Diana Model 48 Reviews

Accurate and powerful

A bit heavy

It’s my second one. Favorite for plinking and varmints

I have a 48 in .177. This is an outstanding air rifle with great power in .177 cal. Shoots Sovereign Hunter 10.33 grain (made by JSB) at 890 fps for 18 fpe. Only springer in my extensive collection that can hang with my TX200 .177.

Only thing that I don't like is a rather short length of pull. Fit, finish, workmanship are top notch.

I built this rifle for HFT competition. Removed the factory stock and put a custom Craftsman VIT stock on. This helped up the weight. (I want the gun as heavy as possible as this reduces the guns movement due to its high power) Along with a Bushnell Match Pro scope and RWS Lockdown mount the rifle is just under 13 pounds. I'm putting this info out there so people can learn about how a mag springer works. More weight = less gun movement = better accuracy.

The Diana 48 is a well made, solid, heavy duty air rifle. Fit and finish is top-notch. Accurate at relatively long ranges. Excellent trigger and iron sights.

The rifle is fairly heavy, and needs a sling. I ended up installing sling swivel studs and padded sling.

You'll need a sling if you plan on hunting with the rifle. Recoil is fairly snappy, so if you scope it, be sure to use an optic mount setup that has a recoil stop pin. Although heavy, the rifle is well balanced, and reminds me of the M1 Garand in weight and feel. Pesting, paper-punching, or plinking, the 48 does it all. A great gun for the money.

I can only repeat words that others before me have said and that is this is an excellent product straight out the box!

There is nothing that I would change.

I bought mine years ago, when it was still called an RWS model 48 for $185. With 7.2 gr Daisy pellets, my chronograph showed an average of 1089 fps, so the 1100 claim is reasonable. The grouping was not great, however, nearly an inch at 15 meters. With Beeman "Ram Jet Pellets" (I bough a bunch at a special price) that weigh in at 9.6 grains, the rifle would stack pellets at 15 meters, an still grouped one inch at 60 meters with a recorded average velocity of 908 fps. At 15 centimeters, it will shoot the heavy pellet through a 3/4 inch pine board.

It has a slender barrel with a tube over the out side to protect it and give a nicer appearance. That tube rattles. A couple "O" rings at the ends would be all it needs to solve that. I added a thin bead of clear liquid nails at the ends on mine. Maybe the newer ones from Diana fixed this. I would also offer an adapter for Weaver scope rings as an option. Scopes mounted in the groves tend to "walk". I slid the adapter onto the groves with a generous dose of Lock-Tite, and my Bushnell Banner 2 1/2 power shotgun scope stays right where it belongs.

I have eliminated an infestation of thirteen lined ground squires from my one acre yard with this rifle. The .177 pellets easily pass through the critters at 50 meters, and if they are within a couple feet of their holes, they bury themselves with a center mass shot. Three feet from the hole, and they do not make it. As with any weapon, the proper load give best accuracy, and a varmint is far more impressed with a solid hit, than a miss with a faster projectile. If you buy any air rifle, I recommend buying a can of at least 100 of a variety of pellets and find what it likes best, then buy a good stock of them.

Powerful and accurate, a joy to shoot and hunt with. It instills pride of ownership and is heirloom quality.

Maybe some checkering on the stock as the beechwood is hard to grip and sling provisions but don't let these minor observations deter you from buying this gun.

Buy H&N 14.66 pellets and find the head size it likes. Mine likes the 5.55. I use a Pellet gage to sort the head sizes in the batch and chunk anything under 5.55. I don't care what anyone says pellet head size should be your focus for accuracy. I sent mine to Mike Mellick at Flying Dragon Air Rifles (I can't imagine there is an air rifle made that couldn't benefit from a tune) for a tune and OMG it's almost criminal how deadly it is on squirrels, complete pass thrus, DRT. A well placed shot betwixt the eyes on a raccoon is also DRT.

Heavily built, ought to last forever. Smooth trigger action. I got the .22 and it definitely packs a wallop. No scope yet, just working with the iron sites but still produces nice tight groups

I would like to see bosses in the stock for a sling from the factory. You can add them yourself but I think for the price they should already be there.

Built to last, quality construction throughout. Quite pleased with this rifle

Accuracy. Finding the right pellet is paramount. The best pellet I have found for this rifle is the H&N Barracuda Hunter Extreme .177 cal. Bye bye squirrels!

Heavy rifle perhaps the option of a synthetic stock would reduce the weight

The iron sights are ok but add a scope using loctite on all screws as this rifle has some kick.

Going on 4 years and 11,000 pellets, and have enjoyed all of it. Replaced 3 seals, just broke the trigger leg spring (need to order one), and noticed the stock has cracked inside at the receiver inletting. I have tried all sorts of pellets and keep coming back to Crosman Domes for plingking / accuracy and the H&Ns with a 5.54 head size for accuracy, Diabolo 14.3s are pretty good too. Accuracy is so so, I read other posts about accuracy out to 80 to 100 yards, but I question those ranges and one's range estimation skills. I measure off at 16, 25 and 45 meters, and never get groups as small as others have. 3/8" is pretty darn good at 16 meters.

Nothing. The aluminum cocking rod lever has a tendency to bend, though I suspect that is an engineering design to prevent damage to the bear claw and other parts (the rod bends first)

Tends to vary in accuracy and POI by temp and altitudes. I live in the desert and find my POI changes by temperature and altitude. It's a pain, but after dealing with it in the .177 and .22, I have just learned to deal with it, each shooting session requires a re-zero, along with re-zeros throughout a long shooting day as temps changes. Scope is centered, just have to make clicks right or left, up or down, to re-zero.

this gun is on the heavy side. it likes h&n 17.13 gr silver points. the trigger is excellent and shoot it with benchrest hold off the back porch. i mounted a hawke IR3-9x50 on her and have had no problems with a floating reticle. i think the all up weight is a little easier on the scope. i shoot rabbits at night in the wifes garden with the garage floodlite on. the iluminated reticle makes things real easy. it shoots rws 14.5 gr. pills really fine but won't anchor a rabbit unless you put one in his ear. the h&n silver points make a really distinct THUD when the pill hits home and that will do it for the rabbit.

not a thing now that i've gotten used to a side lever

don't know what the muzz. vel. is with the silver points, but guess it's close to 700 fps. i'm really starting to like this big cannon. cocking is not very difficult even tho it has a fairly stout main spring. cleaning the bore is a pain in the neck because you can't push the cleaning rod thru the bore from the breech end. you have to be very careful with the rifling at the crown. i'm gonna try a 22 cal snake and see how that works. i had a lot of lead buildup in the rifling near the muzzle when i first started testing pellets. it's gotten much better after 400+ pellets thru the barrel

Diana RWS 48 and JSB Diabolo Exact Jumbo Heavy (1.175g). Falcon 4-18x44 M18+ B20 FPP mil/mil. RWS 48 purchased in 2017. Figured it was time for a review ;-) Recently found my groups were getting sloppy, and found the 2 screws holding the barrel assembly to the stock were loose. After tightening, I decided to sight in @ 14 m, and test @ 21.5, 30, and 40 m. Bench rest, single point, Caldwell Bench Shooting Bag. Groups were 10 mm at 14..30 m. At 40 m, the group opened up to 15mm. 40m groups predictably low 4 cm (conveniently 1 mil). 5 shots measured with Competition Electronics ProChrono Digital Chronograph: 216 216 216 218 215, avg 216.2 m/s +- 1 m/s, ME 27.5J I have found that the open sights are very close to these results out to 30 m. The sights have too much visual real estate for me to shoot accurately beyond that. (I have peep sights on my .30-30, and have no difficulty at 100 m.)

In light of the popularity of aftermarket tune up kits, I think that the mfg should simply supply these rifles with those upgrades. The upgrades themselves are not that expensive, so could reasonably be included. The vibration at shot time is my biggest criticism. The idea of spending an additional 100+ USD, and then all the labor to do the mod is...well...I have not done it yet. I use this mostly for hunting, though I do enjoy target shooting. I print my own targets. 6x4 10 mm black dots, 40 mm spacing, on 8.5x11" paper.

All the usual. I use lube sparingly on pivot points. Ditto moving surfaces. Weekly, I wipe it down and wax the stock lightly with Staples "Crystal Clear", and wax the metal surfaces (except scope) lightly with Renaissance. It is heavy, so not for a casual walk in the woods. It is hard to cock, but with one hand on the fore-end of the stock, it goes well enough. I have not changed the trigger settings. I find them predictable for each stage. It is a pleasure to shoot an airgun as reliable and repeatable as this.

Overall quality is great. Love the fixed barrel with side cocking. Accuracy is almost unbelievable, 25 yards easy 3/8" group or less. At this time I have shot 5500 rounds (that is correct 5,500). Gun will still shoot 3/8" group. Not bad for a 76 year old guy!!

Heavy, heavy, heavy!!!

Great gun, great quality, what else!!

There is nothing cheap about this gun. It is well balanced and drives tacks at 25 yards. Devastating on small game. I find its not fussy when it comes to ammo either, its shoots premiers just fine. If you plan on longer range game a droop compensator wouldnt hurt. It drops pigeons at 70-80 yards or further but I try to keep targets within 50 yards. Nice wood stock blued barrel, light t06 trigger right out of the box. I bought this gun new 5 or so years ago from these guys, it hasnt failed or disappointed me once.

Nothing

Its heavy but expect that from a springer. I find shooting with a military hold once learned helps with the accuracy with this gun and you will soon see very tight groups from it. Its a little noisy for back yard city shooting but not loud enough to bother the squirrels like a 22 caliber firearm does. I tend to bag my limit sooner with an air rifle compared to a powder burner. One other thing its a fixed barrel so no barrel hinges or end seals to wear out.

Amazing power, quality, trigger and accuracy.

Its probably 10 pounds and can be destructive on cheap optics. Plan on spending $200 on quality glass or you probably wont even get it sighted in before it breaks. Its not for a 10 year old

Im 50 and grew up shooting everything from firearms to pellet rifles. My pellet rifle as a teenager was a Sheridan .20 cal. I put thousands of rounds through it but I had wanted a RWS Diana 48 rifle since I first saw it as a teenager. About 5 years ago I finally purchased a Diana 48 .22 and added a Vortex 4x12 scope. Its a great rifle with iron sights but with a good optic it goes from a great plinker to an utterly devastating hunter. I regularly take squirrels at 80 plus yds and have taken a red Fox at 25 yds. One 14.3 grn pellet behind the ear gave him a bad case of helicopter tail. I dont live in a city ,aka human aquarium, so I have plenty of other high power options for pests but its Just a lot of fun to use the 48. I would highly recommend it.

It is a great rifle. Very accurate and stable

Nothing

It is a little heavy, but well balanced.

I like that the RWS 48 is a self contained unit. All you need is a tin of pellets, the RWS 48, a target and a safe backstop and you are good to go. There's no need for expensive pumps or tanks or compressors. At 25M or less my 48 in .22 hits like a hammer. With the proper pellets it's one -ragged-hole accurate at 25M. I cannot think of anything I don't like about this airgun.

Nothing.

Shooting a spring-powered airgun takes some practice. There's a learning curve as a springer shoots differently than a PCP. Follow-through is very important. The 48 will certainly help develop that aspect of your shooting skill. This is not a bad thing as it is an important part of accurate shooting no matter what rifle or handgun you are using. I also found that the RWS 48 is finicky as to the type of pellets it prefers, with those with thinner skirts giving the best groups. JSB Hades 15.8gr seemed to be the best accuracy-wise. The cheap Crossman PHPs were also acceptable for plinking and actually performed better than some of the more expensive brands. JSB Exact shot reasonably well, as did home-cast 20gr pellets from a NOE pellet mould. Either would suffice if the Hades weren't available, with the advantage going to the home-cast, as they produced acceptable accuracy and allow the recycling of used pellets. I found this particularly useful given limited pellet availability.

This gun is awesome...very easy to operate...loading the pellet(s) are pretty easy (my large hands/fingers gets in the way a bit)...This gun is very accurate.

I wish it was a bit more quite (but it's a bad gun LOL)... I wish I could use a pellet pen for inputting the pellets

Weight (just kidding)-not, how it fits to your shoulder, precision, cocking effort is low, I got one with nice dark finish and wood grain, smooth shooting, power, mine in .22 and is shooting 930+ fps w/11.9gr hobby pellets. Trigger is phenomenal, in my opinion a "Record" beater. I have it set less than a pound on my 350 N-tec and you can not beat it.

Shave some weight but they are all that heavy in its class. Other than that it is what it is, a great classic gun.

Honestly I think this is the top springer for the money the power and the accuracy out there. This one is by far more powerful than all the Weihrauch's and Air Arms out there yet it shoots smooth, cocks easy and it is super accurate. Its a win for me, yes it looks like a chiseled 2x4 at first but you get used to it and then you start liking it over all the trinkets on the other guns. Simple, functional, elegant, powerful and most accurate. I owned 5 of the 460 magnums, they all blew a breach seal at some point and none were more accurate than 48, the 48 shoots better.

I was lucky to buy a refurb at a reduced price. Other then a raggedy box, everything looked new. I found the "plain" stock (with a relatively short length of pull) to fit well when using the open sights. I love the open sights, more like "target sights" then the cheap sights that often show up on lesser guns. Even with my aging eyes, I was able to easily find my target and shoot with consistency. Sights were dead on at 20 yards. I was shooting off-hand standing at 20 yards and I hit everything I targeted. In fact, while I was planning to put a nice scope on my gun, I may leave the open sights, just for the fun factor. At some point I'll probably scope it, just to see how accurate she is out to 50 yards. The trigger is great and I won't touch it. Compares well to the Weirauch Rekord trigger. I didn't notice any recoil, although I was shooting with the artillery hold. Mine is the .22 caliber, but I think this would make a fine springer field target gun. Two thumbs way up!

Nothing so far.

This is a heavy gun. For me that's a positive, but I can see young shooters struggling with the weight. For those who Like walkin' the woods, I'd suggest installing sling swivels and a sling. I found that I liked the Diana trigger better then the Rekord. That being said, the first stage was a bit long and some may want to adjust a bit. The Diana reminded me of shooting a Swiss K11 rifle with a long first stage trigger with crisp and light second. Very sweet to me.

Side cock. 1100 fps spec with 177 pellets. Heavy weight. Adjustable trigger. Accurate. Lethal.

Lighter stock. Different scope mount rail or furnish shims. Longer barrel.

Front sight is plastic. Muzzle shroud is plastic. Side lever cocking takes some strength and effort but not excessive. Not a toy. This thing is lethal on yard pests. Scope base is problematic for me. Nikon 6-18x40 almost ran out of elevation. This an adult air rifle. I had an old Chinese side cocker for 20 yrs. Really like the concept. This rifle even sounds the same as the $50 Chinese springer when cocking. I am 4 for 4 on squirrels as of today. Broke in and sighted in with 40 Meisterkuglen pellets. There is probably a more accurate pellet and I hope either PA or an other owner lets me know. A little spendy but a quality piece of kit.