Or "A Tale Told By An Idiot"

My 54 arrived this afternoon. Absolutely perfect condition, exactly as pictured. Double-boxed with hardboard supporting panels, fifty feet of tape, and six yards of Saran Wrap in case of floods. Ran five pellets through it without a hitch. Then went to put it away when I notice some dings on the comb. What the???? It was then I remembered the cardinal rule of shooting. NEVER, EVER WEAR LEVY RIVETTED JEANS. Those 54's are hard to cock, so I braced it on my thigh. Was really careful, too. Oh, well, it's mine now.

To be truthful, they will steam out fine. Anyway, it's better the old girl (1992) gets to see the light than spend another twelve years in a safe. (He only shot it twice.)

BTW, offhand at about twenty-five feet and with an unsteady hand and clouded eye (plus bronchitis) I placed two about an inch wide and three touching.

Yes, the airgun gods do laugh.

Hey R.F. Tim here, Man Ive been waiting for your first post about your new 54! So glad to hear your preliminary resuts are positive! Yeah, mine also has a few little "character" dings as well, took me forever to figure out it was my BELT buckle!! Hope you get to shoot it more this weekend,& will post more about it. Now that you have a 54,things will be differant. IE: Remember,Its "now", 5% gun & 95% shooter! LOL. Enjoy my friend, Tim.

Anyway, that's me all over. And it is beautiful, to boot. Not a lot of grain pattern but a nice mellow brown. Also like the older checkering pattern as the new one has what looks like wrap around on the fore arm. I would crush that for sure!

He also included an RWS 400 3X9X32 with rings. I have one on a Slavia 631 and they are nice scopes. Not sure about those rings, so I went on Ebay this afternoon and found a new RWS C mount, $29 delivered. Some plumbing place (from the looks of their other items) had it. (You know, the local Ace Hardware used to have some guns and airguns. Maybe that's not so odd.) Anyway, I think I will wait for the mount to come in. I'm guessing that's a better choice on a 54.

Yes, can't wait to try her benched. But it will be a tiring session as it's a bit hard to cock. Glad they have that ratcheting setup to let you pause in mid-stroke. Funky action, too. Will have to get used to it. Does your's slide forward after firing, when you tilt it down? Them crafty Germans.

Its not really a good mount for the 54. Too many fiddly little adjustments that come loose from the hard recoil. I tried one on my 54, it blew the rear cap off after about 200 shots. Stick to a good solid one piece adjustable like the Beeman 5039.

Hey R.F. Yeah the action on mine sldes down too, that is normal if you point the gun downwards. I have learned to do that intentianatly along w/ a little upward "snap" to lock it forward. This will make the cocking effort a little easier, as the last part of the cocking stroke "sets" the sledge? anti recoil to lock. It will then cock just like a 48/52. The sliding action takes some getting used to and at first is disconcerting at best, but trust me IT WORKS! I respect you like I do others here that are light years ahead of me pertaining to airgun knowledge,but,I have had my 54 for some time now & know it well. If you would like any info from someone that has put probly 3-k rounds thru one,& recently set up one for my 60 yr. old best friend (177 cal. mines 22) Please feel free to E-Mail me timmyj1959@yahoo.com Tim P.S. About the C-Mount?? Hope you have used them before&had better results than me. Just my 2 cents.

with the other members about the "C" mount and believe Dave has one of the mounts correct for the 54. Either the adjustable 5039 or the Dampa mount will work better in that gun, both made by Sports Match in the UK. I have them both in a 48 and 460

warren

PS: Don't fall in that trap with Tim, HE KNOWS a lot about air guns, just pretends to be a sleeper. LOL



and remember "it's 30% the gun and 70% the shooter"

The 48-54 guns are a new expirience if you have been cocking a older match gun, I have owned a Anschutz modell 250 for years and my 52 was the next sidelever I had purchased. Alot more effort is noticeable after using the match gun, but not too bad, don't recommend shooting long sessions at first as I am not really out of shape but I had pulled muscles or something after a very long session with mine when I first got it, very nice gun the 54 if I were to buy another of the Diana sidelevers it would be the 54.

I have been thinking of getting a new 54 instead of going hog wild for a new PCP gun.

I have had springers before and even one from Charlie the Tuna, where repeatability was a problem bwecause of hold.

Can the 54 out of the box shoot 1/2" groups at 30-35 yards, from a bench rest?

Or do you need to take a new rifle and have it tuned with all the goodies palced in it?

What scope and mounts do you recommend for the 54.

Thanks,
John Baldock
13270 W. Saddlebow Dr.
Reno, Nevada 89511
775-853-7203

I can't speak for the 54, as I don't have one, but the lowly 34 can do that. Here's my best so far, at 20yds, 8mm ctc (5/16") for 5 shots, outside, 5mph breeze. This gun is not tuned, but she and I have gotten to know each other pretty well since November, and she's eaten between 2500-3000 rounds now.



If a break barrel 34 can do this, a fixed barrel 54 should have no great trouble, once the shooter gets to know his gun.

3 months ago, my groups were 3x this size, but applying what I've learned here, on BB's blog and on Gateway, I've made alot of progress. While the gun will likely be capable of sub 1/2" at 30yds, you, the shooter, will likely take a couple months of practice to be capable of it.

I've got the bulls at 20yds from my patio rail (aka bench), and a homemade spinner target with tea and table spoons at 30yds. The teaspoons are no great challenge at that range. The challenge is hitting the round of all 4 teaspoons, and all 4 tablespoons.

J

They ought to put a warning in the box with those side levers! Mine has the belt buckle lines all over the comb too. All of them made the first day i got it. Like you say--its mine now.

Just checked my rifle and found the tell tale "laugh lines" from my belt buckle on the comb! Oh well, gives the gun some character and is the preferred alternative to my pants falling down to reveal my plumbers butt...
My 54 has 'texturing' on the angled piece of end cap below the safety that to me, translates to a purposeful ergonomic design. I nudge the action forward to the 'in battery' position and then keep my left thumb there while I cock it. The cocking lever will travel through it's last bit of arc easier as some of the force is no longer 'bleeded off' to slide the action forward.

Well, guess I shouldn'ta jumped on that C mount. Maybe I'll have a use for it, later, or just sell it on the Yellow.

It's good to know that I'm in the 48/52/54 Dings & Dents club! Now I don't feel so bad.

I have C-mounts on all my big springers including the 54. No problems with scope damage or lack of hold.

Do it right, do it once.

Kris in NY

I have a
3-9X40mm (SCP-394AOMDLTS)

Full Size A.O. Range Estimating Mil-Dot Side Wheel Red/Green Illuminated Zero Locking/Resetting Scope. Revolutionary Triple S Structure (Smart Spherical Structure) for the most effective telescopic functions. Dynamic scope body design featuring side wheel red/green illumination rheostat. Mil-dot range estimating reticle. F/B Emerald Lens Coating. Target Turrets. Full size adjustable objective scope, from 5yds up. Complete with 2.5” super sniper stackable sun shade and flip-open lens caps
30mm Full Length Integral Medium Profile Mount (RGPM2PA-30M4)

30mm diameter, 21mm width, 120mm base length, fits scope with objective up to 45mm. Integral base provides added security and stability, reducing recoil and increasing performance. Each ring with 4 screws. Fits 9.5-11.5mm dovetail
Great Gun

Hi Redfeather

This isn't exactly about a 54... I have RWS 34 and soon after I had fired about 100 - 200 shots through it I noticed that the bluing was gone from in back of the front sight on top of the barrel .

What i found was , that when I was cocking the gun , I was holding it under my right arm and slapping the front of the barrel to get it open and then grasping it with my left hand and pulling / cocking it back .

What was wearing the bluing off was my WEDDING RING !!!! >

Hope this helps some break barrel fans .

JerryL