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Old September 3, 2015, 02:34 PM   #26
mapsjanhere
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ASC, it is pretty confusing. Diana is an old German manufacturer of air rifles. In the US they are using the RWS brand name (confusing as the RWS brand in Germany is a high quality ammunition manufacturer). UmarexUSA is, as far as I can tell, the US distributor. Umarex is part of the PW Group with Walther, Haemmerli and Roehm, not sure about the ownership relation with the Diana factory.
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Old September 4, 2015, 08:24 AM   #27
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Ok thank you! So it's not really possible to buy the "wrong" RWS? Like with instruments, everyone knows a "Stratocaster" and a lot of companies make a similar style that they call a "Stratocaster" but the only real one is made by Fender, and many people will say "I have a Strat" but it is made by another company. Just wanted to make sure this wasn't the case. Thanks for the tip, and again apologies for the noobiness.
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Old September 4, 2015, 03:22 PM   #28
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My favorite now is a Sheridan Blue Streak from the 1970's. American made, real wood and metal. Accurate and powerful.
Bought it last year and it quickly superseded my new Gamo Bone Collector and Crosman custom shop 2400KT.
Been shooting mine since I bought it back in 1969. Still hell on chippies, the little creeps. I'm thinking on supporting it with a Crosman 1377 this year, as 5mm pellets are getting harder to find.
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Old September 4, 2015, 03:28 PM   #29
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Pyramid Air sells a selection of 5mm...I bought four or five different types to try.
The JSB gets a lot of praise from most .20 shooters.
I also bought a can of samyang heavy 20's...it was the only pellet I bought which punched right through an old licence plate with 8 pumps. The rest just dented it.
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Old September 5, 2015, 06:57 AM   #30
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One thing about owning a PCP gun is that a hand pump gets real old real fast on a hot day. I get about 30 good shots per fill with my .22 Marauder, but I decided that a compressor and carbon fiber tank made sense for an old coot with surgical scars on both shoulders. The tank/compressor package will run about $1400 and up. Oh, and I would avoid the crap-shoot that .22 Marauder barrels are.
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Old September 5, 2015, 02:17 PM   #31
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I'm impressed with my Diana RWS Model 54 {177} recoilless side cocker rifle. It is said to be the "most accurate air rifle under $3,000." I shoot it from 25 to 100 yards at our 100 yard outdoor range {AGC at Marriottsville}. I had to shim up the rear of the scope in order to get a 100 yard zero; though I mainly shoot from 25 to 50 yards.

I currently use heavy JSB lead pellets in 177. If you buy 10 - 500 round cans of JSB from Pyramid Air, you'll get two free cans --- Order more cans...and the free can ratio will increase.

I love to shoot at cowbells. The cowbell from Harbor Freight will withstand hits from 1,000 fps air rifles at 25 yards; but not rimfire ammo. You can buy a 22 rated cowbell on Amazon. I also love to shoot at spent shotgun hulls that are stood up on a wooden horse bench at 25 yards. They make a nice twack sound when you hit them and they can fly in the air about 30 feet. Swinging tennis ball targets are also my favorite.

Wind, temperature, humidity and air pressure really affects air gun pellet flight. I depend a lot on my wind doping, by observing my wind flags.
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Old September 5, 2015, 09:49 PM   #32
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Living in MA, it's a bit of a pain getting a LTC and often frowned upon as this is a very gun-controlled state. People seem to immediately gravitate towards thinking you're a psycho for having a gun here, which is ridiculous IMO. So in lieu of this, I recently purchased the Beeman Silver Kodiak X2 as a introductory/starter gun since it can shoot both .177 and .22's. It seemed to get good reviews for the price and I read it was a better brand than most inexpensive options.
Who cares what other people think, you shouldn't let that stop you. You are letting the crazy anti-gunners win by succumbing to them because they made the process complicated to own guns. I live in MA and I have had my LTC since I was 21 and have carried daily since. Just got it renewed for another 6 years in May. It's really not that big of a pain to get your LTC, it's more of a waiting game than anything.

If you don't want to go through the process of getting an LTC, get an FID card which will let you own shotguns and rifles that don't accept magazines. The process for an FID card is a lot quicker and easier than the LTC.

If you have any questions about the process or MA gun law I can do my best to point you in the right direction.
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Old September 8, 2015, 12:44 PM   #33
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Pyramid Air sells a selection of 5mm...I bought four or five different types to try.
The JSB gets a lot of praise from most .20 shooters.
Cool. Let me know which ones you really like, for accuracy, etc. I've still got a supply of the Sheridan branded ones, but they won't last forever. Only 2 brands I've shot out of it were Sheridan and AM.
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Old September 8, 2015, 02:26 PM   #34
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Thank Dragline! The more I look into it, the more I'm considering getting the LTC. I thought there was more involved than there was!

Is it basically just filling out an application and paying the fee and waiting? I'm also wondering if they ask you why you want this, and if so, what the "right" answer is. I suppose my answer would just be "home protection and hobbyist" but I wont want to slip up and get denied. Any help is appreciated! Thank you all!
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Old September 8, 2015, 09:23 PM   #35
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Does anyone here have a PCP and still use springers, CO2, and NP rifles with any regularity?
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Old September 9, 2015, 12:22 AM   #36
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Thank Dragline! The more I look into it, the more I'm considering getting the LTC. I thought there was more involved than there was!

Is it basically just filling out an application and paying the fee and waiting? I'm also wondering if they ask you why you want this, and if so, what the "right" answer is. I suppose my answer would just be "home protection and hobbyist" but I wont want to slip up and get denied. Any help is appreciated! Thank you all!
You need to take a basic firearms saftey course which is required, I took the NRA course because it's recognized in any states that require such course if you happen to move, or if you happen to want to get an out of state license in a particular state. Then you just go down to your local police station, fill out the paperwork, hand them a check, and wait until your background check is complete. Depending on how busy it is, it could take anywhere from 1-3 months, my father just renewed his and it took about a month even. As far as what to write on the paperwork for reason for wanting your LTC, just write "For all lawful purposes", and eave it at that. This is what is recommended to write on the application by firearms instructors in the state as well as 2A laywers in this state who specialize in these things.

An FID card is a whole lot simpler since there is no FBI criminal background check. Though with an FID card you can only own rifles that don't accept detachable magazines and shotguns.

Massachusetts is considered a "may issue state", meaning that depending on what town you live in you may or may not get a full Class A unrestricted LTC. Some towns will give you your class A, but with restrictions meaning you can own rifles, handguns, and high capacity magazines, but they may not grant you concealed carry, other towns are more lenient. I got mine the first time around no problem at 21, and just got it renewed in May, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. The good news is, a bill just passed this year that allows you to file a petition for judicial review within 90 days of your denial to take the department to district court, during this proceeding the department will have to prove to a judge that the reason they denied you is legitimate. So no longer will these departments be able to deny people for no reason like they were in the past, my cousin got denied about 5 years ago because they said they didn't think someone who was 21 should be able to carry a gun, so they said try again next time around when you are older. A judge would obviously not back this up as it is against his 2nd amendment rights. It got to the point where some departments were being brought to court so often for denying people their right to carry that the judge went off on the departments and said they better not ever waste his time and see them in his courtroom again for unfairly denying people their right to carry. So things have gotten alot better in the past year.

It may seem like alot, and compared to other states it is, but to me it's worth jumping through the hoops to be able to carry a gun and own pretty much whatever I want.

Last edited by Dragline45; September 9, 2015 at 12:27 AM.
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Old September 10, 2015, 11:30 AM   #37
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drop of oil in the cylinder every 1-3 shots
I own a RWS 34 and I would NEVER use that much oil. As someone else mentioned, about 1 drop per 500 shots or so.

One thing to remember about springers, especially fast ones - they aren't quiet, especially if they break the speed of sound
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Old September 10, 2015, 07:24 PM   #38
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discovery

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I recommend a Benjamin Discovery packaged with a hand pump. I can take rabbits and other game of that size out to 75 yards and with a good scope and an extra barrel band. It's an extremely accurate. I routinely shoot 3/4 inch groups at 50 yards
A fine air rifle. Accurate. Powerful. One can buy a muzzle brake (silencer) for it that works surprisingly well.
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Old September 11, 2015, 02:37 AM   #39
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What is "best" depends on what you want to do.

If you want to shoot 10m air rifle, then SSP (single stroke pneumatic) or PCP (pre charged pneumatic) air rifles are the best.

If you want to hunt, it all depends on how big the game you are hunting. Break barrel springers are generally the most powerful of the lower priced offerings.

Having used breakbarrels, SSP, multi stroke, and PCP air rifles, I'm most fond of PCP.

The Benjamin Marauder can be had in 17, 22, or 25 caliber, is PCP, and can be purchased for right at 500 dollars. Then you'll have to buy a pump or have some way to fill the reservoir, but overall it's what I would recommend.

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Old September 11, 2015, 01:08 PM   #40
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Shotgun News had a recent good write-up about the new Diana 340 N-Tec Classic Air Rifle, that has the German Nitrogen-Piston technology.

The 340 needs an artillery hold.
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Old September 11, 2015, 01:21 PM   #41
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I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but air rifles are a huge thing in the UK. Maybe, just maybe, it would be a good idea to look at some of the UK facebook pages or BBs, and get some input from people who are absolutely passionate about them.

The UK is rather short of people who can own and use centerfire weapons. Because of that, they focus on rimfire and air rifles. Where an american may spend thousands of dollars on a rifle setup and thousands tweaking ammo, so will these guys. The lengths that these guys will go to find just the right combination of pellet and so forth is just as careful as a match shooter would do here.

The guys over there do some amazing things with these pop guns.
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Old September 13, 2015, 09:04 PM   #42
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Just a suggestion. Larger pellets. .22 beats .177 in any kind of wind.
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Old September 14, 2015, 02:08 AM   #43
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Short of a custom like a GL Barnes....

PCP: Edgun Matador (good luck finding one, and if you do, it will be around $3k) is probably the best there is. The Benjamin Marauder seems to be liked by a lot of people as well in a PCP. The "Air Force" brand guns are very nice, too - cheesy name, but quality PCPs with efficient and modern design.

Springer: Traditional German-made Beemans are the best, but I had great luck with RWS/Dianas as well, for a bit less $$. Don't get the economy lines of these brands - those are Chinese Junk. Used to be, the RWS 34 was about the best value going, but that may have changed. There's quite a few quality springers right now.

www.pyramidair.com is a great place to buy stuff.
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