Diana 56TH Target Hunter Air Rifle

This is an attractive, well made airgun. The thumb hole stock is nicely finished and gives a good sight picture with a scope. The fore end is suited for bench rest or off hand shooting. Accuracy is excellent, and pellet velocities equal factory claims and have a minimal velocity spread. With .22 H&N Field Target Pellets weighing 14.66 grains, the average for ten shots is 824 fps with a low of 821 and a high of 826. The trigger is very usable out of the box. Cocking effort is noticeable, but not a problem even for extended shooting sessions. The anti recoil mechanism is effective in virtually eliminating any felt recoil and the firing behavior is smooth and fairly quiet.

With a scope and mount this is a heavy gun. My scoped FWB 300 and scoped HW77K are noticeably lighter. This may not be a good choice for a slightly built person.

This is a well made airgun that will last a lifetime, however the quality of the metal finish work does not equal that of my mid 80's FWB 300 and HW77K
The trigger while crisp and fairly light, is not as good as the FWB 300 and HW77K triggers

It is extremely accurate once broken into and sited in. I love the recoiless. The noise is not too loud considering how powerful it is. I just love that it hits the target about 98% of the time. The 2% miss is either a flyer pellet or myself.

Perhaps no need for the double monte carlo to shave off some weight, though weigth is what helps accuracy. Also lower the monte carlo because a medium ring clears a 40mm objective at the barrel but is too low to look through with any scope. I had to order a high ring to be able to look through the scope.

This air gun is not a toy and not for a child. The cocking is not listed but appears to be around 39lbs. It is heavy at 11lbs, add rings and a scope and you're looking at around 14lbs but I'm not saying that's bad. I'm only stating for information. You will need at least a high ring to be able to look through a scope due to the high double monte carlo. The gun is still new to me so this is all I have to say for now. I love it so far. Hope this helps other buyers out there.

I like everything about this rifle even the weight is at worst a love/hate relationship. Things you expect & get great craftsmanship and the stock is flawless. The trigger though out of the box just over 1lb i think & comes from factory 1st stage eliminated so saves me the trouble of doing that and 2nd stage is well i dont have to think about it too much. The only thing is i am a bit of a demanding person when it comes to triggers so it might come off a bit subdued so i might need to say this is a GREAT trigger & i do plan on shortening the 2nd stage travel, but the trigger out of the box could be used even for serious target shooting. No it is not a match trigger & not a 10m rifle. It is the most accurate air rifle i have used. I was testing pellets and zeroing in scope an hour ago using a field pod @ 38yds and got a consecutive group of 6 Crosman 14.3 HP box store pellets that group could be covered by a dime. I cant wait to get a better scope and get set up for bench rest sight in

I have seen and understand the adjustable butt if offset can be cracked and this model has been around for seven or more years without fixing this one flaw. I would be ok with purchasing a better replacement. This rifle is called a "Target / Hunter" in my opinion hunting rifles should have open sights and any hunting rifle especially one of this weight needs sling swivel studs. I know a lot of people would disagree, but i would have preferred a synthetic stock in this shape & style. If you want to call this heavy rifle a "Hunter" it needs to have sling studs installed and i am for that reason taking a star from value for the money.

I did not get to liking the thumb hole stock aspect i think this is why i chose this over the RWS 54 and the 56th is given slightly better FPS at least according to the Diana website which has recently changed and the English language content seems sketchy. I should mention it does have a little spring buzz, but that's well documented. I think i will in the future likely have a PG2 kit installed. I am just not a fan of PCP at least not right now as i just like the self contained aspect and having to install sling swivels and the weight are small issues for all the strong points.

good looking, stock, accuracy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kwGNQ_r3mo

lack of open or iron sight

Trigger is super nice, no perceived recoil, extremely accurate, I have a Marauder, a RWS 48 a Trail NP2 and now this, ill be selling the Marauder now....This is by far the most accurate out of the group using Diablos Exact heavies 18.3. At 20 yards you can put them thru the same hole consistently, very pleased. The wood is nice looking, has some checkering to make it easier to hold, that's one thing I did not like about the 48 was no checkering and slippery, this one is easy to grip.

The trigger distance from the thumb-hole took a minute to get used to, but trigger is so lite that it is a non issue.

Get one, for a single cock side-lever the power is amazing, I will chrono it this weekend, but it broke my steel backstop and went clean thru my pallets. It is heavy 12-13 pounds with scope etc, but not a uncomfortable heavy, balances very nice. side lever has two cocking phases, one cocks the spring, keep going and it moves the carriage forward, this allows for the recoil to come straight back, kept hitting me in the hat...but makes it so easy to shoot. Save up for this one.

Accuracy, smoothness, Stock is beautiful. Smooth cocking mechanism.

It's heavy, but hey, you'll get used to it.

This is my 2nd Diana Springer. My otherone is the 460 (an underlever). Both shoot smooth as silk. The sliding barrel on this really works. You can grab it very tightly and it'll group very nicely. I've been using the JSB exacts (My favorite pellet) either the 13.xx grain and some heaver ones also. This thing is a tack driver with them. One other observation I have for both this and the 460. Easier to load than the 460.

Every article you read will tell you that scoping a break barrel is fine and it'll still be accurate even though the scope isn't on the barrel. After getting my 460, then this, I completely disagree with that. having a 'fixed' barrel (as far as the scope is concerned) makes a HUGE difference. I can't get groups 1/2 as tight with any of my break barrels. Think about it, the slightest angle difference and the scope is off. I'm sure others will disagree, but for springers I'm sold on solid barrels (under/side leverl) over break barrels.

HOLY CRAP! I absolutely LOVE this rifle. I also own a Air Arms TX 200 HC; and the RWS 56 is FAR... FAR easier to shoot accurately. AND the velocity is higher! In fact, the RWS 56 (in .22) is cronyd at a faster velocity then my (.177) TX200. I will say the Air Arms is FAR prettier and much lighter though. Sighted in at 15 meters using a Caldwell FCX rifle rest (ALSO A PHENOMINAL PRODUCT), I hit bull's-eye every time (using 10.34 grain Crosman Premiere domes and hp). I also own precharge pneumatic rifles, but nothing beats the hassle free, self contained magnum power of the RWS 56 (and 54/52).

Walnut stock would be nice. The Beech is kinda second class.

The side cocking makes it SO much easier for bench rested shooting.

Power, recoilless action that is not hold sensitive, accuracy, cocking effort is lower than the power level of the gun suggests. It cocks with less effort than my Air Arms TX200, but shoots harder.

I don't like the barrel weight; the gun is already heavy enough. Also, finding a scope mount that works properly is difficult. It needs to have the part that overhangs the front of the built-in scope mount, to keep it from sliding back. Stop pins don't work, long term. They always eventually dig into the built-in rail.

The gun is really heavy. Don't buy this gun thinking you're going to carry it around in the field for hunting. It is great for field target and benchrest shooting though, the part of the stock just forward of the trigger is flat and extended down a bit; perfect for resting on the knee while seated in the field target position or off of a bench rest.

Fit and finish. I like the sliding mechanism that eliminates the "twang" associated with most powerful spring powered air guns

Wish it was a little bit lighter. I only shoot this from the bench.

Accurate, mine is a .22. I have owned it about 3 years and have fired hundreds of pellets. As with all air guns you will need to experiment with different pellet profiles, weights and manufacturers to see which pellet your gun likes best

This is an awesome gun. Being a competition muzzel loader shooter for many years, I have shot many different type of guns. I have wanted an RWS air rifle for at least 25 years but would never break down and spend the money. My wife bought the Model 54 for me for Christmas and I thought is would be a good novelty gun, just fun to shoot when friends came to visit. I could not believe it when I shot a perfect 50 with it with open sights. I had such fun with it that I decided I wanted a "scoped up" version of the 54. I bought the 25 caliber and so far it shoots like a dream.

I would like the option to have open sights on the gun.

When I first bought this gun, the whole trigger mechanism would slide back and forth after cocking the gun. I literally couldn't hold a 5 inch group at 25 yards. Pyramid Air was great and promptly sent me a new gun to replace the defective one.