Diana Model 48 Sidelever Action Spring Piston Air Rifle

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.