But they're really completely different Harv, other than they're both sidelevers from the same company with the same trigger...
Well that's just it. I've shot the famous and much loved FWB300 and could not get past that floating action. It bugs the heck out of me. I've got a Diana 75 and I much prefer it to the shot cycle of the FWB300. Yeah, sacrilege whatever.
But the 54 is a different animal. You don't generally shoot these offhand. You're supporting the rifle somehow in most cases. And these are purpose built hunting machines. Sidelever by design for the advantage of a mounted bipod or sitting on a Caldwell sand filled rest.
You line up and settle the shot, squeeze the trigger and the rifle does the rest. On a rest, I imagine the near perfect stillness of the sliding sledge action would be something to behold. A sight picture undisturbed enough that you could see the quarry stumble on the pellet's impact, right through your scope. It has got to be an incredible experience to shoot a 54.
At the same time I wonder, do I really need that extra mechanism? The 52 is rock solid. It has a nicer stock than the 48 too. Then I find out a little secret. Maybe its not a big secret after all but there will be a Luxus version of the 52. Oh... its going to be a huge price jump but you never think of the price once the item is paid for. Especially if you stick to getting the one you really want in the first place.
But then I think about what it would be like to see a barely interrupted image through a clear scope. An image of a gopher way out in a field just as a high energy pellet pounds through flesh, shatters skull bone and flips the Cognizant Switch to "off".
My first sidelever was a .22 M48. Great gun, accurate and powerful. Somewhat hold sensitive as are all recoilling springers. I always wanted a M54, something intrigued me about the Air King. So many years later I got my Demo M54 from (the now defunk and absorbed by Pryramyd Air) Airgun Express. I have never regretted it. The 54 IMHO is better suited for bench resting and the 48/52 are better "carry" guns for the field. But there is no hold sensitivity with the 54. Lay it directly on a sand bag, over the hood of a truck, brace it against the tree etc. Just allow the action to recoil freely. Try that with a regular spring (or gas) gun. You don't (at least I don't) get changes in the POI from changing my hold like I would/do with the 48 and other springers. If I change pellets in the 54, I may get bigger or smaller groups and even a different POI in relation to the other pellets. But that's from the pellets, not a hold sensitivity issue. The 54 doesn't feel a "trim" as the 48. All my Diana's are/have been accurate. I don't know if Diana makes their own barrels or not. I think the recoilless feature removes most of the human error. I know many people don't care for the M54 for their own varied reasons. I'm not one. My Ed K tuned .22 M54 will be the last springer I let go of. Just my experience and opinions. Your mileage may vary.
I think the rifle is a great design. Does it thunk at the end of the sliding sledge cycle? That's been a pet peeve of mine with the FWB300 believe it or not. Its also the reason I have a Diana 75 instead of ever owning a 300. I could not get past the "thunk" lol.
Even with the recoil I would take the 52 over the 54 if the 54 felt like shooting an FWB 300. Just personal preference is all.
I've never shot the FWB 300 or any match type recoiless gun, so I can't compare the 2 guns firing behavior. I would venture to say that if you don't like the FWB's firing cycle, then you may not like the M54 as well if they both use the same sliding sledge mechanism. Maybe you could get a M52 and have it pro tuned (or do the work yourself) to smooth it out and remove as much recoil as possible.
My 54's a .22 and my 48's a .177. My 48 is hold sensitive in that you have to restrain it from torqueing clockwise when you shoot it. My 54 is not hold sensitive. While .22 is a hunting caliber and .177 is a target caliber, my 48 is a better choice for hunting and ny 54 is a better choice for plinking for several reasons, the main one being that the sledge does not stay locked forward when I carry it any distance and it will shoot to two different points of impact because of that. Lastly, because they are the exact same powerplant, they have the same noisy anti beartrap which means I usually take my break barrel Patriot hunting and choose my break barrel R-1 for plinking. And the scope picture though my Leupold 3x9 on my 54 does not allow me to watch the pellet flight as the scope and trigger both are recoiling backwards towards me with every shot. But when I decide to play with my Diana side levers, I always reach for the 54 first because it's just so deadly accurate when I shoot it off hand.
Took a good look at a pic of the 54. I don't think I like the scope moving toward me. My habit is to get close in on the scope and in this case that would be bad.
Harv,
Don't be alarmed at the image of the scope careening toward your eye after the shot. I keep a close eye relief, and have gotten to where I don't see the movement. The actual movement is controlled and consistent, with a maximum travel of only 3/4" backward toward the eye. Even with that axial movement (rear axial, LOL) I find that I can follow through with my eye and see exactly where the pellet hits. If the gun is rested on its front-to-rear balance point in such a manner that it has no tendency to roll side to side, the sight picture stays solid during the firing cycle. IMHO, forcing this gun into position doesn't work, and by that I also mean wedging it on the sides. You have to position it where, if you could totally let it go, it would still want to stay pointed at the target. I use a piece of 1/2" thick Sorbothane for my rest.
Actually, the only thing that is stationary when you shoot is the wooden stock and trigger guard. The entire assembly- action, barrel, trigger, and scope, slides back as a single unit, but the max travel is only about 3/4". There is a spring loaded ball detent that imparts friction on the sledge slide rods in their bronze guide blocks to attenuate the rearward movement. The spring is adjustable via a set screw to control the speed of the rearward movement, and the movemnent s-l-i-d-e-s to a halt on bronze bearing blocks before touching the end of its travel. Of curse it happens in a fraction of a second, but it is a well thought-out design.
One drawback to this design is that if the gun is pointed up or down more than maybe 12" at the muzzle, the dynamics of the slide mechanism are adversely affected, again, IMHO. The ball detent still holds everything in place before the shot, but when you fire, the attenuation is either increased (pointing down) or decreased (pointing up). You could probably change the spring pressure on the ball bearing to compensate, but that would compromise other positions.
I love the recoil-less feel of this gun and I find it extremely accurate both on the bench and off hand. More accurate and, easy to shoot accurately, than my other springers. BTW, mine is a 22 and shoots best (of the 12 pellets I've tried) with CP 14.3 gr (842 fps) and JSB Diablo exact jumbo 15.8 (801fps).
Harv, I hope this info is helpful.
Smooth shooting,
Stephen
My 54 is .22 and prefers JSB Jumbo Exacts in 5.52. It's extremely accurate from my Harris bipods (benchrest and sitting). On an indoor 50 yard range I can actually see about the last 10 feet of the pellets flight (Bushnell 4200 Elite 6x24 40mm mildot)against a white target. I've never even thought about the scope/receiver/trigger moving backwards after a few years of shooting it but last summer, a friend of mine got bitten by the scope for a small cut that drew blood. I've conducted tests shooting at different angles and found that the rifle will remain extremely accurate but POI will change significantly depending on the angle up or down. The task of gaining ranging information at given distances and various up or down angles was too daunting a task for me to undertake! This, and the weight, leads me to suggest it may not be the best choice for hunting...but I still love this rifle!