Diana Chaser Barrel Upgrade/Replacement

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gopherist

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Mar 5, 2025
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I've seen many threads discussing the poor quality of the SPA barrel machining, and decided to look at my own barrel and low and behold, the rifling at the crown is all smudged. The gun (Diana Chaser rifle/pistol/carbine/whatever you want to call it in .22 cal) shoots well (0.6"-0.7" at 17-ish yds, averaged across ~20 5 shot groups), but I can't imagine that a non-fudged barrel would make it shoot any worse... I could do a recrown on the barrel, however I would hate to do a poor job and be out a barrel. I've considered doing it with only hand tools (ie hacksaw, file, emery cloth, brass screw attached to power drill), but I fear the result may be unsatisfactory and I might be better off just getting a new barrel.

I've been watching airgunarcheryfun.ca and browsing the web for barrels for a while, waiting for barrels to be restocked etc. but have had no luck. Do any of you have any reccomendations? I attached images of the pistol barrel (rifle barrel is just as bad if not worse). I appreciate any help!

IMG_4970.jpg
 
I’m not aware of a drop-in replacement so you’d be looking at a custom machined blank. That will be pricey, relative to the gun’s cost at least.

A replacement OEM barrel would carry some likelihood of having similar bore damage. A high likelihood in my experience but it may be inexpensive enough that you can justify the gamble. Then if it doesn’t work out, you can take the worse of the two and have a go at a chop and recrown.

It seems harrowing at first but it’s not really that hard to do with hand tools, and you’re almost certain to get better accuracy after getting rid of the damaged lands.

The chop is an essential step...simply going at it with a screw and abrasive would take an inordinate amount of grinding, and even if you were sufficiently determined to do it, the grind would very likely wander off course trying to remove that much material.
 
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yes, the breech ends need a little work and yes, the barrels are filthy and yes, the crowns can be made to look better
but even after doing all that will the POI change maybe
as for barrels no one is making them, i have been down the Chaser rabbit hole since 2019 and own 7
i use rubber abrasive Dremel cones in a drill it will take you longer to install the cone than the job
the breech end will make it load better the crown end will make you feel better
https://www.google.com/search?q=abr...E&sclient=gws-wiz&sei=fL7IZ7uMHczw0PEPtI7vyQc

now for us backyard smith how i cut Stormrider barrels down for my Chaser pistols
12mm pillow block 4 of them and a drill and hack saw
cut up against the third pillow block, the cut will be 90 Degrees and the finish work will be easy
just hot glue them to a flat surface
https://www.amazon.com/Sydien-Diame...ocphy=9220618&hvtargid=pla-2281435177418&th=1

2010-08-18 14.55.01.jpg
 
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nervoustrig said:
I’m not aware of a drop-in replacement so you’d be looking at a custom machined blank. That will be pricey, relative to the gun’s cost at least.

A replacement OEM barrel would carry some likelihood of having similar bore damage. A high likelihood in my experience but it may be inexpensive enough that you can justify the gamble. Then if it doesn’t work out, you can take the worse of the two and have a go at a chop and recrown.

It seems harrowing at first but it’s not really that hard to do with hand tools, and you’re almost certain to get better accuracy after getting rid of the damaged lands.

The chop is an essential step...simply going at it with a screw and abrasive would take an inordinate amount of grinding, and even if you were sufficiently determined to do it, the grind would very likely wander off course trying to remove that much material.
Click to expand...
Copy that, that's kind of where my mind was headed. I can find OEM Bandit barrels (10" i think), but no longer ones (eg Stormrider 19"). I'd like to hedge my bets and get the power tools out once I have a spare haha. How'd the moderator thread on and fit aftter the cut? I'm worried there may not be enough threads for it to fit securely... And I've heard that sometimes the front sight can have a little seam and be uneven and cause the moderator to sit crooked and cause clipping. Any experience with that? And how does one even check/know if moderator is sitting crooked?
 
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marflow 777 said:
yes, the breech ends need a little work and yes, the barrels are filthy and yes, the crowns can be made to look better
but even after doing all that will the POI change maybe
as for barrels no one is making them, i have been down the Chaser rabbit hole since 2019 and own 7
i use rubber abrasive Dremel cones in a drill it will take you longer to install the cone than the job
the breech end will make it load better the crown end will make you feel better
https://www.google.com/search?q=abr...E&sclient=gws-wiz&sei=fL7IZ7uMHczw0PEPtI7vyQc

now for us backyard smith how i cut Stormrider barrels down for my Chaser pistols
12mm pillow block 4 of them and a drill and hack saw
cut up against the third pillow block, the cut will be 90 Degrees and the finish work will be easy
just hot glue them to a flat surface
https://www.amazon.com/Sydien-Diame...ocphy=9220618&hvtargid=pla-2281435177418&th=1

View attachment 544438
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's hard to tell how much cutting and crowning would improve precision, but I've seen posts claiming the Chaser will do dime size groups at 30yds which would be great, except i dont know how much of that has to do with the trigger puller. I might try the Dremel approach first, then cut. I like that pillow block approach too, pretty nifty. How'd you do that CF tubing? Thinking of doing something similar but have it on both the barrel and moderator... Did you get the Stormrider barrel as a standalone, or did you pull it off of another rifle?
 
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I ordered a barrel for my P35-25 from Krale. They had to wait for a shipment of guns from SPA so it took most of a year to get it. While I was waiting I put a larger plenum on the gun and now the original barrel shoots much better. The newer barrel prefers a different pellet and shoots no better than the original. I recently looked at both with a borescope and I see nothing wrong with either. The barrel port is rough as is the crown but I can clean that up. I don't think they are great barrels but I no longer want to replace the barrel.
 
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