Diana Twenty-One.
This is a guest blog from reader Cpt. Klotz, whose real name is Stephan. Today he tells us about a Diana Twenty-One FBB that he wanted to test but not own. When a friend got one, he saw his chance.
If you’d like to write a guest post for this blog, please email me at blogger@pyramydair.com.
Take it away, Stephan.
The Diana Twenty-One FBB (fluted bull barrel)
By Stephan
This report covers:
- Biases
- Description and first impressions
- Metal parts
- Synthetic parts
- Open sights
- Scope
- Power / Velocity
- Cocking and firing cycle
- Trigger
- Shooting and accuracy
- Conclusions
- BB speaks
This is a review of the Diana Twenty-One FBB. To tell you the truth, this is not a gun I would have bought for myself. The Twenty-One is one of the Chinese-made budget-oriented airguns from Diana. It currently sells for around € 130 with a 4×32 scope here in Germany [Ed. that would be about US $137.92 as of the date of publication].
Biases
I’ve been shooting airguns with varying intensity for some years now. I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but I know what I like:
1. Metal and wood
2. Good quality open sights (preferably with interchangeable front sight inserts)
3. High-quality adjustable triggers
I’d rather pay a little more and buy something that lasts and satisfies me a lifetime
Yeah, the Twenty-One isn’t really for me… If I wanted to get a small and light air rifle, I’d get an HW 30 S from Weihrauch (which is about double the price without a scope).
What I do like as well, however, is testing things. And my biases might only make this review more interesting. But what if this thing is decent or actually good?
Description and first impressions
The Twenty-One is a small and light rifle. My own Diana rifle is a 31 Panther and came with the black synthetic stock originally. I put it in a wooden stock when I got one cheaply (just think of it as a 34 T06 — it’s the same thing). It is a bit longer and much heavier than the Twenty-One.
Conventional wisdom would probably say the Twenty-One is too small for me, but the light weight and easy cocking actually make shooting it fun.
Metal parts
The metal parts look well-made and have close tolerances. The barrel opens and closes smoothly but firmly without detectable play. This is not too different from my 31 or my 1988 LP 5 G pistol (which do have an even better finish and richer, shinier bluing). The barrel is rifled. Nothing to complain about there.
Synthetic parts
The stock is high quality plastic. It feels solid and has a nice texture to it. It has a rubber butt pad that provides good grip.
FBB stands for “Fluted Bull Barrel”. The barrel is covered by a plastic shroud that ends in a fake silencer. The plastic used for the barrel does feel a little cheaper and has mold lines that are visible and noticeable to the touch. It probably helps with gripping the barrel for cocking but I would prefer a “naked” barrel instead of the “tacticool” look.
Open sights
The rear sight is a decent quality micrometer sight with clicky detents for windage and elevation. Not bad at all!
However… the front sight is fiberoptic and has quite a lot of black plastic around it, resulting in a pretty thick front sight “blade” that obscures a lot of the target. It’s part of the barrel shroud/”silencer” and thus can’t be removed or replaced unless you manage to remove the whole barrel shroud.
Scope
The rifle also comes with a Diana-branded 4×32 scope that looks a lot like other basic 4×32 scopes. It seems to do its job and at least it’s not as crude as the open sights. I used this scope for accuracy testing.
Diana Twenty-One scope.
Power / Velocity
I don’t have a chronograph, so I can’t tell you anything about the consistency. Power-wise, this is a German [F] airgun within the 7.5 joule limit. So are my other airguns. It’s the perfect power level for 10-meter indoor shooting anyway as it allows for easy cocking, mild recoil and quiet shots. [Ed. That would be an 8-grain pellet leaving the barrel at 557.88 f.p.s.]
AirGhandi did a chrony test of the Twenty-One some years ago and got a power of around 7 joule with a spread of only 2 m/s [Ed. just under 7 f.p.s.] for 10 shots. That’s an excellent result, even for a more expensive spring gun.
Cocking and firing cycle
The rifle cocks easily without much grinding. At first there was a slight twang to the shot cycle that didn’t sound like the mainspring and wasn’t offensive (I suspect the trigger spring). After applying some moly grease, the firing behavior actually became even nicer. This is probably helped by the fact that it has a smaller piston and compression chamber (compared to a 34, for example).
Trigger
Now this is where it gets hard. Hard for me to be fair and hard for my trigger finger.
As far as I can tell from the outside, the metal trigger blade is directly attached to the sear that holds the piston.
Out of the box, this trigger is a crime against humanity. Bonus points for having a second stage, but it really gives your trigger finger a good workout before breaking abruptly. It also has an automatic safety (the typical Diana kind that you push in with your thumb) which also felt very tight and difficult to operate at first.
The trigger did start to break in after a few dozen shots. The pull became much lighter and the safety was now easier to operate. A good helping of moly powder improved things a little bit more. It now has noticeable creep in the second stage, but I think I can work with it. The trigger now borders on bearable but a T06 it is not.
It will be interesting to see what accuracy I will be able to achieve with it. Stay tuned…
Shooting and accuracy
Let’s talk about the accuracy of the Diana Twenty-One. Out of the box, the trigger made good results next to impossible. Then with some use and tuning it improved noticeably and I thought I could control it, but it still managed to surprise me. Obviously, a short and light rifle with a heavy trigger has disadvantages for benchrest shooting. It’s easier to jerk around and the trigger gives you plenty of opportunity to do so.
I have shot a lot of groups with this rifle, which wasn’t much of a chore since it is lightweight and easy to shoot. However I’m not sure I ever felt 100% in control. I often had the impression the rifle wanted to be accurate, with some groups starting out great, only to have flyers to appear with the next shot.
Below is some of the paper I punched with the Diana Twenty-One.
Some of the targets I shot.
There are, perhaps, several reasons for this. Apart from the trigger, this rifle seems to be fairly hold-sensitive and also pellet-fussy.
I have a fairly simple shooting bag that I filled with airsoft BBs and rice. With the Diana 34 and Weihrauch HW35, I had good results with resting the rifles on the bag lengthwise with the bag touching the trigger guard. Rocking the rifle around on the two bag bumps made it possible to get a position where the reticle was exactly on target without the need to use any muscle power. Touch the rifle as little as possible, gently pull the trigger and see where the shot goes. This still requires patience and concentration but seems to be a relatively easy way to shoot small groups with a springer.
Well, turns out the Diana Twenty-One doesn’t really like that position. Apparently it works better to rest the stock on the bag transversely (the regular way) and closer to the front of the stock and then lightly hold it to your shoulder like you would in a standing position. Resting it this way introduces wobble from muscle movement, breath, heartbeat, etc, but the rifle seems to like it a little better. I even tried resting the barrel on the bag, which felt awkward, but wasn’t noticeably better or worse than resting the front of the stock on the bag.
The Twenty-One doesn’t like this position.
This is less stable but apparently more accurate.
Let’s have a look at the results. I shot domed pellets and wadcutters from a bag rest at 10 meters. All groups are 10 shot groups.
H&N Field Target Trophy 4.51mm created the best 10 shot group of my test.
10 JSB Exact 4.50 created this reasonable group.
SWS Exact 4.52 (probably JSB Exact rebranded by Sportwaffen Schneider) didn’t work that well.
RWS Super Field 4.51. I only see nine holes. Did two pellets go through the same hole by accident?
Qiang Yuan Olympic (best match pellet in this test).
H&N Sport. What happened here? The Sport is the affordable version of the Finale Match (probably looser tolerances). Here, they performed quite well, but I was never able to repeat this result.
You can see from my H&N Sport group what I mean when I say, “the rifle wants to be accurate.”
Maybe a better shot could get this rifle to perform well. I’ve seen people shoot pretty small groups with one of these.
Could this be my technique; could it be some other factor? Or maybe not all of these guns are created equal? I wasn’t able to get the consistent results I would have liked. It certainly wasn’t for lack of trying.
Apart from different holds, I tried cleaning the barrel and even degreasing the compression chamber since the gun was smoking quite a bit. I also installed my Nikko Stirling 3-9×42 scope to see if the Diana 4×32 scope is causing problems. It didn’t help (but at least the Diana scope seems to be fine).
Here’s a bonus group for you:
This group was shot by my friend who owns the rifle but doesn’t have too much shooting experience yet He shot an H&N Field Target Trophy. Not bad! A Euro 1-cent coin is 16.25mm or 0.639 inches in diameter.
Conclusions
Checking out the Diana Twenty-One was fun. This also gave me the chance to check my biases against reality. Was I right or wrong? I think it’s neither and also both.
While not on par with the “Performance Line” Dianas, it is well-made and fun to shoot.
Shooting it for accuracy was a bit of an exercise in frustration, though. With something that is complete junk, the case is easy. You notice it’s junk and move on.
The Twenty-One is not junk. For the price it has some very nice features and other that I don’t care for that much. It’s good enough that I really wanted to see how well I could do with it but I didn’t manage to get really consistent results.
Am I simply expecting too much? This rifle costs around € 130 with a useable scope. Subtract the scope and you probably get a price around € 100 for the rifle – which is what a Rekord trigger unit costs as a spare part or the price of a full tank of gas for my car.
I think the Twenty-One FBB is a good value and for a first/affordable airgun you can probably do a lot worse.
So, what about me and my tastes? You won’t be surprised that I still wouldn’t buy one of these for myself and I am somewhat reluctant to recommend it. If you can find it in your budget, a somewhat higher price will buy you a LOT more airgun.
However, I did enjoy shooting a compact and light rifle. If something like this were available with a wooden stock and a great trigger… well… Diana doesn’t make something like that currently. I’m sure a new 27 with the quality level of the current 34 T06 family would be a fantastic little gun.
I couldn’t resist ordering that Weihrauch HW30S which I am of course going to test thoroughly. You can be sure I’m not going to cut that one any slack…
So, what do you think?
BB speaks
Okay, Stephan has written a guest blog in a language that’s not native to him and he has done a great job. We have to give him credit for that!
He wrote this report in two parts but I combined them for the holidays. I will not be writing a new report next Monday, December 26, because I’m taking it as my Christmas holiday. There will be a new report tomorrow and that one will have to hold you through Christmas.
Note to Stephan — crushed walnut shells will make your shooting bag even nicer. They weigh half as much as sand, so your bag will become heavier, but they are firm when you need them to be. You can probably find them at pet stores in the lizard department. They are used as bedding and ground cover for lizards.
Stephan,
You did a very nice job on this report; thank you for all your work shooting that large number of groups. The experimentation you did with varying the shooting bag location was interesting.
“I couldn’t resist ordering that Weihrauch HW30S…”
Yes! Great job; I’m sure you’ll be happy with that rifle; please do let us know.
Thanks for a great report. 🙂
Blessings to you,
dave
Stephan
Very good report. I hope that you will give us one more, at least, about the Diana 35 Commemorative.
BB thanks for your permission for these.
Dave,
the HW 30 S is fantastic. I knew what to expect for the metal parts, but the wooden stock with its “mixture” of modern and traditional features also looks fantastic.
For some reason, this “youth* or “family” sized rifle is perfectly balanced for me and very easy to shoot from an off-hand position.
As a “benchrest” gun, I think it’s a little harder to shoot than the Diana 34 rifles, but that’s not surprising given that the 34 is longer and heavier. This doesn’t mean I am not getting very good results already.
If you like, I can write a little report about the HW30S when I’m done with testing. Just like with the 35 Commemorative, I don’t really need to explain to you what it is, just what my results are.
Oh, I’ve found one thing the Diana Twenty-One does better than the HW30S right now: The HW30 has a very slight “twang” when it shoots that some moly grease hasn’t completele fixed yet.
Stephan
“If you like, I can write a little report about the HW30S when I’m done with testing”
Yes, Sir; I would like to see that; and I think others here would feel the same. 🙂
BB,
thanks for the walnut shell idea. I’ve read about it before, but didn’t think I could eat *that* many walnuts in reasonable time 🙂
I just checked and it’s easy enough to buy some. I didn’t know people used them for gentler sandblasting 🙂
Stephan
I’m a big fan of rice,in South Louisiana we have it for breakfast,lunch and dinner. Most of my shooting bags are filled with rice. Tip, freeze your rice for a couple of days before cooking,storing or filling bags, this eliminates weevils as it kills the eggs that occur in all rice processing.
SSC,
Thanks for the tip about freezing rice. I have some bags in long storage and I put them in individual ziploc bags so as to isolate any insect infestation. It will probably work with dried beans also.
Yes Sir, I do my dry beans as well.
CptKlotz,
We used crushed Walnut Shells by the bag full to clean and polish turbofan and turbojet engine blades by throwing the bits of Walnut Shell by the handful into the intakes of running engines.
shootski
CK,
Thanks for the report. Glad it exceeded your low expectations.
You mentioned that the gun is fun to shoot. Isn’t that the “bottom line”, all that really matters?
Season’s greetings all,
-Y
By the way, here’s another weird Twenty-One group for you.
I ordered some “AirGhandi’s Finest” pellets with the Hw30S (they are really H&N Field Target Trophy 4,50mm)
For one thing, it’s interesting how far to the right these pellets group (but they do so mostly consistently). Then there’s that one Flyer that actually hit the bullseye. I’m not aware I jerked the trigger that much, but I wouldn’t rule it out either.
Thanks for all work on this Blog Tom .
Danke für den tollen Artikel Cpt. Klotz.
Thank Stephen, excellent blog!
Please do write a guest blog for the HW30.
Hank
Stephan
Interesting report and I am ready for your next one. Much has been said over the years on this blog about one or two blankety blank fliers ruining nice groups. Your targets make the point unmistakable. About the nice group that wouldn’t repeat; we have all had that happen. I especially like the bag placement photos and the hold description details.
I’m thinking moly may not be as good as TIAT for what I call buzzing.
Thanks for doing this report and merry Christmas!
Deck
Stephan,
Many thanks for all the effort of putting this together. I do appreciate learning about airguns I am not likely to own, most especially from someone who has an idea what they are talking about.
I also understand what you are saying about Weihrauch. As you have already found out, the HW30S is a dream to shoot. It seems like you have to try to miss with it.
Have a Blessed Christmas and a Joyous New Year!
RidgeRunner,
RR wrote: “HW30S is a dream to shoot. It seems like you have to try to miss with it.”
So you are saying the HW is an air rifle that quickly becomes boring to own! I can drive over for the right price and take that boring rifle off your hands; can’t have you suffering all of 2023!
;^) just taking a page from your Playbook!
Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!
shootski
shootski,
I am afraid I cannot get rid of the HW30S even if I wanted to, as it belongs to my grandson. It would be a wasted trip.
Have a most Blessed Christmas!
Hi everybody,
glad to hear that you liked my report. BB already has the next one on the 35 Commemorative. That one is a lot shorter 🙂
As for the HW30s: Here’s two more groups:
They were both shot from a standing offhand position with a scope.
Stephan,
Oh pookie! You are a good shot! No fair, man! 😉
BB
You can see that I actually got a better result with the little Weihrauch this time.
For benchrest shooting, however, the FWB is just mercilessly accurate. I’d have to try very hard to touch the results it gives me with one of the recoiling springers.
Happy holidays and a good new year to all of you as well!
CptKlotz, nice shooting! I would have had to have shot benchrested to get anything like that. 🙂
All wadcutters went towards the middle of the target. What was your point of aim? Oh, and what size of group is that, about an inch?
hihihi,
I was shooting with a scope and my point of aim was the bullseye.
A little more than an inch seems about correct for both groups.
CptKlotz,
Gut Gemacht!
Gut Geschossen!
Guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr!
shootski
Stephan
I suppose that you got the HW 30 with the 4X Wheirauch scope and silencer from Mr Ralph? It’s the one I hope to get one day but in stainless look and black lacquered beech wood.
Merry Christmas for you and your family.
Bill,
I bought the HW30S from AirGhandi/jabolo.de together with Sportsmatch UK mounts and a Hawke Vantage 2-7×32 AO Mildot scope. This is one of the configurations that AirGhandi recommends and it seems to work just fine for me.
I am of course going to use the fine open sights as well. They are one of the main attractions of the Weihrauch guns.
Stephan
Nice shooting! 🙂
CptKlotz,
It sounds like the Chinese factory faithfully reproduced the original German model then. I had a Diana 24C (made in Germany) which aside from a more rounded stock profile, seems to be almost exactly the same gun as this and the 240.
All of the same criticisms applied, although I’d add a bit of lateral play in the plastic trigger, some grinding in the mainspring on my gun, and a weird balance (rear weight bias from the spring tube and short barrel).
The HW30S is an improvement in every respect (nicer trigger, better balance, easier cocking, more power). I think you’ll quite enjoy it! (I kept the Weihrauch and got rid of all my other break barrels).
Nathan
Capt K
An excellent review. I appreciate your effort. I, as well as most of us here, enjoy learning about all the various airguns. It is not so much because we were planning on buying any certain brand or style,, just that this peaks our interest. Seeing others results, good and bad, makes me even more interested in getting my own from my much underused collection. I thank you for that.
Ed
Sehr gut, Herr Kapitan!
Very thorough and informative. FM’s prediction, previously stated, you would not regret acquiring that HW30 S was proven true. Then again, that was a no-brainer prediction.
Mike in ATL and Decksniper
I am certain that the lawyers took one look at that air pump and freaked out. I would be very leery of it myself.
As for the JTS pump, they are getting cheaper by the day. I wonder what they will go for by the end of next year?
RidgeRunner,
Gunfun1 is using one like this https://www.amazon.com/Compressor-Pressure-Airgun-Perfect-filling/dp/B0BG88PC2N/ref=sr_1_22?keywords=4500+psi+compressor&qid=1671759312&sr=8-22 and he seems to like it, it does require an external water source for cooling. But it is about the least expensive 4500 psi pump out there.
Mike