Why did Diana pull out of the match grade rifle market. I realize there are some serious contenders in that specialized field, but Diana seems to have had a good quality product sold under several different logos at a reasonable price. Curious. I shot one the other day sold as a "Condor" brand. JB

All spring-piston match guns rapidly fell out of top-level matches after the 1984 Olympics, where new CO2 and single-stroke designs pretty much took over.

In addition to that, at world-class matches the 75 had been "second fiddle" to the FWB 300 and Anschutz 380 springers for quite a few years. I suspect the 75 was overwhelmed in the marketplace not only by new guns, but by the large number of other spring-piston guns that then appeared on the used market.

I thought it might have something to do with standing up to the track records of those other models. I didn't factor in the introduction of new propellants back then. Again, thanks Mike. JB

Apparently there was a problem adapting the Diana Giss system to a side lever action. Shortly after the release of the Mod. 75 they changed the sights, and trigger to produce the 75 T01. This set them even further behind. Diana had a bad habit of being a day late and a dollar short, and was easily out marketed by FWB, and Anschutz.

much to do with the quality or accuracy of the guns. The Model 75 was a latecomer on the international 10m scene. IIRC, it debuted sometime in 1977 or 1978. It was Diana's first serious effort at a match rifle. Companies like Anschutz and FWB had serious spring powered contenders well before that time. As well, FWB had/has a fine promotional team that provided assistance to competitors willing to use or switch to their products. I don't believe Diana followed that route to any significant degree. Spring guns at the international 10m level faded from prominence around the mid '80's, leaving the relatively new Model 75 (as well as most other spring guns) in limbo with the world class bunch and other serious competitors. It was a shame really, because of all the spring powered match guns, only the 75 was vibration and recoil free. It shot so well that it was akin to shooting a pneumatic. None of the other 10m spring guns, including the ubiquitous FWB 300, can make that claim.

Ron, I appreciate your input.

The two Diana 75's I have shot were excellent in my opinion.

I'm not an avid target shooter, I enjoy targets I need to stalk. When I think of owning just one target type rifle, the 75 looks the part and feels right in my hands. Nice balance and trigger. At 6'2" the LOP and shape of the stock resolve feels comfortable.

FWB must have sold a good number of 300 series, they seem to be more common on the used market than the 75. I'll wait till the right one comes along.

Ron, BTW, how is that 52 Deluxe shooting now that you have a few pellets through it? That's the best looking 52 I've seen. Shoot and enjoy it in good health.

JB - San Diego

I'm having this one detuned right now by PW.

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is shooting very well. It is actually one of the most accurate springers in my collection. I have a GSI kit for it that I don't plan on using until something breaks, LOL. Believe it or not though, I have never broken a Diana spring. I probably don't shoot them enough, LOL, although my 38 in .22 has many thousands of rounds through it and still chronos around 750 fps with 13.8 grain domes.

That stock on your 52 is absolutely great. I am not usually a fan of thumbhole stocks but the one on your 52 seems different from the usual design. Very, very nice.

-RG

Diana started making match rifles with the totally recoil-free double-piston system in 1963, with the model 60 (two examples of this in pic below), then improved the basic break-barrel design via the models 65 and 66. These had been around for 15 years before the model 75 came along.

But you are quite right, in spite of the excellent powerplant, Diana seems to have conciously decided to go for the lower end of the market when they decided on a break-barrel format. The fixed-barrel Anschutz 220 came along in 1959 and the FWB 150 came out just after the model 60.

By the time the model 75 was introduced, I believe the FWB's were just too well-established, and Diana's reputation for making entry-level match guns just too deeply ingrained. For whatever reason, the 75 was never an Olympic-level favorite in spite of its good qualities.

It's important to remember that the market for target airguns in Europe is huge, though, at all levels of competition and price. The 75 didn't win many big international prizes, but Diana sold a ton of these guns. The 75 actually stayed in production longer than any other spring rifle except the FWB 300S.