Hello. I will share with you some comments and picts. of a jewel that I’m lucky to own: The fabulous, classic, Diana 27!
It came to my life at a time when I was obsessed with super-magnums (springers), and this little beauty was an eye opener. It is a joy to handle and shoot such a well mannered, simple and accurate gun.
I’m sure there are Diana experts here in the forum, so I ask them please to get in and correct all the mistakes I will mix with real info. below...
This model was produced for a long period of time. The first versions date from before WW2, and it remained in production until the 80s. There are, therefore, many specimens everywhere.
Naturally, its design suffered several changes in time. Especially in aesthetics, the sights, the trigger, but I understand that the power plant remained more or less the same, representing about the maximum power of air rifles of those old times. In power, it was later surpassed by the model 35, and then by other “magnums”, in the case of Diana, the model 45.
The small brothers of the model 27 are the model 25, the 22/23 and the 15/ 16, etc., which are considered kid/youth rifles. The 27 is definitely an adult rifle. But for me, after a while dealing with super-magnums, the 27 felt like a rifle for a kid. Cocking is very easy, just one finger is needed, and the rifle is very light. The 27 is kind of an “optimum” when it comes to the balance between weight, power, and accuracy.
I think that it was around the time of its discontinuation (the 1980s) that Diana started cutting production costs like crazy: Each marginal change you see in how a specific part evolves, has to do with reducing costs. If properly done, quality wouldn’t deteriorate (much). Before that, Diana was plain pure quality. Well, this is a sad story that is found in many other brands. The quality is of old Diana’s is noticeable in every detail. Note that the 27 was not the luxury rifle in Diana's sporter catalog (that role was probably for the 50 model), but it was a well made, adult rifle.
If you ask for a small, light, compact & classic rifle that is easy to cock and has excellent accuracy... probably most people will direct you to the R7 (Weihrauch HW30S). The Diana 27 will be probably ignored! The HW is more or less a modern rifle, which I understand is well suited for use with a telescopic sight. The Diana 27 seems to me to be more elegant, more stylish, with similar accuracy (excellent in both) but a little bit more power. The 27 invites to use open sights.
Well, enough of yada-yada and let's go to the picts!
*************************************
General View:
The “pistolet” is rounded, something that was more or less common in older weapons. The stock is made of beech wood, very simple –but comfortable- and it is finished with tinted lacquer (or is it tinted varnish?). The metal is blued and its quality is excellent. Of course, after several decades it wears down and some patina appears, and some rust too.
Seen from above, the stock is super skinny. Here you can also see the rail of the telescopic sight (not all versions have it):
The inscriptions are “embossed”, as was more common before. Here the beautiful logo of Diana, the goddess, who throws her bow to take a pellet rifle!!!
From a certain moment (mid or late 60s?), Diana's began to bring an inscription on the side indicating the date of manufacture. This is from June 1971 (06 71):
The open sights are of good quality. This is generally true of all Diana's, ancient and modern AFAIK. Here in any case you can't see the original sights, because I replaced them with others. At the back I put a diopter (a cheap Chinese diopter, but works well), while for the front sight I put one with an option of interchangeable inserts. It's from Diana too, but from another model:
The breech block area is completely rounded, elegant. Most modern spring rifles usually try to hide this area, because it's square and crude. The Diana 27 uses a block design that is round and pretty. See also the quality on the screws (each screw that serves as an axis, has its own fixing screw):
Here is how the lever is attached to the barrel block (again, pure quality). It doesn’t rattle, and no need for a “custom part” to achieve this!
The trigger is what they call “the 3 ball trigger”. A particular design of Diana, dating from a time when triggers were not very good (the HW Rekord did not exist) and Diana came up with this design that was innovative in its time. It consists of two cylinders (one inside the other), the piston rod goes through the innermost cylinder and is “caught” in place by 3 little balls, which will not allow it to move, until the outer cylinder moves, releasing the balls – which is caused by the pull of the trigger. This way, the higher brute force of the spring/piston is supported by the 3 balls, and the trigger itself only has to deal against the outer cylinder, which is a much lower force. This design was used even in modern rifles of Diana (example: models 48-52-54 with the called “T01”), but then it was changed to something different (T05?) which, I guess, was motivated again to reduce costs. The trigger of the 3 balls I think is very good, it feels good on my 27:
Screw “A” adjusts the limit point between the first and the second time of the trigger, and with the screw “B” the screw “A” is fixed so that it does not move. Again, quality from a time when they were not yet thinking about saving costs. If they made it today, it would only have 1 screw!
Note: There is here in the forum an excellent thread about the 3 ball trigger.
The grooves on the barrel are deep. Also, the barrel has a choke (or semi-choke?). Some say that in the process of machining (or pressing) the front sight mounting rails on a barrel, it automatically created a semi-choke. True or not? Anyways, the choke can be perfectly felt when you clean the barrel:
In the butt of the stock there is a little red rubber button. Someone once told me that this is here so that the rifle doesn't slip when stored (when stored standing up):
Here is the Diana 27 next to the Hatsan 135 (a Turkish magnum gun), for comparison. It is not so much shorter, but much lighter, more stylized and less bulky:
When I cock the Diana 27 and think about the 8 fpe it generates, I can only conclude that the Hatsan 135 should give 80 fpe!!!
I bought this rifle here in Chile, obviously used. It was in good condition. The previous owner told me that he got it from someone who brought it with him from another country (Colombia IIRC). I think that is why this rifle is labeled “Diana”, because most of the Diana’s we can get here are “Gecado” labeled. I have also a Gecado 27, I will try to post some picts. of it later.
I understand this Diana 27 has never been opened. It is more than 50 years old and must have thousands and thousands of shots, and is still working flawlessly. Some say the original spring will last a lifetime. The D27 has a leather piston seal and all what´s needed is a couple of drops of oil every XX shots (500?). The barrel seal (oring), of course, will have to be changed from time to time.
Power-wise, as said, this one gives about 8 fpe: 680 fps with Gamo Match pellets. This gun is 177 cal. however there are many in 22 cal. I’d say it could kill little birds (not pigeons) and mice or such, but no bigger game than that. I wouldn’t go hunting with it, this is a pure plinking gun for me.
The accuracy is excellent. With the diopter I get groups about 1 inch CTC, or smaller, at 25 yards all day. By my standards that is very good. At that distance I can barely see the target. In fact, I need a big, solid center (black or dark grey) to aim at, and it is surprising how shot after shot you're hitting the same place (almost), when in fact your eyes cannot see exactly where you're aiming at.
I will never sell it!! And I try to educate my son as much as I can, so when I pass away he knows what he is getting!!
Best Regards.
Rodrigo.
It came to my life at a time when I was obsessed with super-magnums (springers), and this little beauty was an eye opener. It is a joy to handle and shoot such a well mannered, simple and accurate gun.
I’m sure there are Diana experts here in the forum, so I ask them please to get in and correct all the mistakes I will mix with real info. below...
This model was produced for a long period of time. The first versions date from before WW2, and it remained in production until the 80s. There are, therefore, many specimens everywhere.
Naturally, its design suffered several changes in time. Especially in aesthetics, the sights, the trigger, but I understand that the power plant remained more or less the same, representing about the maximum power of air rifles of those old times. In power, it was later surpassed by the model 35, and then by other “magnums”, in the case of Diana, the model 45.
The small brothers of the model 27 are the model 25, the 22/23 and the 15/ 16, etc., which are considered kid/youth rifles. The 27 is definitely an adult rifle. But for me, after a while dealing with super-magnums, the 27 felt like a rifle for a kid. Cocking is very easy, just one finger is needed, and the rifle is very light. The 27 is kind of an “optimum” when it comes to the balance between weight, power, and accuracy.
I think that it was around the time of its discontinuation (the 1980s) that Diana started cutting production costs like crazy: Each marginal change you see in how a specific part evolves, has to do with reducing costs. If properly done, quality wouldn’t deteriorate (much). Before that, Diana was plain pure quality. Well, this is a sad story that is found in many other brands. The quality is of old Diana’s is noticeable in every detail. Note that the 27 was not the luxury rifle in Diana's sporter catalog (that role was probably for the 50 model), but it was a well made, adult rifle.
If you ask for a small, light, compact & classic rifle that is easy to cock and has excellent accuracy... probably most people will direct you to the R7 (Weihrauch HW30S). The Diana 27 will be probably ignored! The HW is more or less a modern rifle, which I understand is well suited for use with a telescopic sight. The Diana 27 seems to me to be more elegant, more stylish, with similar accuracy (excellent in both) but a little bit more power. The 27 invites to use open sights.
Well, enough of yada-yada and let's go to the picts!
*************************************
General View:
The “pistolet” is rounded, something that was more or less common in older weapons. The stock is made of beech wood, very simple –but comfortable- and it is finished with tinted lacquer (or is it tinted varnish?). The metal is blued and its quality is excellent. Of course, after several decades it wears down and some patina appears, and some rust too.
Seen from above, the stock is super skinny. Here you can also see the rail of the telescopic sight (not all versions have it):
The inscriptions are “embossed”, as was more common before. Here the beautiful logo of Diana, the goddess, who throws her bow to take a pellet rifle!!!
From a certain moment (mid or late 60s?), Diana's began to bring an inscription on the side indicating the date of manufacture. This is from June 1971 (06 71):
The open sights are of good quality. This is generally true of all Diana's, ancient and modern AFAIK. Here in any case you can't see the original sights, because I replaced them with others. At the back I put a diopter (a cheap Chinese diopter, but works well), while for the front sight I put one with an option of interchangeable inserts. It's from Diana too, but from another model:
The breech block area is completely rounded, elegant. Most modern spring rifles usually try to hide this area, because it's square and crude. The Diana 27 uses a block design that is round and pretty. See also the quality on the screws (each screw that serves as an axis, has its own fixing screw):
Here is how the lever is attached to the barrel block (again, pure quality). It doesn’t rattle, and no need for a “custom part” to achieve this!
The trigger is what they call “the 3 ball trigger”. A particular design of Diana, dating from a time when triggers were not very good (the HW Rekord did not exist) and Diana came up with this design that was innovative in its time. It consists of two cylinders (one inside the other), the piston rod goes through the innermost cylinder and is “caught” in place by 3 little balls, which will not allow it to move, until the outer cylinder moves, releasing the balls – which is caused by the pull of the trigger. This way, the higher brute force of the spring/piston is supported by the 3 balls, and the trigger itself only has to deal against the outer cylinder, which is a much lower force. This design was used even in modern rifles of Diana (example: models 48-52-54 with the called “T01”), but then it was changed to something different (T05?) which, I guess, was motivated again to reduce costs. The trigger of the 3 balls I think is very good, it feels good on my 27:
Screw “A” adjusts the limit point between the first and the second time of the trigger, and with the screw “B” the screw “A” is fixed so that it does not move. Again, quality from a time when they were not yet thinking about saving costs. If they made it today, it would only have 1 screw!
Note: There is here in the forum an excellent thread about the 3 ball trigger.
The grooves on the barrel are deep. Also, the barrel has a choke (or semi-choke?). Some say that in the process of machining (or pressing) the front sight mounting rails on a barrel, it automatically created a semi-choke. True or not? Anyways, the choke can be perfectly felt when you clean the barrel:
In the butt of the stock there is a little red rubber button. Someone once told me that this is here so that the rifle doesn't slip when stored (when stored standing up):
Here is the Diana 27 next to the Hatsan 135 (a Turkish magnum gun), for comparison. It is not so much shorter, but much lighter, more stylized and less bulky:
When I cock the Diana 27 and think about the 8 fpe it generates, I can only conclude that the Hatsan 135 should give 80 fpe!!!
I bought this rifle here in Chile, obviously used. It was in good condition. The previous owner told me that he got it from someone who brought it with him from another country (Colombia IIRC). I think that is why this rifle is labeled “Diana”, because most of the Diana’s we can get here are “Gecado” labeled. I have also a Gecado 27, I will try to post some picts. of it later.
I understand this Diana 27 has never been opened. It is more than 50 years old and must have thousands and thousands of shots, and is still working flawlessly. Some say the original spring will last a lifetime. The D27 has a leather piston seal and all what´s needed is a couple of drops of oil every XX shots (500?). The barrel seal (oring), of course, will have to be changed from time to time.
Power-wise, as said, this one gives about 8 fpe: 680 fps with Gamo Match pellets. This gun is 177 cal. however there are many in 22 cal. I’d say it could kill little birds (not pigeons) and mice or such, but no bigger game than that. I wouldn’t go hunting with it, this is a pure plinking gun for me.
The accuracy is excellent. With the diopter I get groups about 1 inch CTC, or smaller, at 25 yards all day. By my standards that is very good. At that distance I can barely see the target. In fact, I need a big, solid center (black or dark grey) to aim at, and it is surprising how shot after shot you're hitting the same place (almost), when in fact your eyes cannot see exactly where you're aiming at.
I will never sell it!! And I try to educate my son as much as I can, so when I pass away he knows what he is getting!!
Best Regards.
Rodrigo.
The D27 is a long-time fave of mine.
