50 Years Old and Still Pack A Punch - Winchester Model 427 - AKA Diana Model 27

[c801tfd]

Also a little time to clean up my Winchester Model 427 (Diana Model 27) .22 Caliber, which is the only caliber the Model 427 was made in for the Winchester version. This one was made in February 1971.

Very fun to shoot with open sights and it can still take out more than just paper. Now back to my R7/project.

 

[ladwict]

A real beauty and I can imagine that you are proud of it !!! Keep it in this shape and shoot the hell out of it !

what pellets does it like ?

cheers

 

[c801tfd]

ladwict - Yes very proud of it, this is one a couple air rifles my two sons can only dream of shooting because it stays stored with barrel broken open, oiled up and locked up until I decide to take it out to shoot. I have used several types and it does well with most but when it comes to higher quality type pellets it seems to like the 17.13 gr H&N Silver Points.

In a pinch (meaning I forgot to restock the better type) it does just fine with the most commercially available 14.3 gr Crossman Premier pellets. I have also discovered that the combination of me and a .22 caliber of any make with any trigger, scope or open sight setup perform well together. I also feel the old medium velocity air rifles are better over the magnum types.

I do like .177 and have several of those as well and have started to explore heavier weight pellets to slow the velocity down a little to see how that plays out, by heavier I am exploring lead pellets over 8 gr but not over 14 gr as I would prefer to leave all my rifles at or near factory specs and will not detune them because they were all designed to perform as constructed; and I am a firm believer that the balance of any accuracy issue comes down to me the shooter and pellet being used. By the way I do not use or even consider using alloy type pellets they just do not work for me in any way. 

 

[MDriskill]

A real classic! I've been a model 27 fan for years, and just recently acquired a "Winchester 427." The previous owner tuned it up VERY nicely and it is a total gas to shoot. Winchester sold Diana guns from about 1969 to 1975 and I see from the serial yours is from '71.

Ironically, Winchester's version of the larger and more powerful model 35 seem to be exclusively in .177! Not sure what their thinking was there, LOL, but Dianas of that era are beautifully-made guns and great shooters either way.

 

[survivor45]

That is a beautiful rifle. 
Last month I picked up a Winchester 425 . Made in November of 1968. It is also a .22 It is a dream to shoot. 

 

[c801tfd]

Mike - had I paid much attention to air rifles earlier in life the Model 27 and Diana made air rifles may have been the only ones I ever owned or shot. I like the feel of this rifle, it is so light I sometimes think the case I put it in weighs more. I agree it is one fun shooter and it tempts to to take it out everyday after work. 

I have found that to be odd as well that some manufactures would make an air rifle in just one caliber for their vendor such as Winchester, I really like my Diana Model 35 in .22, almost as much as the 427.

 

[c801tfd]

Survivor45 - Very nice and I see a similar Brand of pellet appears to be what it must prefer as well. 

 

[Hapo]

...I lost mine in a stupid trade...

 

[thumper]

I've handled one of those guns, and was very impressed by the build quality. They are heavy duty little dudes for sure. I'd like to have another someday. 

The excellent trigger and sights make for a really good shooting gun. 

 

[c801tfd]

Thumper, I whole heartedly agree with you and will go out on a limb and say the trigger seems to make all the difference when it comes to how well this rifle performs, but again the shooter must do their part.

 

[Tigere]

Buenas noches compañeros también tengo un rifle Winchester 427 y en verdad es una maravilla tengo 30 años con él y la construcción de armado es increíble nada más lo he reparado una sola vez sigue funcionando al 100. Saludos

 

[mj102]

Beautiful 427. Thanks for sharing.

 

[c801tfd]

Tigre, 

"Good evening, comrades, I also have a Winchester 427 rifle and it is truly wonderful. I have been with it for 30 years and the construction of the assembly is incredible. I have only repaired it once, it continues to work 100%. Greetings"

Nice to meet you, it is great to see long time owners of such a great air rifle sing the praises of the durability and quality of the great German produced air rifles. They just dont make tham like they used to, but one can dream. I plan to keep mine for a very long time.


Encantado de conocerte, es genial ver a los propietarios de un rifle de aire tan excelente cantar las alabanzas de la durabilidad y la calidad de los grandes rifles de aire producidos en Alemania. Simplemente no lo hacen como antes, pero uno puede soñar. Planeo conservar el mío durante mucho tiempo.

 

[c801tfd]

mj102



Thank you

 

[springer]

I have put thousands of pellets through my 427 hunting cans on east and west coasts, and many states in between. Never stopped loving it. After reading a "Big Sale" announcement at a local sporting goods store I stopped by to see what could be had - and snapped up several boxes containing five tins of 1970's Winchester pellets. I still shoot them occasionally.

I also have a Winchester 450, aka Diana 50 in the only 450 caliber, .-- 177. It is just as much fun as the 427. A slim stock with cheekpiece and easy to manipulate cocking lever. Also quite accurate. The serial number is under 500, and I have never seen another 450 for sale, so this model may be quite rare.

 

[MDriskill]

Love that 450!

To my eye the Diana model 50 is just one of the best-looking air rifles EVER. Dennis Hiller's book "The Collector's Guide to Air Rifles" has one of the all-time great lines to describe the 50's styling, too: "Very nice smooth slender stock with sexual overtones," LOL...

And yeah, I kinda like model 27's too.

 

[springer]

I do not know in which edition Hiller made that pronouncement, but I wonder if he had seen the Diana 50 I have. My 450 was made in August, 1969, the 50 in March 1973. Compared to the 450 the 50 has a far thicker stock, a butt pad sufficient for a large caliber center fire rifle and significantly stiffer spring. Did Winchester specify a light spring and simple stock or did Diana juice the rifle to compete with the powerful FWB and BSF guns then becoming popular?

Diana 50 

Winchester 450

 

[MJS]

Nice. I still have my Diana Model 24 (.177) from the 80's and it still shoots great. I've never had to replace anything on it. Just routine maintenance.

 

[MDriskill]

The difference is a function of the manufacturing date.

The model 50 had minor variations of the slender stock for most of its life. But by the early 70's, Diana's classic rifle lineup (models 15, 16, 22, 23, 25, 27, 35, 50) was getting pretty long in the tooth, so they did some updating to the top models. The models 27, 35, and 50 got the squared-up wood (quite the rage at the time), an auto trigger-blocking safety, and other tweaks. The new barrel cockers were the 27S (see my pic just above) and 35S. IIRC, for some reason they didn't change the 50's name, but the design cues are the same.

The 27S and 35S were pricey and not successful; the preceding "plain" 27 and 35 stayed in parallel production and ended up out-living them. The 50 morphed into the model 50 T01 in the late 70's, based on the model 45 barrel-cocker's action (earlier 50's shared powerplant and trigger with the 35). The 50 T01 was a very hot tap-loader, would do over 800 FPS.

 

[springer]

My 50 has no safety.