A Day at the Gun Range

Ok, so I went to the range today. Knowing that 10 meters is roughly 33 feet, and knowing that "giant steps" are roughly 3 feet each, I paced off 11 giant steps, and set up my targets. This is a pic taken with my iPhone 5 from the shooting bench, no magnification; I think I will bring a tape measure next time, because it felt like more than 10 meters to me. What do you guys think? (By the way, if you click any of the pictures, it will let you view the full-size image.)

Here's the view from the bench

The targets on the stand were full torso handgun targets. I put my target over the head of the torso target. Here's a closeup, so you can see what I mean:

My target covered the head portion of the torso target

By the way, I was using this type of target:

It's not exactly an airgun target, but it will do. The black area is 5.25 inches in diameter.

First, I sighted in the Hatsan Model 25 Supercharger (.22 Caliber.) By the way, I was using RWS Super H Point pellets, 14.2 Grain. These shots are all open sights, seated, using a cup and saucer grip, resting my elbows on the table (not the gun.) The first five shots were abysmally low...

First five shots; shooting way, way too low.

So, I made some adjustments...

The hole next to the word champion was my fault; the hole in the 6 ring reflects the effects of the adjustment.

And some more...

Now we're getting somewhere!

Final grouping; at this point I am satisfied that the Hatsan is "sighted in." I started shooting the metal targets after this, pinging those suckers every time!

Final grouping for the Hatsan.

By the way, I had a few folks with me today. My son, Yuri, who is 6 years old, and my father-in-law, Mark.

While I was shooting the Hatsan, my son was shooting the Diana 27 (.177), and my father-in-law was shooting the Crosman Titan GP (.22)

After I finished with the Hatsan, I switched out with Mark, and started shooting the Crosman Titan. I had the local gun shop mount and sight the scope for me, so I didn't bother to adjust the scope. I just started zinging away...

First few shots with the Titan. Same distance, same kind of target, same pellet as the Hatsan. Firing from a seated position, using the little red bench rest that Yuri was using in the picture above. And making use of the Centerpoint scope.

...And then I zinged away some more...

Final grouping for the Titan; it was just too darn hot to keep going (94 degrees F.)

Close-up shot of my baby, the Titan GP. I love this little gun!

All in all, we had a great day at the range! Unfortunately, we didn't have access to a chronograph today, so I don't have any FPS or FPE to give ya. Hopefully, the next time I go to the range, I will have had the chance to buy my own.

Shooting At Cans

Distance: 10 M, using bench rest.
Weather: sunny & clear.
Airgun used: Diana P5 Magnum.
Pellet used: Diana Meisterkugeln Pro-Line, 8.2 grain.

First Shot, In Through The Bottom

First Shot, Out Through The Top

Second Shot, In Through The Bottom

Second Shot, Out Through The Top, Through SAME HOLE!

Third Shot, Change-Up: In Through The Top, Just Under Tab

Third Shot, Big Dent In Bottom, No Exit

Deformed Pellet From Third Shot (Closeup)

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.)

Diana P5 Magnum Second Range Test

Well, I went to the range yesterday, and here are the targets and results. I was going to shoot 25 of each pellet, but when I got to the Hyper Max pellets, they were shooting such tight groups that I had to shoot a lot more of them in order to see the true range of variability. (I ended up shooting 40 Hyper Max pellets.) I think you can see by these pictures that the Hyper Max is the true champion when it comes to accuracy; 58% of the Hyper Max pellets went through the same, quarter-sized hole. Only 40% of the Crosman pellets hit the same mark. Both targets were shot standing, at a distance of 7 yards (21 feet) with open sights, using a police-style, 2-handed grip.

25 shots with Crosman SSP 4.0 grain pellets @ 7 yards, police-style 2-handed stance.

About 10 of the 25 shots hit this quarter-sized area.

The red area is 3 inches in diameter.

40 shots with RWS Hyper Max 5.2 grain pellets @ 7 yards, police-style 2-handed stance.

Again, the red area is 3 inches in diameter.

About 23 of the 40 shots went through this quarter-sized hole.

I also chronographed these two pellet types. Here are the results. The first Hyper Max result was due to dieseling, I believe. I cleaned the barrel with an alcohol swab, then put a drop of silicone lubricant on the breech seal just before shooting the chronograph test.

Hyper Max 5.2 Grain: 718, 683, 663, 650, 639, 658, 644, 659, 656, 649

Average: 661.9 (662 fps)

Taking off the first 2 results: Average: 652.25 (652 fps)

Foot Pounds of Energy (FPE): 4.91 [Let's round this up to 5.0, since our last result was 5.17]

Crosman SSP 4.0 Grain: 787, 792, 789, 784, 782, 775, 785, 785, 785, 786

Average: 785 fps

Foot Pounds of Energy (FPE): 5.47 [Let's round this up to 5.5, just to be fair to the Crosman pellet.]

As you can see, while Hyper Max gives superior accuracy, the Crosman SSPs deliver more velocity and power.

785 vs. 652 = Over 130 fps faster!

5.5 vs. 5.0 = 10% more energy delivered.

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EDITORIAL NOTE: (This comment was added 03-19-2014, more than 2 years after the original post, by an older and wiser Scientific Airgunner!) The super-light-weight pellets (less than 5 grains in weight) should not be used, because they put additional and unwanted stress on the gun's mainspring; thus, despite the fact that SSPs deliver slightly more velocity and power, Hyper Max pellets are a better choice, because they aren't hard on your gun. However, I wouldn't shoot anything under 7 grains nowadays, because retained energy at the point of impact suffers greatly in lighter pellets. Look at the following post for details:  

http://thescientificairgunner.blogspot.com/2013/09/some-interesting-data.html

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You may have noticed the "flyer" at the bottom of the Hyper Max target, this is not an error of the gun, it is human error. I was at the gun range on a very busy day, and there were large caliber pistols going off all around me, and at times, that made it hard to concentrate. That particular shot came after a cease-fire had ended, and I kind of jumped when all the shooting commenced again.

Well folks, that's all for now. I hope to make the next post about my new Crosman Titan GP rifle. I have toyed around with it a little, but I haven't taken it to the range for any serious target work (yet!)

Pellet Data Chart For The Diana P5 Magnum

Data for Diana P5 Magnum

The other day, it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to have the data that I posted on other websites posted here as well, in case the other websites happen to either go away, change web hosts, or lose their data to an unexpected crash. So here it is, complete with bar chart. Each pellet (listed by brand and weight) was chronographed ten times, and then the average of those results was used to calculate FPE (Foot Pounds of Energy.)

Cabela's Ultra Mag (10.56 Grain) = 417, 410, 394, 408, 402, 416, 414, 418, 411, 421

(avg = 411.1) @ 411 fps = 4.11 FPE

Gamo Rocket (9.6 Grain) = 451, 450, 451, 457, 453, 454, 440, 434, 472, 445

(avg = 450.7) @ 450 fps = 4.32 FPE

RWS Meisterkugeln Pro Line (8.2 Grain) = 504, 504, 510, 505, 498, 512, 516, 510, 512, 499

(avg = 507) @ 507 fps = 4.68 FPE

Gamo Tomahawk (7.8 Grain) = 531, 506, 526, 533, 525, 509, 503, 537, 527, 524

(avg = 522.1) @ 522 fps = 4.72 FPE

RWS Hypermax (5.2 Grain) = 671, 667, 664, 673, 669, 668, 663, 670, 675, 675

(avg = 669.5) @ 669 fps = 5.17 FPE

I find it interesting that the FPE was greatest in the lighter pellets. It would seem that although mass plays a large factor in the hitting power of a projectile, velocity can have a pronounced effect as well.

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EDITORIAL NOTE: (This comment was added 03-20-2014, more than 2 years after the original post, by an older and wiser Scientific Airgunner!) The Hyper Max pellets WILL get you close to the 700 FPS that is promised on the box, and they weigh JUST ENOUGH that they aren't hard on your gun. (Pellets that weigh 4.9 grains or less will place additional stress and "wear & tear" on your spring; pellets that weigh 5.0 grains or more won't. That's why RWS makes their "light pellet" heavier than most other manufacturers.) However, I wouldn't shoot anything under 7 grains nowadays, because retained energy at the point of impact suffers greatly in lighter pellets. Look at the following post for details:  

http://thescientificairgunner.blogspot.com/2013/09/some-interesting-data.html

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