ctcustomairguns.com

Connecticut Custom Airguns

Welcome to the Connecticut Custom Airguns homepage! Our 40 + years experience in the shooting world allows us to advice and counsel almost any shooter so that they can accomplish their goals. We also...
www.ctcustomairguns.com
 
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Big 28mm piston & long stroke .. It IS BY DESIGN a Magnum springer !!!
Back down spring rate will have it prone to piston bounce and a poor shot cycle. You can take power down with a smaller gauge wire spring, but keeping a fair amount of preload is suggested !!!

At 76 yrs young, ideally sell or trade if off and buy an HW 30, 35 or 50 and be done and getting a much easier gun to shoot. JMO tho :cautious:
 
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AirShot said:
Getting it down below 500 fps will greatly increase the lock time and probably make accuracy worse. If you need a lower powered gun, trade yours for a gun designed for lower power.
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Diana 54 is produced in 7.5J (up to 425 fps in .22) for the markets of Russia and Great Britain. It has no problems with accuracy!Today there is no alternative to Diana 54, if you do not take into account the old A380, D75 and FWB300.
 
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Motorhead said:
Big 28mm piston & long stroke .. It IS BY DESIGN a Magnum springer !!!
Back down spring rate will have it prone to piston bounce and a poor shot cycle. You can take power down with a smaller gauge wire spring, but keeping a fair amount of preload is suggested !!!

At 76 yrs young, ideally sell or trade if off and buy an HW 30, 35 or 50 and be done and getting a much easier gun to shoot. JMO tho :cautious:
Click to expand...
So you are saying that your suggested rifles (HW 30, 35 or 50) meet all the requirements? (.22 caliber, side-cocker, sledge, one hole accuracy). Are you a hunter? A precision hunter?
hunter?
Starlings and RWS 54_2.jpg
 
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Ievgen721 said:
Diana 54 is produced in 7.5J (up to 425 fps in .22) for the markets of Russia and Great Britain. It has no problems with accuracy!Today there is no alternative to Diana 54, if you do not take into account the old A380, D75 and FWB300.
Click to expand...
The internals are all different, not the same rifles !! Can't compare apples to oranges. In restricted countries the internals are designed to short stroke the cylinder to have a fast lock time. Getting all the components to switch yours over will probably cost more than just buying a gun designed for lower power.
 
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AirShot said:
The internals are all different, not the same rifles !! Can't compare apples to oranges. In restricted countries the internals are designed to short stroke the cylinder to have a fast lock time. Getting all the components to switch yours over will probably cost more than just buying a gun designed for lower power.
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I'm only comparing recoilless rifles! Diana 54 rifles have 7.5J(UK and RUS), 16J (Euro version) or 26J (US and other) from factory, differ only in the mainspring! It is cheaper to buy a OEM spring for the rifle you are used to than to change the rifle.
 
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1969Nova said:
So you are saying that your suggested rifles (HW 30, 35 or 50) meet all the requirements? (.22 caliber, side-cocker, sledge, one hole accuracy). Are you a hunter? A precision hunter?
hunter?View attachment 424268
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Hoo, boy. Wonder if anyone ever asked Smokey Yunick if he knew how to build a stock car? You’ve been given a lot of options. Including leaving at full power and modifying the cocking arm. Easiest is a weaker spring. Gun won’t feel the same. Whether you like it or not who knows? Many don’t, look up what they do in the UK to get a shot cycle they like. Then re-read what Motörhead said. You didn’t mention how much coin you’re going to drop. If money is no object, send it to Hector and tell him what you want. He’ll make it exactly what you want. And probably cost more than just getting a lower powered gun.
 
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I have a D54 and was thinking the same thing (78 here ) but like motorhead said just changing the spring probably will not get the results your looking for , and it would cost a lot to change all the inturnals to get where you want it . thinking of a different gun you might consider an FWB SSP 600 , 601 ,602 used around $400 to $600 or so . No recoil , extremely accurate . The Midwest Air Gun show is coming up this spring and i can almost guarantee you can find one there .
 
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beerthief said:
I have a D54 and was thinking the same thing (78 here ) but like motorhead said just changing the spring probably will not get the results your looking for , and it would cost a lot to change all the inturnals to get where you want it . thinking of a different gun you might consider an FWB SSP 600 , 601 ,602 used around $400 to $600 or so . No recoil , extremely accurate . The Midwest Air Gun show is coming up this spring and i can almost guarantee you can find one there .
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You write about something you have no idea. I have more than 30 German rifles, and sometimes 50. There are several Dian 54s, including one 7.5J for use in a 10m tunnel shooting range, it differs only in the spring! I have FWBs also. The FWB 600 series is not a spring-piston rifle, it costs $800-950 and is very difficult to get.

DSCN8475.JPG


DSCN8332.JPG
 
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I bought a used FWB600 lefty for $600 and i see them around at shows for about the same price , maybe your on Ebay ? or several other gun sales sites ?
I trust what motorhead says , so i am going on that information . I do not Think the 10 meter version is sold in USA , but i will try to buy one if i can, but have you disassembled those and measured the inturnals ? it is a 28MM piston and is it the same stroke length ?
By the way i paid $240 for my D54 at the Hickory show 2 years ago in very nice condition .
where is Cornelius ? state ? country ?
 
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