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Education / Training RWS Diana Schutze – Part 1 New youth breakbarrel rifle

RWS Diana Schutze – Part 1 New youth breakbarrel rifle

by B.B. Pelletier

03-26-08-schutze

RWD Diana Schutze is a beautiful new youth-sized breakbarrel.

I asked for this rifle and RWS USA responded. The RWS Diana Schutze breakbarrel is an answer to my prayers for more and better youth-oriented spring rifles. I get emails every week from parents asking which model air rifles are suited to their kids. There are a few good ones at present, but the number has slipped over the past 20 years. With the magnum craze going full-bore, airgun manufacturers have taken their eyes off the youth market, yet that market is important for several reasons. First is the fact that we can never have too many good airguns for young shooters. They will probably stick with the shooting sports if they have early success, and a quality air rifle is just the ticket for that. But, there’s another, less-obvious reason that’s even more important.

Adults like ’em, too!
The market may be red-hot for testosterone-laden, supersonic, magnum spring rifles, but think of youth guns as the minivans of airgunning. Everyone uses them without comment. Long after the bragging rights have worn thin on that super-blaster, the shooter will remember a gentle shooting air rifle with a smile. Beeman sells the R7 on that premise. There were a lot of wonderful spring guns competing for honors in that category back in 1985; in 2008, the choices are fewer. Enter the RWS Diana Schutze.

The name game
This rifle may be new here in the U.S., but the model has been in production since the 1990s. On the rifle, it says model 240, which is the current version of the model 24. When Diana dropped the models 23, 25, 27 and 35 in favor of the models 34, 36 and 38, the models 24 and 28 were also created. The model 28 is a more powerful rifle than the obsolete model 27 and the model 24 was a smaller, lighter rifle. It is supposed to be almost as powerful as the 27, though its size is between a 23 and a 25.

03-26-08-240

The name Schutze is not on the rifle. It’s the model 240.

Technical
I measured every one of the specifications I mention here. They may not be the same ones you see online. The Schutze is small in almost every way. The total length is just 40 inches, yet the pull is an adult-sized 14.25-inches. It will feel like a lightweight carbine in adult hands. The barrel measures exactly 16 inches. The rifle weighs just 6 pounds and cocks with 21 pounds of effort. I’d like to see that cocking figure reduced to 15 lbs. or less, but it’s a number I can live with. The ball-bearing barrel locking detent is stiff and will require a slap to open initially, but it’ll wear in and become super-smooth.

Trigger
The trigger is not adjustable. It’s two-stage with pronounced creep in the second stage. The pull is stiff, breaking at around 6 lbs. While that sounds heavy, remember this rifle is intended for young shooters, whose trigger fingers aren’t always as disciplined as they should be. No doubt, it’ll become smoother and lighter with use, but never too light. The specs say 5 lbs., which sounds about right.

An automatic safety is set every time the rifle is cocked, no different than any other Diana spring rifle. The safety button comes back from the rear of the receiver, so it’s a snap to take off with your thumb when grasping the rifle to shoot. It can also be reset at any time (cocked or not) and simply blocks the trigger from moving.

03-26-08-safety

Safety sets when the rifle is cocked. Note the lack of a scope stop on the 11mm dovetail scope rails.

Stock
The beech stock is slim in all dimensions, which adds to the handy feeling the little rifle evokes when you hold it. The buttpad is a solid black rubber pad that keeps the rifle in place when it’s stood in the corner. The wood is stained a medium-to-dark brown and is finished smoothly all over. There’s no checkering, and the shape is completely symmetrical, making this model 100 percent ambidextrous.

Sights
The front sight is a hooded post with a red fiberoptic bead at the top. It sits atop a molded synthetic ramp with side vents for style. The whole assembly is attached permanently to the barrel and cannot be removed. With target lighting, the front sight bead goes dark, becoming a perfect square post.

The rear sight is a square notch with green fiberoptic beads on either side of the notch. Unlike the front, they do not go dark with target lighting and will continue to frame the front post in all light. The rear sight adjusts in both directions with crisp click detents. There’s a scale for the vertical adjustment wheel, but none for the horizontal.

There’s a scope rail, but it has no scope stop provisions. I’m recommending to RWS Diana that they drill and tap a hole for a simple mechanical scope stop, because shooters today tend to use scopes over open sights.

I was very happy to see this rifle at this year’s SHOT Show and asked to test it as soon as possible. Right after IWA (the European SHOT Show) finished in mid-March, the gun was sent to me. I plan on putting it through its paces because we really need more good youth guns. Adults are demanding them!

29 thoughts on “RWS Diana Schutze – Part 1 New youth breakbarrel rifle”

  1. B.B.–Scott298 reporting in. I was wondering if you can cast a little light on this subject. Someone has told me that they have an old rws-I believe that it is a springer- and that it is chambered in 9mm. Did rws or Diana ever produce such a gun and if so do you know anything about it? Thanks-Scott298 and as always send your wife my regsards.

  2. Scott298,

    This is why it is important to differentiate between RWS, an importer/exporter of airguns only, and Diana, the company who makes the guns RWS exports/imports. RWS makes no airguns.

    RWS USA has private-labeled many other airguns over the years. At one time in the 1990s they were selling the TX 200.

    The 9mm of which you speak is a Career Fire 201, converted to 9mm. In other words, a PCP. All RWS ever did was put their name on it, as they did the Career 7097 for a while.

    B.B.

  3. BB, with regards to your SS1000 dual-cal test… have you checked the forearms screws to make sure they’re still tight? If they are loose, might that account for the difficulty you had in getting it to shoot well?

    Vince

  4. I believe I have figured out how to zero a sniper rifle that you have to assemble!!!! Use a laser bore sight. And I think there was another idea about using mirrors to zero a scope although maybe that was just for parallax adjustment; I didn’t quite follow. Anyway, maybe some of this will help with retaining the zero when switching barrels on the SS1000.

    B.B., I’ve got a question about benchresting. I just purchased the Beeman sandbags from the PA site. Upon examination, I find that they need to be filled with a funnel through a tiny hole. So, that would seem to cut out the crushed walnuts as filler. I’ll just stick with sand. The other thing is that the bags are pretty small and look like they’ll need something under them. I’m wondering if you have any recommendations for what to put under the benchrest bags. It doesn’t seem to make sense to spend a lot of money on the specially-designed leather bags and punch them into shape then put them on any old foundation.

    Matt61

  5. Matt61,

    If lasers always went to their registration, then it would work. But they don’t.

    However, if the laser is incorporated into the same housing as the scope, it would work. But the laser would have to be invisible or the sniper would give away his position.

    I would use wood planks under the bags. Remember the rear slope under your stock will make an excellent elevation slope on the bag.

    B.B.

  6. I’m really pleased that you devote time to air rifles in this category.
    I have a big back yard with a nice high fence…so even though I live in the city centre I can with a gun like this (I just ordered a Slavia 630) go out and plink in my backyard while the burgers are on the barbcue.
    Can’t really do that with a magnum.
    I think you hit the head on the nail…these may be youth guns but they sure have an appeal to us adults too.

  7. B.B.

    I was thinking that the sniper would crawl into place in advance and laser the target area when no one was looking or maybe use one of those lasers that you can’t see in daylight except with a scope, but I do see this is not so simple.

    Wood planks it is. They sound a little cumbersome but cheap and solid enough. Thanks.

    By the way, I’ve had quite the breakthrough in match pistol shooting. Before, I was dropping the sights onto the target from above. The idea was to let gravity do the work, but I wasn’t able to see the bullseye before it flashed in front of the sights. Now, I’ve taken to coming up from below until I’m just under the bullseye, then making the tiniest movement upward and touching off the shot. Boy, the Daisy 747 is really showing its stuff now.

    Matt61

  8. A little late but..
    The Diana 240 with an adult size stock is NOT a rifle for a youth. Well maybe if the kid is 5’9″. For a youth, you need to get the Length of Pull down to fit a kid. Unless you shoulder a rifle with a LoP that is too long, you won’t understand what a kid feels when he shoulders an adult sized stock.

  9. OK… you said there are no “stupid questions”. Here is mine. Is it possible to use BBs in this rifle? The reason I ask is that pellet guns are covered by local ordinances (and cannot be used where I live), whereas BBs are OK. Hence my question. Thanks!

  10. Mark,

    No, It is not possible to use BBs in the Schutze. When a rifle is built to shoot both BBs and pellets, there has to be some mechanism to hold the BBs in place before they are fired, because they are too small for the barrel. Also, the rifling has to be special, or the steel BB will ruin it.

    B.B.

  11. Hello B.B.
    I have a Diana Schutze and am wondering the appropriate sight-in range.
    Also, do have I have to sight it in in the position I expect to hold it in after it is sighted? For example, if I sight it in resting on a chair will it shoot in a different place if I am shooting it in a standing position?

  12. Schutze,

    I would sight in at 20 yards. Then the rifle will ne on more or less from 20 to about 27-28 yards.

    The position you hold the rifle in will affect the impact point because this is a breakbarrel. Breakbarrels are all very sensitive to hold.

    However, I doubt it will be off enough to bother you. A Schutze isn't a target rifle, so will it hurt if you move 3/8" to 1/2" at 20 yards as you change from position to position?

    B.B.

  13. Anonymous,

    The Schutze shows velocities that are very similar to what I get in my Beeman R7. For that gun, I use a sight in distance of 11 yards. I based that upon needing a pellet to stay within 0.25 inches of my point of aim and having a scope mounted. I hunt squirrels with this gun using head shots only; hence the small vital zone radius. That being said, the range will vary based upon whether you are using a scope or not, the ballistic coefficient of your pellet, and it's average velocity. Here's a good calculator that does the hard yards for you.

    http://www.airgunexpo.com/calc/calc_opbz.cfm?

    Yes, the point of impact will often move based upon your shooting position (prone, versus seated, versus standing, etc.). This is true in firearms as well but is much more pronounced with airguns. For that reason, you should sight the gun in using the same hold as how you will use it in the field.

    Cheers,

    Bobby

  14. Bobby
    This is what I got, does 25 yards sound correct?
    Results

    SH = 1.25 in, VZR = 0.4 in, MV = 580 fps, BC = [blank]
    Description Yards Yards
    (BC) Yards Diff
    Conversions
    Optimum Point Blank Zero (OPBZ) 24.71
    N/A

    N/A
    22.48 m, 74.12 ft, 889.48 in
    Trajectory Apogee (TA) 16.56
    N/A

    N/A
    15.07 m, 49.67 ft, 596.02 in
    Secondary Zero (SZ) 8.40
    N/A

    N/A
    7.65 m, 25.21 ft, 302.56 in
    Point Blank Range (PBR) 28.08
    N/A

    N/A
    25.56 m, 84.25 ft, 1011.03 in
    Near Point Blank Range (NPBR) 5.03
    N/A

    N/A
    4.58 m, 15.08 ft, 181.00 in

  15. Anonymous,

    Yes, 24 yards sounds correct for the optimum point blank zero. Your secondary (i.e. closest) zero will be at 8 yards, so you can actually use either one as long as you also check against another range to ensure you haven't inadvertently swapped them 🙂

    I use a scope height of 1.5 inches and VZR of 0.25, and I forget the exact velocity that I use (my shooting notebook is at home). Anyway, for my R7, those numbers give me a secondary zero of about 11 yards, trajectory apogee of about 17 yards and OPBZ of about 23 yards. I can easily check the 11 and 17 yard ranges, so that's why I use the 11 yard for sight-in. Then I just move the target back to 17 yards and check that it impacts 0.25 inches above the point of aim.

    Using this procedure, I know that in the field, I can just aim at a squirrel's eye and be pretty confident of a good head shot anywhere from 8 yards to 25 or so. Or at least I can have confidence that the rifle won't let me down, my form on the other hand is a whole 'nother story. I try not to take shots longer than the point blank range as my groups opens up pretty quickly as I approach 30 yards and beyond under real world conditions.

    It's worth noting that your sight in range is determined by your intended purpose. For hunting and plinking, which I assumed you were interested in doing, the best is to choose a sight-range, that gives you the longest usable trajectory to minimize the need for calculating hold-over or hold-under while out and about. If, on the other hand, you are interested in some sort of competition at known distances, then you would obviously be better off using that known distance as your sight in range and be done with worrying about the usable trajectory.

    How do you like the gun itself?

    Cheers,

    Bobby

  16. Well turns out I'm only 15 🙂 and the gun weighs 5 or 6 pounds so it's a little hard for me to hold it steady, but the gun itself is very quality and the wood makes it stand out. It definitely will last a lifetime, and overall is a great gun.

    I'm shooting RWS Hobbys with a 4x scope and intent to use it for plinking/target practice. The only problem is that when scoped the standard sights get in the way of the scope. I removed the rear sight but the front sight is still in the way at times and I am not sure if it is removeable.

  17. Only 15,

    welcome to our Blog. We can use young shooters like you. However, you'll notice you've posted your question to a blog written 2 years ago. While BB may give you an answer (I won't as I'm not familiar with this rifle, having the Diana 46 and not the Shutze, post this again but to the current blog. You can get there by clicking on:
    /blog//

    You'll have thousands of very experienced airgunners reading your comment and very anxious to help you out.

    Fred PRoNJ

  18. Only 15,

    The reason you can see the front sight is because of the low magnification of your scope. On nine power it would become invisible.

    I didn't realize you were young when I answered your other question. Welcome to the blog and please feel free to post your questions on the current day's blog:

    /blog//

    We talk about anything and everything over there, but back here on the older posts there are only a few guys who get all the comments and will see your questions.

    If you have open sights on the Schutze that is what I recommend you using for a few years. All of us older shooters learned on open sights first, which is how we came to understand guns as well as we do. I understand the lure of the scope, as I shoot a lot of them myself, but open sights are the first lessons to be mastered.

    B.B.

  19. You call the 240 a "youth" rifle, yet you say "the pull is an adult-sized 14.25-inches."

    So how can a youth comfortably fit an adult sized rifle?

    This is a beef of mine. Manufacturers just lower the power of a full size adult rifle and call it a youth rifle. They just don't get it that size/fit is what makes a youth rifle, NOT low power. Well maybe they have TALL youths that are 6ft tall that can fit a rifle with a 14-1/4" Length of Pull.

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