collectible guns | Air gun blog - Pyramyd Air Report

The Diana model 50 underlever: Part 1

Posted on August 21, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 51 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Diana 50
Diana model 50 underlever.

This report covers:

History
Findlay
Fortune smiles!
Not the first
Taploader — oh oh!
Description
Evaluation so far

Enough about straight razors and coin collections! Let’s get back to vintage airguns. Today we begin a series that looks at the venerable Diana model 50 underlever air rifle.

History

According to the Blue Book of Airguns, Diana’s model 50 was produced from 1952 until 1965, when the T01 variant took over. That one lasted until 1987, so in all the rifle had nearly a 4-decade run.

The model 50 is an underlever spring-piston air rifle that came in both .177 and .22 calibers. I think the .22 isn’t as common, since the 50 was seen as a target gun and Europeans were already using .177 caliber for that. Maybe .22 was a nod toward marketing Americans, with whom the larger caliber was much more popular at the time.

How to sharpen a straight razor: Part 1

Posted on August 18, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 153 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

A history of airguns

This report covers:

Something new
What is “razor-sharp?”
Drugstore shave
How did “they” do it?
Eureka!
What stone for sharpening?
Honing stone lore
The strop
What “they” say
Upsales
The point

Don’t be fooled by the title of this report. I will indeed show you how to sharpen a straight razor, but that’s not what the report series is about. It’s about me getting into something new and fascinating, like airguns, but something I know nothing about, and wondering what I don’t know. It’s about learning something new. It’s also about wondering what is true and what is either misleading or an outright lie, when you are unfamiliar with the subject.

I’m writing this series for all the newer airgunners, some of whom are also new to the shooting sports. There is so much to absorb and comprehend! Where do you start? Many of you started in the wrong place, as did I. You acquired an airgun and immediately began seeing that it didn’t live up to your expectations. It didn’t do the things other people said it should. Was it the gun, or was it you? Or, were you just being steered wrong by people who talk a lot, yet have very little to say?

Hakim airgun trainer at 25 yards

Posted on August 14, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 20 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Hakim air rifle trainer. Anschütz made 2800 of these for the Egyptian army in 1954/55. This one has custom-made wood.

A history of airguns

This report covers:

The test
Sight in
RWS Superpoints
Eley Wasps
The experience

Today’s blog arose from the suggestions of several readers. In the end it was Siraniko who pushed me over the line, and, when you see what happened, I think you’ll be glad that he did.

The test

The question is — how well does the Hakim air rifle shoot at extended distances? In the past I have always tested it at 10 meters. Today we will see what it can do at 25 yards. The rifle was rested directly on a sandbag and I used the open sights that came with the gun. My bionic eyes don’t see the rear notch very clearly anymore, and now you will see if that affects my accuracy.

Collecting airguns: Fakes and counterfeits 4

Posted on August 11, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 101 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Scarcity Part 1
Condition Part 2
What is collecting? Part 3

A history of airguns

This report covers:

Counterfeiting
The racketeer nickel
Made to deceive
The tale
People want them!
Fake airguns
Refinishing and modifying
Personality airguns
The Rosetta Stone

Here we go again. Today we will look at the shady side of collecting — the works of intentional deception. In some collecting fields fakes and counterfeits are so common that they have become a whole area of study within the field. Let’s look at the oldest of all — the counterfeiting of money.

Counterfeiting

Long ago it was more possible to counterfeit money because there were fewer ways of determining whether something was fake or real. It wasn’t until old Archimedes came up with a way of knowing how much gold was present in an object (Eureka!) that people had much of a chance of knowing what was real and what wasn’t. They learned to trust the money issued by certain governments (Rome) or kingdoms (Babylon) because those authorities made every effort to police their own money. The death penalty was usually the price for counterfeiting, because the authorities did not want the expense of policing the currency.

Nothing new under the sun

Posted on August 8, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 53 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

You made me do it
Air shotguns
You don’t understand!
BUT — it’s been done
All-metal 760
Summary

You made me do it

I should give credit for today’s short blog to you readers, because if it weren’t for your investigations into a more efficient insect killer this past weekend, I never would have written this report.

Air shotguns

You talked about an air-powered shotgun all weekend. Veteran readers are aware I have written about air shotguns many times in the past.

Air shotguns

and

Air Shotguns, Part 5 – the Yewha

and

Two more air shotguns – Paul and Vincent

and

Air shotguns, part 3: the Crosman Trapmaster 1100

and

Air shotguns, part 2: the Fire 201

and

Air shotguns, part 1: the Farco

and we can’t forget my 3-part test of the Gamo Viper Express

Diana model 5V pellet pistol: Part 4

Posted on August 7, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 20 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Diana 5V pistol
Diana model 5V pellet pistol.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

A history of airguns

This report covers:

Update on the Hakim
The Diana 5V air pistol
The test
Sig Sauer Match Ballistic Alloy pellets
JSB Exact RS
RWS Hobby
A different hold
Summary

Update on the Hakim

On Friday I took the Hakim to the range to shoot it again. This time I listened to my own advice about adjusting the gas port and was able to begin with the rifle not ejecting the spent cases. It kicks like a 98 Mauser that way, but the cartridges are reloadable.

Then, with the gas port open as small as it would go, the rifle extracted and ejected factory rounds softly enough to be reloadable. I caught them in a cartridge trap I use for a lot of my semiautomatic arms. The cases were still dented, but not so much that they wouldn’t fit in a resizing die, so this fixes the problem I told you about last Friday.

Poor man’s Garand — the Hakim

Posted on August 4, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 92 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Hakim
Egyptian Hakim was a “make-do” battle rifle, designed around cheap ammo.

A history of airguns

This report covers:

History
Development
Innovation
Cartridges thrown forward
Hakim action
Accuracy
However…
Why is the Hakim the “poor man’s Garand”?
Corrosive ammo
The airgun
Summary

You have read about Hakims in this blog many times already, but all of them were air rifles. Today is different. Today we look at the firearm that inspired the pellet rifle trainer — the 8mm Egyptian Hakim!

History

At the end of WWII, the Egyptians found themselves in possession of tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of rounds of 7.92 X 57mm Mauser ammunition — the 8mm Mauser round. The Germans had stockpiled it in Egypt, thinking they would be there for a long time. When they left, there were storehouses of munitions left behind that the Egyptians inherited.