N/A Hickory NC airgun show

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MDriskill

MDriskill

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Jul 17, 2018
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TN, United States
Hat's off to Tony McDaniel for another wonderful event! It was just a perfect couple of days - great friends, great airguns, great weather! I don't when I've ever had a better time at an airgun show.

The classic Diana model 35 dominated my weekend! The gun in the middle of this trio is an early post-war .22 cal "Peerless" I've had for year, bracketed by two from the show: an excellent "RWS" from 1980 above, and below a pre-war walnut .22 cal "Diana DRP," with two-stage trigger. This gun shoots strongly and is in fine condition - it even has the original snap-on front sight protector still in place.

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I also traded for an excellent HW 55 M from 1975. It's the oldest 55 I've seen with Beeman markings, no variant stamp on the breech block, and an accessory rail. And the newest one with 13mm sight grooves, and old-style serial stamping on the receiver. (Wait...did I just give myself away as an utter HW 55 geek? 🙄 )

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beerthief said:
Hickory Air Gun show , to me seems more like a Festival than a show . Everybody talks to everybody like they have known each other for years , not complete strangers .
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A lot of us HAVE known each other for years! My pal Lance and I have been hoofing it to shows together since Fred Liady's classic Winston-Salem and Roanoke shows, 20+ years ago.

Tony runs such a fine show - well-organized, great door prizes, all in a big, well-lit, open space. And, the ability to pop out the end door and shoot that gun yer lookin' at, is just priceless.
 
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I had a chance to chrono the pre-war DRP Diana a few days ago, and tip my hat to the previous owners!

A 15-shot string of RWS Hobbys (11.9 grains) averaged 581 FPS, or 8.9 FPE. The extreme deviation was only NINE FPS, with standard deviation working out to lest than 0.5% of the average velocity. This 90-year-old beauty is ready for the range or a hunting trip...!

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MDriskill said:
I had a chance to chrono the pre-war DRP Diana a few days ago, and tip my hat to the previous owners!

A 15-shot string of RWS Hobbys (11.9 grains) averaged 581 FPS, or 8.9 FPE. The extreme deviation was only NINE FPS, with standard deviation working out to lest than 0.5% of the average velocity. This 90-year-old beauty is ready for the range or a hunting trip...!

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not such luck with the model 60 . first 6 shots were perfect then almost nothing , pellet stuck in barrel ? no. just no power pellets hit the dirt b4 hitting a 16 yard target . Maybe a old leather seal went poof ? it still sounded mechanically good ?
 
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beerthief said:
not such luck with the model 60 . first 6 shots were perfect then almost nothing , pellet stuck in barrel ? no. just no power pellets hit the dirt b4 hitting a 16 yard target . Maybe a old leather seal went poof ? it still sounded mechanically good ?
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DO NOT SHOOT IT ANY MORE.

If it just gave up the ghost on you abruptly, it is probably still salvageable by someone versed in GISS rifles.
 
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In the 1970s my dad had a Winchester Model 435-marked Diana 35 that I occasionally borrowed to hunt squirrels in Fort Worth along the Trinity River, within sight of Cullen Davis' notorious six-million (1970s) dollar mansion where Cullen's wife, boyfriend and one daughter were later murdered.:oops: All the Davises shopped at my dad's store on Camp Bowie (The Toy Chest), which was also a Schwinn shop where I started in the bike business.

A buddy/co-worker at Toy Chest dated Cullen's step-daughter, the one who wasn't at the mansion during the murders. They gave me a tour of the mansion (pre-murders), and we bumped into the little sister that was murdered there some months later. BTW and FWIW, Cullen was acquitted.:unsure:💰

Although the 435 wasn't powerful (even for that vintage of spring-piston sporter), it was enough so for squirrel. There was much to like about it; mostly a kind of Euro-classic aura that was probably just my own perception/imagination. Not particularly impressive, but neither unimpressive; as you just read, that Winchester Model 435 was quite memorable for me on many other levels.
 
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AirNGasman said:
In the 1970s my dad had a Winchester Model 435-marked Diana 35 that I occasionally borrowed to hunt squirrels in Fort Worth along the Trinity River, within sight of Cullen Davis' notorious six-million (1970s) dollar mansion where Cullen's wife, boyfriend and one daughter were later murdered.:oops: All the Davises shopped at my dad's store on Camp Bowie (The Toy Chest), which was also a Schwinn shop where I started in the bike business.

A buddy/co-worker at Toy Chest dated Cullen's step-daughter, the one who wasn't at the mansion during the murders. They gave me a tour of the mansion (pre-murders), and we bumped into the little sister that was murdered there some months later. BTW and FWIW, Cullen was acquitted.:unsure:💰

Although the 435 wasn't powerful (even for that vintage of spring-piston sporter), it was enough so for squirrel. There was much to like about it; mostly a kind of Euro-classic aura that was probably just my own perception/imagination. Not particularly impressive, but neither unimpressive; as you just read, that Winchester Model 435 was quite memorable for me on many other levels.
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I remember that trial. Racehorse Haynes added to his legend with that one. I have a 1968 Winnie 435. Love it. If I’m ever up in DFW for a few days I’ll ring it. And my HW45 :D
 
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beerthief said:
not such luck with the model 60 . first 6 shots were perfect then almost nothing , pellet stuck in barrel ? no. just no power pellets hit the dirt b4 hitting a 16 yard target . Maybe a old leather seal went poof ? it still sounded mechanically good ?
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Wow - I'm really sorry to hear that. IIRC the date on it was 1974, I'm surprised they were still using the nylon seals at that date. The newer ones are much improved, some variety of PTFE I suspect.

I do very much recommend Dave Slade for the work.

The good news is, that gun is perhaps the most perfect model 60 I've ever seen! A dadgum museum piece...absolutely beautiful condition and OEM correct in every detail. Even after the rebuild, it will easily be worth the $$ you have in it and you will LOVE shooting it.
 
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MDriskill said:
Wow - I'm really sorry to hear that. IIRC the date on it was 1974, I'm surprised they were still using the nylon seals at that date. The newer ones are much improved, some variety of PTFE I suspect.

I do very much recommend Dave Slade for the work.

The good news is, that gun is perhaps the most perfect model 60 I've ever seen! A dadgum museum piece...absolutely beautiful condition and OEM correct in every detail. Even after the rebuild, it will easily be worth the $$ you have in it and you will LOVE shooting it.
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yes i will contact David and then drop it off and pick up when done . Hmmm nylon seal , that shoots my guess , hahaha
 
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Yup, in those days I guess nylon was considered some indestructible miracle material, but...not so much, it turns out! :oops:

Danny Garvin's "Vintage Airguns Gallery" site is always a great resource for older airguns. Scroll down at this link and there's a disassembly manual (in German) for the model 60 - also for other Giss recoilless guns (models 6 and 10 pistols; models 65/66 and 75 rifles). It's interesting to see what the innards of these complex double-piston wonders look like, even if you aren't gonna do the work yourself.

Diana / Milbro Airguns Manuals

Diana / Milbro Airguns Manuals.
forum.vintageairgunsgallery.com forum.vintageairgunsgallery.com

The VAG site also has a discussion forum dedicated to Diana airguns.
 
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DonR said:
Beerthief, sad to say your D60 has the infamous early synthetic seals that eventually turn to crumbly cheese. You may see particles of this stuff left in the bore. Modern replacement seals don't have the problem.

Don R.
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this sounds exactly like what happened . ThANKS , (STILL GOING TO TAKE TO D.S. to go over)
 
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Chuck-in-Ohio said:
Congratulations on acquiring such fine examples sir.

Since I know that you are qualified to render an opinion on the subject, I will ask. How does the Diana 35 stack up in comparison to the HW50S, when both are of the same vintage?
Please feel free to wax loquacious on the subject, or 'nerd out' a little. ;)
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Chuck, I'm not ghosting you! In all honesty, I don't have yet enough trigger time behind Diana 35's to make a thorough comparison. Several of different vintages have passed through over the years, but I've done a poor job exploring them.

Late-production D35's were cheapened in some areas, compared to those built prior to about 1963: stamped metal trigger blade, plain-ish stock with stamped checkering, etc. But improved in others: superb finely-adjustable breech tension, and one of the finest open sights ever furnished on an air rifle. All post-war 35's have the ingenious and crisp 2-stage ball-sear trigger, a mainspring and leather piston seal that last forever, and a top-quality barrel with zero alignment issues.

I'm looking forward to using the RWS one I got in Hickory; haven't done much yet beyond running a chrono string (well over 700 FPS with light ammo). The gun's balance is excellent and the stock fits me very comfortably. I anticipate it will stand up to the HW 50S quite well!

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