Since my last post, I have discovered several things about my new-to-me Diana Model 27.
1) It is indeed circa 1930's, most likely one of the first ones made, probably 1934 or 1935.
2) D. R. P. a. is indeed a patent declaration. D. R. P. stands for Deutsches Reichspatent. The letter "a" at the end stands for "angemeldet," which means registered or declared; it's the German equivalent of what in the U.S. would be "patent pending." Collectors call this version of the Model 27 the "D. R. P. version," because it is the only Model 27 to bear the D. R. P. stamp; the stamp was no longer used after 1945. Since mine says "patent pending," then I am the proud owner of one of the first D. R. P.s to ever be produced.
3) It is indeed .177 caliber, contrary to what I originally thought.
4) I acquired a rear sight for it, and a friend of mine found a spring and put it all in for me. The sight doesn't fit perfectly, which leads me to believe that perhaps it was made for one of the post-WWII 27's. But it's close, and I believe that with a little filing, it could be made to fit snug.
5) Since the sight isn't perfect, I haven't been able to try for groupings yet. But I did shoot it several times through the chronograph, and I have to say that I am quite pleased. This little gun averages around 620 fps with 8.2 grain Meisterkugeln pellets! That's excellent for a spring that is 76 years old!
All that is left to do now is to clean it really well, and finish the rear sight. When I can shoot groupings for it, I will post the results here.
No comments:
Post a Comment