Last night I received my "almost" new 24. I just bought it from a friend over the internet. He put about 500 rounds through it.
I must admit, I've always preferred and shot Weirauch's and Feinwerkbau's because of their non plastic parts, but collected Diana's because of their historical nature.
This 24 amazed me. It's a beautiful gun. Whenever I'm inclined to complain about the plastic trigger, I remind myself about my initial thoughts about Glock 20 years ago, vs. my feelings about Glock now. I realize I'm being judgemental about plastic.
Anyway, back to the 24, what a great little gun. It's in 5.5mm and is very accurate. It has the two stage trigger which I've been able to get down to less than 2lbs, very crisp.
I bought the 24 because although I love my Original 25, I'm trying to not shoot it as much as I did before and just keep it for special occasions. I love that 25 so much, it resides in my bedroom, next to my Grade III Browning Semi-automatic in .22short. They are trully works of art. Difficult to explain to my wife, but that's another story...
This weekend, I'll dissassemble the 24 to install a new JM R7 spring, a new Apex seal and some of his wonderful moly. I'll post those findings next week.
Nothing wrong with Diana springs, it's just that I have preferrence for Jim's stuff.
The spring for an R7/HW30 may not fit in a Diana 24 unless you make a new spring guide with a smaller OD.
It may also be necessary to sleeve the Diana 24 piston in order to minimize kinking.
The five model versions of the Diana 24 to date have used three different mainspring part numbers.
I do not know if they were different springs, or just the same spring with different part numbers.
I had put an R7 spring in my Original 25 and it worked fine, so I just assumed it would fit the 24. I'll let you know what I find tomorrow when I dig into it.
In the past, before I got 40, I did the same: not using my premium Colts since I might wear them out.
You only live once and life is not very long. Enjoy your finest guns to the fullest ! These are your best years and you will only become older and less capable to employ them to their full potential. After all these are quality pieces and they almost certainly will outlive you anyway.
Btw: I also have such a Browning .22 and it is very accurate: 1" at 50 meters with RWS pistol match or Lapua master all day. It just took some time to find out what ammo it liked best.
I agree with Joris. When not in the office or travelling, the airguns and rimfires have a ball, literally!
I have a pre-WWII, Belgian-made, Browning Trombone (slide action) with custom-made scope dovetails grooved on the receiver, open ended, and a vintage Browning 4x20 3/4"-tube scope (the integral base version), sitting on it. With a Unique bayonnete-style suppressor wrapped around its front sight, it shoots 1/2" groups @ 50m/y, benched, with SK Standard Pistol or SK Standard Plus. It sees "service" regularly, despite its respectable age.
Thanks for the feedback. I will shoot my old rifles more, you have a point about life being short. I often wonder what my kids will do with these prized possesions once I'm gone.
This is my favorite target rifle, it's a 1939 Winchester 75 bolt action. I know it doesn't fall in with the airgun theme but since I rebuilt this one as well, I thought I'd post a picture of it.
And here it is in it's normal place, hanging out (literally) in my workshop. Rather than keep it in a gunsafe, I like to hand this one up where I can see it
Many thanks for sharing. B-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l wood and craftmanship. I can see the Browning semi-auto's butt, peeping on the second pickie at the LHC (left-hand corner). BTW, does it cycle CCI CB Shorts? I expect that it is legitimate to steer off course, every now and then from airguns to rimfires, since the other way around (RFs to AGs) often takes place in rimfire Forums as well. At any rate, I read somewhere that "if one learns to shoot airguns accurately, then one stands some hope of shooting rimfires accurately too". It is natural to progress from AGs to RFs, yet Air Guns are the most demanding and challenging, still.
