Diana Springer Pistols

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Sqwirl57

Sqwirl57

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Apr 13, 2020
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I picked up a Diana 5GN yesterday and have been having a blast with it. Well now its got me thinking.... What other piston pistols are out there that I should add to the collection? I have my eye on a Diana 10 already which seems about as good as you can get but are there any others?

20231101_202447.jpg


Group Tax: First attempt at a group from 10m out (rested). I'm sure it'll do better once I get the hang of it but even that was pretty fun. Going to give some 10m Olympic style a try at some point but I can guarantee I'm not sharing that target with anyone except the garbage can lol

20231101_200112.jpg
 
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the Daina 5GN is probably the rarer of the model 5 pistols and that is Matte Nickle platting and i would have to do a catalog search to see what years they were offers but not many
you could find a model 6 to go with it, the model 5's have a harsh firing cycle and the model 6 has none and as mentioned the Model 10 a dream to shoot and as collectable as any piston
you have the FWB 65-80-90 pistols and you would find that the model 90 has a trigger that will make you go holy sh-t
the HW45-Beeman P1 are pistols that are loved and hated, why, skill level, they have .177-.20-.22 and the .177 is the harshest and the .22 has a soft recoil
a old Manu Arms could be found but there are no parts and like a Diana model 5 sort of
Baikal IZH 53m can be made to shoot very well and it has to be the older model, i have one that i completely rebuilt and it is very nice
you can jump in the SSP rabbit hole
you can just in the multi pump rabbit hole look for a Zoraki HP-01
and the CO2 rabbit hole is huge
so just for reference so no one thinks i might not know
Diana
2-model 5's
2-model 5g's
2-model 5g mag P5
9-model 6's in some form
4-model 10's one left hand
1-LP8
been down that rabbit hole

but i don't have a Diana model 5GN so happy shooting

take care
 
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marflow 777 said:
the Daina 5GN is probably the rarer of the model 5 pistols and that is Matte Nickle platting and i would have to do a catalog search to see what years they were offers but not many
you could find a model 6 to go with it, the model 5's have a harsh firing cycle and the model 6 has none and as mentioned the Model 10 a dream to shoot and as collectable as any piston
you have the FWB 65-80-90 pistols and you would find that the model 90 has a trigger that will make you go holy sh-t
the HW45-Beeman P1 are pistols that are loved and hated, why, skill level, they have .177-.20-.22 and the .177 is the harshest and the .22 has a soft recoil
a old Manu Arms could be found but there are no parts and like a Diana model 5 sort of
Baikal IZH 53m can be made to shoot very well and it has to be the older model, i have one that i completely rebuilt and it is very nice
you can jump in the SSP rabbit hole
you can just in the multi pump rabbit hole look for a Zoraki HP-01
and the CO2 rabbit hole is huge
so just for reference so no one thinks i might not know
Diana
2-model 5's
2-model 5g's
2-model 5g mag P5
9-model 6's in some form
4-model 10's one left hand
1-LP8
been down that rabbit hole

but i don't have a Diana model 5GN so happy shooting

take care
Click to expand...
Awesome info. Thank you!
 
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Sqwirl57 said:
I picked up a Diana 5GN yesterday and have been having a blast with it. Well now its got me thinking.... What other piston pistols are out there that I should add to the collection? I have my eye on a Diana 10 already which seems about as good as you can get but are there any others?

View attachment 402433

Group Tax: First attempt at a group from 10m out (rested). I'm sure it'll do better once I get the hang of it but even that was pretty fun. Going to give some 10m Olympic style a try at some point but I can guarantee I'm not sharing that target with anyone except the garbage can lol

View attachment 402434
Click to expand...
That’s a beauty. For the HW45 those target grips only fit the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Black Star in the current lineup. Different frame. Difficult to find target grips for a standard HW45 though I saw some nice ones on UK forum recently.
 
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cjtamu said:
That’s a beauty. For the HW45 those target grips only fit the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Black Star in the current lineup. Different frame. Difficult to find target grips for a standard HW45 though I saw some nice ones on UK forum recently.
Click to expand...
Good to know. I'll keep my eyes peeled on the classifieds for them from here on put. Appreciate the tip
 
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Sqwirl57 said:
I had seen that one around and I don't know why but I assumed it was an SSP. I'm looking at the action and that seems like a really cool one to have too
Click to expand...
The HW 45 (aka "Beeman P1") is a springer, but the HW 75 SSP ("Beeman P2") is built on the same frame and looks pretty much identical. Both are excellent.

IMHO the P1 is the best non-match springer pistol ever made. Shoots hard, very accurate, great trigger, nice sights, easy to mount optics, built to last a lifetime (my P1 is from the first year of production, 1985, and still looks and shoots like new, though I did replace the spring once). The grips on the original full-frame version interchange with the immortal Colt .45 auto firearm, so some interesting accessoriizing is possible Takes some practice to shoot well but a great air pistol.
 
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Sqwirl57 said:
I picked up a Diana 5GN yesterday and have been having a blast with it. Well now its got me thinking.... What other piston pistols are out there that I should add to the collection? I have my eye on a Diana 10 already which seems about as good as you can get but are there any others?
Click to expand...
There's about a zillion nifty springer pistols out there these days, but the two I will never be without are the Webley Tempest and the Feinwerkbau model 65.

The Tempest is cute, compact, the inheritor of a century of Webley's barrel-over-action tradition, built like a tank, and just a ton of fun - the ultimate plinker. It competed in the market with your Diana 5 for many years so would make an interesting "bookend" for ya, ha. Its size and rearward recoil make it an ideal practice piece for firearms, too.

The FWB 65 is arguably the best spring-piston pistol ever designed, and inarguably history's most dominant target air pistol...if you won a high-level match between about 1965 and 1984, you were shooting a 65, period! The Diana Giss double-piston guns (models 6 and 10) are also awesome; the 10 is a true work of engineering art, and the only other springer that could legitimately go toe-to-toe with the FWB's. But the 65 is more durable, a little lighter, and most prefer its fixed barrel, sidelever-cocking action to break-barrel architecture. Its trigger, sights, and accuracy are all fabulous.

IMG_4241.jpeg
 
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