Last week at the SHOT show I encountered a 28 year veteran RWS representative. He told me that he owned one of every version that Diana had ever imported. His New Jersey accent made me think that he was telling the truth. I asked him a question about 27's and 35's and he knew his stuff. Basically that I could probably get them apart easily, but putting it back together was another story. What surprised me was his answer to my question about my 52 Deluxe. He said that they only imported six or seven a year for a few years and only in .177 cal. Makes me think that I have a collectible. My question to this forum is,"How many other 52 Deluxes are there out there?"
I visited both the Diana and the RWS booths at the SHOT show. The Diana booth was monitored by a German fellow who was a relatively new employee whose English was not great. What interested me most at his booth was a prototype wooden stock which would fit any of the 34 iterations which was absolutely beautiful. It was even slimmer than normal Diana stocks, covered the hinge, and will make the standard Beeman R-1 stock look absolutely matronly. Hopefully this stock will make it to regular production.
The fellow at the RWS booth was a veteran and really knew his stuff. RWS has just recently taken on the replica line manufactured by Umarex. I've heard conflicting reports about the duribility of these airguns. Time will tell, or if you are interested you might contact Tim at MAC-1 for his opinion.
Mine is dated 07 00. As to the trigger, I don't know what it is. I'll accept your $75 offer and will pay for the shipping, however my handling charge might be significant. You're probably correct about the universatality of 52 actions. Mine says 52, TO1, and L. My 48 says 48/52. 54 says TO1, AIR KING.
Dividing those three in my gun rack is a very nice 50, an airgun from another era.
My Diana dealer tells me they are readily available here in Canada. The product manager at Dianawerke told me via email that they are still a regular production item. RWS just chose not to import them.
