Page 2 - Diana Mauser K98 Reviews

Very good looking airgun. Heavy, about same as my RWS 460. Good quality manual and tool set came with rifle.

The carry strap should come with airgun, scope mount should be eliminated for this rifle not met for a scope

Out of box I noticed rear sight was adjusted ALL the way to the right. Ten meters was placing pellet in 10 circle. Close examination indicated front sight is couple of degrees to the right, not square with top of scope mount. Diana Company should not let rifle leave the factory in this condition. I am a machinist and will correct later. I am waiting to see more opinions. Yes, I will keep the K98, will not send back. Thanks

Well made and a close copy of the Mauser 98,It came with a tool kit and a well written owners manual.You can't beat German workmanship and quality it is worth every dime you pay for it.

The loading port is hard to access because part of it is under the rear sight and it makes it hard to load and it is easy to drop a pellet and have it stuck below. I wish they would denote if the gun is the American version not the Euro seven lb.German or the 12 fpe British low powered guns.It could happen that you get the the lower powered one.

It takes time to get used to cocking it and the loading if you have big hands it is a heavy gun but the quality and workmanship makes up for a few quirks.

Solid built, smooth action, hefty weight.

The finish is good, but the fit is not 100%.

muzzle heavy.

Positively outstanding rifle! I felt bad at first for making a novelty buy, but after the first ten shots I determined this to be the best air rifle I've ever owned. No adjustments out of the box, and shooting 3 inch groups at 30 yards with a 15mph wind in the offhand. No recoil, twang is almost unnoticeable. Twice as quiet as the Titan gas spring .22. Solid feel in a beautiful rifle. Heavy, yes, but no plastic here!

Maybe include a sling, but nothing needs to be changed on the rifle.

I'm having more fun with this than my Ruger 10-22. I am 5'7 157 pounds and out of shape due to medical reasons (shoulder), however the cocking is smooth and I didn't even break a sweat after 200 shots on the first day. I did not find it to be hold sensitive.

The overall finish is stellar, weight is a factor but worth it!!! Trigger is awesome for sure. This gun is very smooth and very accurate. It is a joy to shoot. Ragged 5 hole group at 10 yards with JSB JUMBO Heavy 18.13g.

Wish the butt plate could have a thin piece of rubber so that it doesn't slip off the floor or shoulder.

You should know that this rifle is smooth and addictive!!!!

The K98 profile of this replica is unmistakable and as close in most areas as it can be, being what it is, an under-lever spring-powered pellet rifle. So details of the receiver necessarily are absent since it lacks the breech bolt and wing safety. Nevertheless, the replication of the venerable K98 is superb. The Trigger glides back so smoothly without a hint of drag or roughness. It has a small amount of take-up before a mild increase in pull is detected from where a mere 1 lb - 6 oz. effort completes the let off. The open sights are glare-free and consists of a micrometer adjustable rear blade for both windage and elevation. The movements are smooth and precise. The front post is triangular in shape and the point at its apex enables there to be a precise, clearly defined aim point. The wood stock is very attractive, but my hand guard has a more reddish hue than the stock. It does not look out of place, just not an exact match. The bluing is rich, even midnight blue and is perfect.

This rifle is heavy. Mine weighs 9 lbs. - 8.3 oz. and the weight is distributed forward with the balance point at the front of the breech. This makes the rifle cumbersome to use off-hand. My groups at 20 yards attempting to use it this way were around 2-1/2". It would be nice if this could be trimmed down to about 8-1/2 lbs maximum with the balance several inches to the rear.

The safety is automatic, engages when the action is opened for loading. It is a small tab at the tang with indication of safe shown by both a white and red dot, and off safe by the red dot only. It is pushed forward to disengage and can not be put back on safe by pulling back. To do so you must pull down the under-lever again. Cocking is heavy and requires considerable effort. I have excellent upper body strength but I can relate that anyone not having such will find cocking this gun a chore. The action is however smooth with no hint of drag, roughness or slop. Rested at a bench at 25 yards, accuracy was marvelous. My first three 5-shot groups showed this gun was far more precise at placing its pellets than I am at aiming. Group 1: 1.507" overall; 1st two shots touching followed by three more touching (.220"). Group 2: 1.448". 4 in .936"; 3 in .315". Group 3: 1.602". 4 in .755"; 3 in .248". I measured velocity by the avg of 10 shots at 783 fps with Crosman Piranah 14.3 gr. lead HP.

The look and feel of this rifle is excellent. It is a heavy gun but that only adds to its accuracy. I've only put about 100 rounds through it using JSB Exacts, Crossman Super Magnums and Meisterkugeln. It liked all 3. I've seen reviews that say this gun has a lot of twang. IMO it does not. But to clarify, I love springers! I also own a HW97K, Beeman R9, and RWS 48. The K98 is on par with them as far as "twang" goes. If you like springers you'll love this gun. The stock is a darker wood than I expected, but it is excellent with a really nice finish. Bottom line is that if you like the looks of this gun, you'll be even more impressed with its performance! It's much, much better than the price would suggest.

Considering the price there is nothing I would change. Maybe a sling would be nice, but that's kind of like a scope. Add it later if you want.

This does have a heavy springer recoil. So if you mount a scope you should be sure to have mounts that have a scope stop built in. The receiver on the K98 has holes for the scope stops to go into.

I have come to expect nothing but the best from RWS/Diana and I was not disappointed once again. Clearly a unique and beautiful masterpiece to look at, I fell in love as soon as I saw it introduced. It has the looks and feel of quality throughout. Not surprisingly, but still impressive, the first shot out of the box, open sights (and I am a scope guy), at 15-20 yards, a bulls eye that just missed being dead center! The piston is strong but smooth, and pellet hits very hard.

I have a model 48 in .22 that is a breech loader, but this one seemed a bit trickier. Could be that I was over excited or that I got the Mauser in .177 cal. It was better that at the front of the breech, the dropped pellet had nowhere to go, and the bottom was open, so it easily fell to the ground. I always point barrel down so there is never a chance to get stuck in the air chamber opening. So really nothing, gun is pleasure to shoot and awesome fun!

One thing I failed to mention is the incredible ease with which the under lever cocks with. I have magnum springers in break barrel and side-cocking versions that became easier as they were broken in, but this under lever was easier from the start. This is a supreme design by Diana, because it also fires very smooth and with not much recoil, yet there is certainly no drop off in the power delivered at the other end! Gun is heavy, comes with all metal quality,but balances well, especially after adding scope to help with the heavier barrel end. Also there is the sling option. I think I have a new favorite. This gun is just extraordinary, I recommend it to any type of air gun fan!