350 Magnum

[Toxylon]

Crowski,

We all have our own experiences at the forefront of our perception on guns, and so be it. I'm not sure how you ended up breaking those Dianas (I'm not quite seeing how that would even happen), but even at face value that's 1 data point against thousands of Diana owners who haven't had any issues with the plastic on their guns, despite heavy use over many years. And faulty, or abused, metal parts break, too, including stuff like the steel spring guides in some AA springers.

 

[crowski]

Crowski,

We all have our own experiences at the forefront of our perception on guns, and so be it. I'm not sure how you ended up breaking those Dianas (I'm not quite seeing how that would even happen), but even at face value that's 1 data point against thousands of Diana owners who haven't had any issues with the plastic on their guns, despite heavy use over many years. And faulty, or abused, metal parts break, too, including stuff like the steel spring guides in some AA springers.

Listen my friend. Don’t get a knot in your underware. I swear on my grandkids lives I had three safety housings cracked. I was pissed.
Since this post I bought another Diana, a 48 .22 cal. My 8th Diana, an accurate hard hitting gun, that to me has a cheap appearance. I like their guns. I would like them a lot more if they eliminated the plastic front sight and the safety housing. Also the barrel-breach union.
‘It really amazes me that they would do so many castings for the K 98, A replica, that’s a dog for sales, ironically I love mine.
I’ll try and hunt one of the cracked guns down for a pic.
AA springers I’m sure break, I have 6, shoot them a lot, never broke one.
Again from personal experience, I have maybe 60 springers. Only broke one spring. Diana 460 mag. .177.
‘Small world, wouldn’t want to paint it!
You seem to attack me over the plastic. Facts are facts. I call a spade a spade. Sorry you don’t like my opionion. If Diana wants to be reguarded as top notch, they should act it. I like their product, there’s room for improvment in the appearance dept. Crow

 

[Buddy2023]

I was was curious about the Diana 350 magnum .22 cal. I’m on the fence.
He’s my problem. My buddy (mentor) tells me it will fall apart in no time. Lucky to get 500 rounds through.
Now I’ve got a few Diana’s. Their power increase is notable and this is what my buddy says is the problem.
I got the 460 and found it to have great accuracy as well. My huge problem on the 460 is again plastic especially the front sight.
I’m Super satisfied with my Weihrauchs, Air Arms and FWB’s. Like the variety.
What’s you opionion on the 350 Magnum premium?
Crow

I've owned my .22 Diana 350 Magnum for three years and I can assure you it will not "fall apart" in 500 rounds LOL! These rifles are both accurate and powerful. They are of very high quality and robustly built. The T-06 trigger is wonderful and very adjustable, I have mine set to about 3 lbs. I have over 2,500 pellets through mine and I've had zero mechanical issues. If you're on the fence due to quality, reliability and durability, don't be, you won't be disappointed. There are some things you need to be aware of, 1. They are very heavy so if you want a woods walker this rifle may not be for you. 2. They are extremely hold sensitive and any mistake you make with your follow through will reward you with a clean miss. 3. They are very front heavy so offhand shooting becomes fatiguing rather quickly, in addition to this they have a relatively heavy cocking effort of around 40-50 lbs which adds to the fatigue factor. 4. Finally, they're scope eaters due to the heavy recoil they produce, so make sure you get a high quality springer rated air rifle scope and use the UTG droop compensator scope mount with a good set of scope rings. Don't get discouraged when you first get it because you can't get those one hole groups, I promise you once you get the technique down for shooting this rifle you're gonna fall in love with it. I love my 350 and I feel it's one of the best airgun purchases I have ever made. Good Luck pal.

 

[Buddy2023]

Really??? The cast aluminum trigger on a Weihrauch is not "pot metal". The only time I've seen one break was when someone shipped me a poorly packed rifle without the trigger guard in place. It was broken by UPS when it stuck through the box and probably tossed on a truck.

I'll take Weihrauch "pot metal" over Diana plastic every day. I've only shot two D350s. One in 177 and one in 22. Both shot like a bucket of bolts and neither hit near the POA. In all fairness both guns belonged to general consumers and probably had wasted scopes on them. They might shoot fine with a tune and an Airmax scope. Still more plastic and violent than I relish.

Look we all have our favorites but let's keep our information accurate and fair.

If you had difficulty shooting those 350's I get it, they're a hard rifle to master, but don't blame the rifles. You're making an awfully big deal out of the plastic parts on the Diana rifles when in fact those parts are quite serviceable and I've never heard of them failing, although I'm sure somebody has managed to break them, but there are just people like that LOL

 

[Buddy2023]

I love my Diana 350 so much that if they made chocolate versions of it I'd eat the whole thing in one sitting

 

[Buddy2023]

Listen my friend. Don’t get a knot in your underware. I swear on my grandkids lives I had three safety housings cracked. I was pissed.
Since this post I bought another Diana, a 48 .22 cal. My 8th Diana, an accurate hard hitting gun, that to me has a cheap appearance. I like their guns. I would like them a lot more if they eliminated the plastic front sight and the safety housing. Also the barrel-breach union.
‘It really amazes me that they would do so many castings for the K 98, A replica, that’s a dog for sales, ironically I love mine.
I’ll try and hunt one of the cracked guns down for a pic.
AA springers I’m sure break, I have 6, shoot them a lot, never broke one.
Again from personal experience, I have maybe 60 springers. Only broke one spring. Diana 460 mag. .177.
‘Small world, wouldn’t want to paint it!
You seem to attack me over the plastic. Facts are facts. I call a spade a spade. Sorry you don’t like my opionion. If Diana wants to be reguarded as top notch, they should act it. I like their product, there’s room for improvment in the appearance dept. Crow

I'm with Toxylon in regards to the plastic parts breakage, I'm not sure how you could accomplish this without purposely doing so, the safety shroud isn't under any mechanical stress and the only accidental way I can think of for this part to break is firing the rifle with the stock screws so loose the action slammed the safety shroud int the rear of the stock??? I don't mean to be rude, but I wish I had read the entire thread before putting all of the effort into posting my take on the 350 Magnum for you!

 

[Windmill01]

I'm with Toxylon in regards to the plastic parts breakage, I'm not sure how you could accomplish this without purposely doing so, the safety shroud isn't under any mechanical stress and the only accidental way I can think of for this part to break is firing the rifle with the stock screws so loose the action slammed the safety shroud int the rear of the stock??? I don't mean to be rude, but I wish I had read the entire thread before putting all of the effort into posting my take on the 350 Magnum for you!

Poor possum, it always pays to be informed before you commit.

 

[crowski]

I'm with Toxylon in regards to the plastic parts breakage, I'm not sure how you could accomplish this without purposely doing so, the safety shroud isn't under any mechanical stress and the only accidental way I can think of for this part to break is firing the rifle with the stock screws so loose the action slammed the safety shroud int the rear of the stock??? I don't mean to be rude, but I wish I had read the entire thread before putting all of the effort into posting my take on the 350 Magnum for you!

I’ve had the 350 rifle a while and shot it a few times. It’s a gem. It hits a lot harder than what I’m used to but its accuracy compares.
As far as the cracked housings. Sorry to disappoint you. Only a fool would break deliberately, I’m not a fool. I stand by my word. I’ll try for pic, cant believe I didn’t take one. but nearly impossible to get now.
Back when I had these guns, I didn’t have them on a rack being babied. They were in where ever, in sun light? In a corner or a closet, didn’t care. Didn’t abuse, but no care. All broken same, approx. 20 yrs. ago.
Sorry to waste your valuable time. Crow

 

[crowski]

I've owned my .22 Diana 350 Magnum for three years and I can assure you it will not "fall apart" in 500 rounds LOL! These rifles are both accurate and powerful. They are of very high quality and robustly built. The T-06 trigger is wonderful and very adjustable, I have mine set to about 3 lbs. I have over 2,500 pellets through mine and I've had zero mechanical issues. If you're on the fence due to quality, reliability and durability, don't be, you won't be disappointed. There are some things you need to be aware of, 1. They are very heavy so if you want a woods walker this rifle may not be for you. 2. They are extremely hold sensitive and any mistake you make with your follow through will reward you with a clean miss. 3. They are very front heavy so offhand shooting becomes fatiguing rather quickly, in addition to this they have a relatively heavy cocking effort of around 40-50 lbs which adds to the fatigue factor. 4. Finally, they're scope eaters due to the heavy recoil they produce, so make sure you get a high quality springer rated air rifle scope and use the UTG droop compensator scope mount with a good set of scope rings. Don't get discouraged when you first get it because you can't get those one hole groups, I promise you once you get the technique down for shooting this rifle you're gonna fall in love with it. I love my 350 and I feel it's one of the best airgun purchases I have ever made. Good Luck pal.

Thanks for the feed back. The gun works good for me. I won’t be carrying anything, only range shooting, have a few benches to change it up. I’m impressed with this rifle.
Unfortunately I read your other post first.
I said I was told 500 (which I doubted) but still got the 350, for obvious reasons, and enjoying it. It’s not my favourite rifle due to stiff competition. Crow

 

[Buddy2023]

Thanks for the feed back. The gun works good for me. I won’t be carrying anything, only range shooting, have a few benches to change it up. I’m impressed with this rifle.
Unfortunately I read your other post first.
I said I was told 500 (which I doubted) but still got the 350, for obvious reasons, and enjoying it. It’s not my favourite rifle due to stiff competition. Crow

No problem Crow, I hope you enjoy your 350, I'm not upset in the least it's just you've owned other rifles similar and I was treating you like a newbee LOL I wrote my take on the 350 before reading the entire thread and didn't realize you were an experiences magnum springer shooter. I named my 350 Helga by the way

 

[Ace1969]

I was was curious about the Diana 350 magnum .22 cal. I’m on the fence.
He’s my problem. My buddy (mentor) tells me it will fall apart in no time. Lucky to get 500 rounds through.
Now I’ve got a few Diana’s. Their power increase is notable and this is what my buddy says is the problem.
I got the 460 and found it to have great accuracy as well. My huge problem on the 460 is again plastic especially the front sight.
I’m Super satisfied with my Weihrauchs, Air Arms and FWB’s. Like the variety.
What’s you opionion on the 350 Magnum premium?
Crow

I've had a 350 feurkraft pro carbine with muzzle brake since 2016 over 2000 shots through it .It can shoot very accurately as long as you can hold it where and how it likes it to be held .Others are correct its a very heavy rifle at 10.5 pounds scoped.Front heavy is also true but learning the sweet spot it will hit anything you point it at.Ive had zero issues with the plastic safety housing.I would recommend first thing to dress it with an aftermarket rubber recoil pad .I use them on all my springers and it will save your shoulder at the end of the day .I notice it helps with accuracy as well .

 

[Toxylon]

I have, let's see...six Diana springers, ranging in age from 7 to 60 years. All have seen heavy use - in the woods, on the range, the works. Most have been taken apart and put back together, many of them repeatedly, so I have a pretty good idea of what's in where and how does it work, re: stress or no stress. All of my Dianas are well on their way to becoming my future grandchildren's guns. They just keep getting better.

If one never hears about cracked safety housings, and one guy tells about cracking four of them, I'm reminded of the guy who bought a bunch of manual transmission cars, one after another, and concluded that manual transmissions just don't last.

 

[KitCarson16]

I have, let's see...six Diana springers, ranging in age from 7 to 60 years. All have seen heavy use - in the woods, on the range, the works. Most have been taken apart and put back together, many of them repeatedly, so I have a pretty good idea of what's in where and how does it work, re: stress or no stress. All of my Dianas are well on their way to becoming my future grandchildren's guns. They just keep getting better.

If one never hears about cracked safety housings, and one guy tells about cracking four of them, I'm reminded of the guy who bought a bunch of manual transmission cars, one after another, and concluded that manual transmissions just don't last.

Well I have owned various Diana products. Both springer and PCP. If you could put problems in a five gallon bucket it would be full. I still own a Classic 350 and a 460 magnum. I have had various problems with both of them, from broken pot metal safeties, to internal cocking shoe problems with the 460.
No one takes better care of rifles than I do, I check them prior to using every time, I keep them lubed and wipe them down with an oil cloth after each use and they hang on racks in the den in open air in a conditioned space.
My most dangerous defect was with a 350 Panther, the one with the synthetic stock. Loved the looks, loved the accuracy, then one day as I was cocking the rifle the rear of the action came flying at supersonic speed at my face, I just barely had the sense to quickly move my head, it still got the side of my neck a bit. On inspection I found that the main stock screw was only two threads deep into the action screw boss and had allowed the force to simply shear the threads. A trip to Fastenal to get the proper screw solved the problem.
If you gave me a brand new 350 today, I would first remove all the sights so they do not fall off, wrap paracord around the stock and rear action until I know it is not going to shear, and go look in my closet for one of the new safeties I have and be ready...........Grin! If a new 460 I would replace the cocking lever pin with the newer hardened pin before I even shot it.

The 350 is a beautiful rifle, long and lean, and very accurate. However if you use it much and I do not consider 2000 shots much, it may or may not make 5000 shots without breaking, I would not bet on that though. My experience with Diana is that another problem will get added to that bucket. Us'ns ole farts and full time shooters develop our opinions on what life shows us for any product. My two Diana rifles are top notch now, however based on past experience I would not purchase another. Your mileage may vary, mine was kinda short before the steering wheel fell off.
Cheers
Kit

 

[crowski]

Well I have owned various Diana products. Both springer and PCP. If you could put problems in a five gallon bucket it would be full. I still own a Classic 350 and a 460 magnum. I have had various problems with both of them, from broken pot metal safeties, to internal cocking shoe problems with the 460.
No one takes better care of rifles than I do, I check them prior to using every time, I keep them lubed and wipe them down with an oil cloth after each use and they hang on racks in the den in open air in a conditioned space.
My most dangerous defect was with a 350 Panther, the one with the synthetic stock. Loved the looks, loved the accuracy, then one day as I was cocking the rifle the rear of the action came flying at supersonic speed at my face, I just barely had the sense to quickly move my head, it still got the side of my neck a bit. On inspection I found that the main stock screw was only two threads deep into the action screw boss and had allowed the force to simply shear the threads. A trip to Fastenal to get the proper screw solved the problem.
If you gave me a brand new 350 today, I would first remove all the sights so they do not fall off, wrap paracord around the stock and rear action until I know it is not going to shear, and go look in my closet for one of the new safeties I have and be ready...........Grin! If a new 460 I would replace the cocking lever pin with the newer hardened pin before I even shot it.

The 350 is a beautiful rifle, long and lean, and very accurate. However if you use it much and I do not consider 2000 shots much, it may or may not make 5000 shots without breaking, I would not bet on that though. My experience with Diana is that another problem will get added to that bucket. Us'ns ole farts and full time shooters develop our opinions on what life shows us for any product. My two Diana rifles are top notch now, however based on past experience I would not purchase another. Your mileage may vary, mine was kinda short before the steering wheel fell off.
Cheers
Kit

I’m working at my daughters, but I’m taking a break, because we have rain and I can’t run my excavator and had to write this. I just wanted to say thanks for the support. Don’t like being called a liar or an idiot. Crow

 

[Buddy2023]

Well I have owned various Diana products. Both springer and PCP. If you could put problems in a five gallon bucket it would be full. I still own a Classic 350 and a 460 magnum. I have had various problems with both of them, from broken pot metal safeties, to internal cocking shoe problems with the 460.
No one takes better care of rifles than I do, I check them prior to using every time, I keep them lubed and wipe them down with an oil cloth after each use and they hang on racks in the den in open air in a conditioned space.
My most dangerous defect was with a 350 Panther, the one with the synthetic stock. Loved the looks, loved the accuracy, then one day as I was cocking the rifle the rear of the action came flying at supersonic speed at my face, I just barely had the sense to quickly move my head, it still got the side of my neck a bit. On inspection I found that the main stock screw was only two threads deep into the action screw boss and had allowed the force to simply shear the threads. A trip to Fastenal to get the proper screw solved the problem.
If you gave me a brand new 350 today, I would first remove all the sights so they do not fall off, wrap paracord around the stock and rear action until I know it is not going to shear, and go look in my closet for one of the new safeties I have and be ready...........Grin! If a new 460 I would replace the cocking lever pin with the newer hardened pin before I even shot it.

The 350 is a beautiful rifle, long and lean, and very accurate. However if you use it much and I do not consider 2000 shots much, it may or may not make 5000 shots without breaking, I would not bet on that though. My experience with Diana is that another problem will get added to that bucket. Us'ns ole farts and full time shooters develop our opinions on what life shows us for any product. My two Diana rifles are top notch now, however based on past experience I would not purchase another. Your mileage may vary, mine was kinda short before the steering wheel fell off.
Cheers
Kit

I've owned other Diana rifles for a lot longer than my 350 and have never had the issues you mention, 2500 shots is more than enough to tell you if something is going to go wrong and my 350 has performed flawlessly. I agree with you about the sights on the 350, they suck, the sights on my 23 year old RWS 34 are works of art in comparison. I researched the 350 quite extensively before purchasing one and the problems you and Crow mention just never came up. I never called anyone any names, but you're the only two people I've heard of that have had chronic problems like this!

 

[crowski]

I have, let's see...six Diana springers, ranging in age from 7 to 60 years. All have seen heavy use - in the woods, on the range, the works. Most have been taken apart and put back together, many of them repeatedly, so I have a pretty good idea of what's in where and how does it work, re: stress or no stress. All of my Dianas are well on their way to becoming my future grandchildren's guns. They just keep getting better.

If one never hears about cracked safety housings, and one guy tells about cracking four of them, I'm reminded of the guy who bought a bunch of manual transmission cars, one after another, and concluded that manual transmissions just don't last.

Toxylon, that’s really nice you have six Diana’s. And I’m glad they are getting better.
Again I’m not an expert like you, with only four years under my belt. My first count.
8 Diana’s, 80% my newest springers
6 Air Arms
4 FWB’s
2 Walthers
31 Weihrauchs
1 Hatson
1 BSA
4 Beeman’s
1 Xisico
10 Pistols.
For last two years I shoot nearly every day up to 4 hrs. rain or shine.
I never had any breakdowns till lately when the Diana’s entered more use.
‘A 460 broke a spring, didn’t get 75 rounds. Put a Vortek in and the lever arm broke. I know you won’t believe me, so here’s the part, just came from the UK.

Hopefully seeing is believing. Somehow I doubt it. Don’t lose any sleep.
Now as far as the cracked safety housing, in case you have a learning or memory disability it’s only three.
Funny you say that about transmissions. I have good health, but I got my first haemorrhoid on July 10th. Got my second on Wednesday. Crow