Some more new pics of another of my favorites, the elegant Diana model 60 target rifle. It's well-known that this was the first truly recoilless spring-piston rifle to hit the market, in January 1963, beating the FWB 150 to the market by several months. This example dates from 1967.
I have always been mystified why the Diana barrel-cockers were not more successful in competition. The workmanship and finish are top-notch, especially on early model 60's like this one. The trigger and sights are very fine, the gun is utterly recoil-free--more like shooting a pneumatic than a springer--and in their day they were even quite a bit less expensive than the recoiling Walthers. I can only assume that Diana was not too good at the advertising game!
If the 60 has a mechanical weakness, it is the ball-bearing breech detent inherited from the little models 25 and 27 sporters. This can create vertical stringing problems--especially with the heavy barrel sleeve in place--if the breech is not carefully lubed and correctly tensioned.
This gun has a bit of a story--it was never sold at retail before being found in a Pennsylvania gunshop (mysteriously, sans rear sight) when the owner retired. I just missed it when it was first sold, then picked it up a year later from that first "real" owner. In the meantime, he'd had it rebuilt by RWS...how's that for dumb luck? It's about as close to a new model 60 as it's possible to get, and came with the original box, paperwork, sight inserts, and universal tool.
The rifle is technically a "Hy-Score model 810" (the later models 65 and 66 were the 810M and 811M respectively). The metal polish and blueing are beautiful, as indeed they are on just about every Hy-Score Diana I've ever seen.
The rich oil finish and overall workmanship of the classic Olympia-styled stock are especially excellent. The black buttplate is not original, replacing the OEM red one when it was rebuilt.
My two model 60's have the best-executed checkering of any rifles that I own. Note the full-length checkered panel under the fore arm, in lieu of embellishment on the fore arm's sides (though early model 60's had finger grooves also--see Frank's stunning early 60 Tyrolean). This is very functional for 10-meter work, and similar to the style most often seen on the Walther LG 55.
The characteristic Diopter 60 rear sight is quite functional. Diana's unique thumbwheel attachment allows for very fine eye relief adjustment, an advantage over the Walther and HW sights of the time which had just a few fixed positions possible. Interestingly, it places no strain on the dovetail attachment since the screw pulls the sight up against the dovetail, instead of clamping it from the sides. Here the sight has a roughly contemporary Gehmann iris.
The front sight is a typical Diana one, and uses the old standard M17 sleeve thread. I have a later 60 which uses a different sight, threaded on both ends.
Also note the barrel sleeve attachment in the shot above. The ends of the sleeve are beveled, with the rear of the sleeve sitting on a rubber O-ring and the front on a beveled washer under the nut. These details "float" the sleeve so that it doesn't actually touch the barrel--a very advanced detail not matched by any other maker of the era. The O-ring is just visible in the shot below; note that the gun can take an open rear sight if desired.
All in all, the 60 is my favorite Diana springer. One of the shortest and lightest recoilless springers ever made, it really hits that sweet spot between old-time quality and modern recoilless performance. It is a real pleasure to handle, shoot, or just look at.