Back From The Gunsmith

Ok, here is the full post that the sneak peak promised. All of my guns are back from the gunsmith; all but one of them had a picatinny rail and optics installed. The last one was the antique Diana 27, it was in for a re-seal, re-lubrication, sight alignment, and cleanup. All of the pistols are sporting new Cerakote, which unfortunately means that the model number and logo for these pistols is no more (see below.) Also, you might notice that the Diana pistols don't have the right-handed grip; I ordered the left-handed grips for both pistols, and swapped out the right sides, thus giving both of these Diana pistols ambidextrous grips.

The Hatsan 25 Supercharger (.22 caliber,) and two Diana P5 Magnums (.177 caliber.)



The Hatsan Model 25 Supercharger with Tru Glo red dot scope.

Close-up of the Hatsan, to show the custom Picatinny rail. The logo is gone.

My Diana P5 with its new Tru Glo red dot scope.

My son's Diana P5 with its new (used) BSA red dot scope.
He is 7 now; he will inherit this gun when he turns 16.

Close-up of my P5  to show the custom Picatinny rail. As with the
Hatsan, the Diana logo on top of the gun has been covered by Cerakote.

Close-up of my son's P5  to show the custom Picatinny rail. As with the
Hatsan, the Diana logo on top of the gun has been covered by Cerakote.

My antique 1934-era Diana Model 27, all cleaned up and ready to roll.

I went a little picture happy with the Diana 27. There's no reason for this close-up
view, other than the fact that I love looking at this gun.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.



My local gunsmith, Benny; the guy who made it all possible.

Well, that's all for now; when I return, I will be shooting these guns, posting data and target photos as I go. Until then, may all of your pellets fly true!

More on my Diana Model 27 D. R. P. a.

I found this picture today, while snooping around on the Vintage Diana Forum. It was part of a larger image, of a page from an old catalog. I clipped out the part that I was interested in, and cleaned it up with Microsoft Office Picture Manager. The image is used with permission from the original posters (Garvin2 and Trev A.)

From what I can tell, this model has the "new" two-stage trigger, and it is the trigger on which the patent is pending, not the entire gun design, as I had previously thought. It seems that it was available in "smooth barrel" (for shooting darts, or perhaps BBs) for 29 Reich Marks, or one could pay 30.50 Reich Marks for the rifled barrel (for shooting pellets.)

When I have the time, I will sit down with Google Translate and translate the whole entry, but until then, enjoy this little snippet of history in its raw form.

Courtesy of Garvin2 and Trev A from the Vintage Diana Forum.

Diana Model 27 Update

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.

My New Acquisition

I recently acquired this little gem: the Diana model 27 pellet rifle. I am not sure when it was made, because there are very few markings on the gun. The rifle has no safety catch whatsoever, and the stock is solid wood, and the mechanisms are all steel. There isn't a serial number anywhere on the rifle that I can see. Only the markings "Diana Model 27" and "D.R.P.a." The absence of both a serial number and of the safety catch lead me to suspect that the rifle might be pre-WWII, possibly 1920's or 1930's.

The barrel and the body have extremely slight surface rust in some areas, but these little blemishes do not affect the working of the gun itself. The same is true for the wooden stock; it has a myriad of tiny scratches and bumps, but these are cosmetic issues. The rear sight is missing; there is a little "shoe" for it, but it is as if someone took it off for some reason.

I was told by the dealer that the rifle "still shoots," although he did not elaborate any further. When I broke the breech, there was a light coating of oil on the breech seal. I have yet to shoot or chronograph the gun at all. In fact, I am not even positive of the caliber. From just "eyeballing" it, the rifle appears to be .22 caliber. (The hole looks a bit big to be .177, but I could be wrong.)

When I get some spare time, I plan to shoot it a bit, and see how it's held up over the years. Until then, here are some pictures of it. Please forgive the photo quality, these images were taken with my cell phone.

My "new to me" Diana model 27 air rifle.

There is a metal "shoe" where the rear sight should be.

Closeup; you can see some of the stock's dings and scratches.

The Goddess Diana.

D.R.P.a. (I believe this is a patent declaration.)