1930s | Air gun blog - Pyramyd Air Report

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.

Diana model 5V pellet pistol: Part 3

Posted on July 31, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 45 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Diana 5V pistol
Diana model 5V pellet pistol.

Part 1
Part 2

A history of airguns

This report covers:

5 screws
Gun fell apart!
The solution!
Case-hardened parts
Stoning is out!
Back to the pistol
Testing the trigger
Job done

This one will be a quickie. You will remember that I wanted to remove the grip from my Diana 5V pellet pistol to see if I could do anything to reduce the trigger pull that was over 12 pounds. Well I did, and in less time than it will take me to write this short report, I discovered and corrected the problem.

5 screws

The grip is held to the action by 4 screws. They sit two to a side. The fifth screw is a wood screw that holds the base of the triggerguard to the grip. The front of the triggerguard is hooked over a pin in the action. If you don’t remove this screw first, the grip won’t come off the action.

Diana model 5V pellet pistol: Part 2

Posted on July 24, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 41 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Diana 5V pistol
Diana model 5V pellet pistol.

Part 1

A history of airguns

This report covers:

RWS Hobbys
JSB Exact RS
What is dieseling?
Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
Cocking effort
Trigger pull
Next
Observations

Today we look at the power of my old Diana model 5V air pistol. I expected to see results in the same class as the BSF S20 and Webley Hurricane, but perhaps a little slower because of the age of this airgun. I reckoned somewhere in the high 300s, at least.

RWS Hobbys

The first pellet I tested was the RWS Hobby, which is often the standard for velocity in an airgun. In the 5V Hobbys averaged 397 f.p.s., which I think is a pretty healthy result. The low was 387 and the high was 408 f.p.s., so the spread was 21 f.p.s. At the average velocity, this pellet produced 2.45 foot pounds of energy. I will add the Hobby fit the bore pretty tight.

Diana model 5V pellet pistol: Part 1

Posted on July 14, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 139 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Diana 5V pistol
Diana model 5V pellet pistol.

A history of airguns

This report covers:

Guest blog
Mine is .177
Rifled
Condition
Trademark
Grip/Stock
General description
Sights
Trigger
Summary

Today we start looking at a Diana 5V pellet pistol that was made before World War II. While it uses the number five in the model name, it is completely different from the Diana model 5 air pistol that was made after the war. I wrote about that one in a three-part report published in March of this year.

Guest blog

We had a guest blog by Fred, formerly of the People’s Republic of New Jersey back in 2010. That one was titled Finding a Diana 5V air pistol, and it was a one-part all-inclusive report. Fred’s pistol was a .22, and as he noted, the Blue Book of Airguns only mentions the gun in .177. That’s a reminder to you collectors that the Blue Book is not the final authority. It’s good, but it doesn’t address everything.

Millita breakbarrel rifle: Part 3

Posted on July 10, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 33 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Millitia rifle
Millita air rifle.

Part 1
Part 2

A history of airguns

This report covers:

The test
JSB Exact RS
Qiang Yuan Training pellets
Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
Adjusted the sights
H&N Finale Match light
Artillery hold
Summary

Okay, it’s accuracy day for the Millita. Time to see what the old girl can do.

The test

I shot the rifle off a bag rest at 10 meters, using open sights. I also tried it one time using the artillery hold, so we can compare.

JSB Exact RS

First up were 10 JSB Exact RS pellets. This is the one pellet I shot both ways — rested directly on the sandbag and also held with the artillery hold. All shots were with a 6 o’clock hold. This first test was rested on the bag.

Ten RS pellets went into a group that measures 0.929-inches between centers at 10 meters. The group is a little low and to the right of the bull. I decided not to adjust the sights yet.

Millita breakbarrel rifle: Part 1

Posted on June 30, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 98 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Millitia rifle
Millita air rifle.

A history of airguns

This report covers:

Another find from Findlay
It’s a rifle
Description
Trigger
Sights
It’s been lubricated
What we have

Another find from Findlay

Today we start looking at an air rifle that I know very little about. I bought it from someone who walked into the Findlay airgun show, earlier this year. In the Blue Book of Airguns on page 593 it is called a Millita-style air rifle. While there are many different air riflesmade in that style, I think the one I have is the real thing!

The seller didn’t know very much about the rifle and the buyer knew even less. But the rifle seemed to be complete and sound and the price was fair, so I took the plunge. I knew I would be testing it here and probably one of you readers could tell me all about it. I will tell you what I have been able to find and you can fill in the blanks.

Daisy’s Red Ryder: Part 4

Posted on September 9, 2016 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 51 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

A history of airguns

Daisy Red Ryder.

This report covers:

Installs quickly and easily
Base slants downward
Scope or dot sight?
Not a Red Ryder test
The test
Daisy Premium Grade BBs
Hornady Black Diamond BBs
Air Venturi steel BBs
Observations

Okay, I am shifting gears on this report. The first 3 reports were about my vintage Red Ryder — a Daisy model 111-40. But it wouldn’t accept the Brice scope base that I wanted to test for you. So Bill Brice sent me a new Daisy Red Ryder to test his base for you.

Pyramyd Air will be stocking this mount, so if you like what you see, you should be able to order one soon.

Installs quickly and easily

The scope base goes on the gun very quickly. Remove the rear sight elevator and then lift the sight and slip the mount base underneath. Use the wood screw that’s on the gun to attach the rear of the base.