AusVarmint

Been thinking about getting one of these for a while but always seem to spend my money on cartridge guns instead.....

Anyone familiar with these air rifles that can provide a view on stock and modified rifles ? Views and feedback appreciated.

Joe

G"day
See Lewis and buy a Beeman, Best bang for ya buck ,so to speak.
I would have to recommend a R1 in .20cal, but then again I'm biased.!!
Regards
Damien Webb.

+1 for Lewis, He is the man, if he can't do it no one can

I have to agree.

Tell him what you want to do, and he will tell you what you need.

He often has quality trade-in stuff, as well, and his warranty is the suff of legend

Thanks gents.

Lewis - what are your views on the Diana model 52 and how does it compare to other air rifles ?

In terms of use I'd be interested in the most (subsonic) power available in a 22 calibre. Mostly it would get used around camp shooting cans and such during the middle of the day when not out hunting. That use rules out a normal 22LR as some guys in our camp like to snooze during the day and the noise would be annoying... I might look to hunt with it too occasionally.

Joe

I really don't like the Diana 52.I find it very heavy,clumsy and fiddly to use. I would much prefer a quality break barrel to any fixed barrel airgun whether it's side lever or underlever.
52's are also a pain to scope because of the very short rail which has no particular provision for a scope stop.
The most powerful .22 springer I have and recommend is the Beeman R1.Ask anyone of this forum about their R1 and how they like it.
They tune up a treat too with Maccari gear.
Another thing,there is no Diana agent in Australia right now so any problems could be a big PITA.

JFE

Just listen to Lewis. You will ultimately save money and heartbreak.

Don't forget the R9 in 20 cal with a kit

Ant

The last time we saw a Highland Sports rep at the shop he was trying to get us to buy a whole heap of Diana products at attractive prices. That in itself had me worried, then he says they are going out of Diana because they had "some issues with the company". Naturally we didn't stock up on Diana, after all, why would you buy a heap of stuff and then have no service agent to back you up with spares and service?
As the economic climate changes (for the worse at the moment) so do the various importers. For us small retailers it is a case of having to keep updating our listings of who sells what, who sold it before they did and who fixes the darn things.
Lewis has been the most stable, knowledgable and ethical for many, many years, Potters are good and knowledgable with quality gear, the others, who knows? If you buy a BSA or anything else for that matter off Lewis you are fine. He services what he sells and what he fixes usually comes back better than new. We send him some real crap to be repaired and it always comes back working like a charm.
The firearms game is like used car sales at the moment. Some sellers are good, some are not as good. Do some research before you pay your money.
The HW97K is a nice gun, underlever fixed barrel though and probably much dearer than the Diana. In the shop we have a nice Diana Magnum that I bought off Lewis a while ago. Can't rember what model it is or how much it is but it's a very nice rifle, especially since Lewis overhauled it.
Dennis.

Thanks for your feedback.

Are Weihrauch also represented in Oz ? I did use one of their air pistols years ago and it was well engineered and finished.

What are the pro & cons of break action vs fixed barrel ?

What are the relative costs of .20 & .22 cal pellets and are there many options available in .20 cal ?

Sorry for the newbie questions but my only experience has been cheapie Chinese break action airguns.

Joe

JFE wrote:Thanks for your feedback.

Are Weihrauch also represented in Oz ? I did use one of their air pistols years ago and it was well engineered and finished.

What are the pro & cons of break action vs fixed barrel ?

What are the relative costs of .20 & .22 cal pellets and are there many options available in .20 cal ?

Sorry for the newbie questions but my only experience has been cheapie Chinese break action airguns.

Joe

Most of the Beeman airguns are made by Weihrauch eg R1,R9,RX2 etc and the pistols P1,P2 and P3.
In our airguns,I much prefer break barrels.They are simpler,lighter, faster and easier to use,safer to load,more powerful and absolutely no less accurate than a fixed barrel.I know,to many ears,this is tantamount to blasphemy but I call it like I see it.

Our .20 and .22 pellets are $10.50 to $11.50 per tin of 200 in the Beeman ones.In our JSB's, the .20's are $20/500 and .22's are $12/250.There is 10% discount for 10+ tins.
You will always settle on one or two different pellets.Our FTS is always a great performer and so are the JSB's.

Lewis

Just sticking my nose in again, the most common calibre is .177, without a doubt. We would carry about 25 varieties if .177 pellets and perhaps 2 or 3 types of .22cal. 20cal is uncommon around here (Port Macquarie) but we have a few tins of Beeman .20cal pellets in stock for the couple of customers that have that cal rifle.
Our main trade is in 10M target ammo so we carry a good range of that type of ammo, plus plenty of the cheaper ($6/500) Gamo stuff in .177 and .22.
Depending on where you live, the ammo that suits your rifle may not be readily available. I but my JSB ammo from Lewis and the price he charges is in proportion to the quality of the product, ie., you gets what you pays for.
When you find a pellet that works in your rifle (like .22 rimfires, they all have their favourites) buy a "sleve" of 10 tins which *should* last you a fair while.
Then go out and have some real FUN!
Dennis.
(My dealings with Lewis have been on a straight-out comercial basis and I don't get any kick-backs for recomending him or his products. He's just a good bloke that sells good gear at a fair price. He won't sell you a crock of crap.)

And Lewis and the Potters are good mates, so dealing with Lewis gets you the best of both worlds

Chris

Thanks for the feedback. Its very useful. It looks like a break action 22 cal is what I should look for.

I know that some air rifles have limited performance on purpose to conform to UK's 12 ft lb limit before a FAC is required. Given that we need a licence here regardless of energy output, what are the normal factory specs for air rifles imported here ? ie are they also limited to 12 ft lbs or can you buy factory rifles with 25+ ft lbs ?

What sort of performance can I expect from one of the Beeman / Weihrauch break action air rifles in 22, in stock and modified form (ie with and without Maccari kit / tune up).

Joe

expect top quality for any beeman bought from lewis....for top power in a break barrel i think the Rx2 is king (gas ram) the there are the theobens as well...

sure lewis will give his thoughts......best to hear it from the man himself....

An R1 .22 shoots at about 16 to 17FP out of the box.You'll probably see about 19/20 after the treatment.
Lewis