.22 B40 prep'd by Mike Melick at http://www.airgunartisans.com/flyingdragon/ . Shot cycle is so smooth (*all* factory parts mind you ) you almost dont know it shot . Stacks pellets shot after shot and costs the same prep'd by Mike as a D34 from PA . And it has a nearly no BS warranty and the distributer will sell you parts without leaving you with a dirty feeling ...
I did say "slow boat to China" a few days ago , This one chronies 820's with precision.
Rick, I believe this is the gun that Gaylord compared to his favorite the tK200 and said the the B 40 actually shooting better. (Correct me if I am wrong). How would you compare this gun to one of your Diana's like the 460, or the 54 as far as handling?
Nice looking gun. Good Job.
I don't care if it is 1/2 the cost and comes from Timbuktu, if it does the job and the shooter/owner is happy, then that has filled 90% of the bill.
My Theoben Eliminators were about $2000+ each to get them to my front door...1 in .22 and 1 in .25....ya know what...its my .22 Diana 350 Mags that cost 1/6th of what the Theobens did that get shot 99% of the time....only shoot the others when company is over (dress to impress)...my .22 34 Panther is my friends/guests/kids gun...
Again, if the owner/shooter is happy, that is the true test.
-Curtis
PS...I still have to say that I my opinion, Diana gives us the BEST "Real German" airguns for the money...
Don't have a 460 or a 54 ...but I do have a 350M and a 48 .
They are very much like the TX's- you can use the same disassembly intructions and they can be taken apart with a phillips driver, a 5mm and 3mm hex wrench & a 10mm open end wrench . No spring compressor needed at all ,very light preload on the mainspring.Also very clean internally.
The shot cycle is very un-Diana magnum like yet it puts out 19.5 fpe with Meisterkugeln's and SuperDomes! Very smooth and steady thud . Out of the box . Mike performed a bit of polishing magic and fitting and became even better . No torque, no twang or bad manners . Internally these newer BAM's are machined pretty darned good.In other words where the fit truly counts. Externally some short cuts were taken - but even there ,are end user fixable.
The trigger is very TX like , a little bit crude finish wise but fixable with modest skill.Can be adjusted for a nice two stage light "glass rod" break. It shows in the group sizes too. Oh Yeah! group sizes ...Very Accurate and Consistant . Stacks em with the best of em .All out match guns could be debateable , but the EM611 will hold its own in that arena. (Shot that too ...I want one!)
Admittedly not OldWorld fit and finish but it doesn't hold these airguns back at all.Good guns at a fair price and the quality is getting better as they learn our tastes for inexpensive quality airguns. I rate the B40 a best buy .
I also shot Mikes B28 - a 350M by any other name is still a 350M . Impressive . Looks like a 350 , shoots like a 350 . Costs a bunch less . If Diana won't bring out a 350M in .25 , the Chinese are progressive and aggressive enough they just may . Another winner from BAM.
Hey, I have been thinking of getting two Lothar-Walther barrels (direct from L-W) in .25 and machining a custom breach block for them. I want 2 barrels in different O.D. profiles...take a look at these:
6.35mm (.25 cal) airgun barrel, no choke, 16.00mm O.D., 605mm barrel length, standard round O.D.
THEN another one that is the exact same specs as above, BUT with a polygon profile for the O.D. -- now HOW cool would that look with a recessed crown (recessed say 1/8 inch)!
Unfortunatly, L-W does not offer .25 cal air rifle barrels with a factory choke, so I could choke 'em and do the crown job myself, OR, I could pay them to do a "custom work" choke & crown...doesn't really matter to me.
Was also thinking of asking them if they have any barrel stubs (cut offs) from powder burner BULL barrels (like for varmit guns) that I could buy at the same time to turn custom shrouds for the round profile barrel...might go for a full length powder burner BULL barrel that I can cut to length to make a full-length shourd...so many possibilities...but I like the thought of matching gun metal (for grain, texture, metallurgical properties [for taking the bluing evenly and consistently]) from the same manufacturer...
-Curtis
PS....for anybody who is interested, here is the link to the Lothar Walther website going directly to their airgun barrel page...
Hey Curtis,Tim here. I mostly stick with making grips/stocks,simple "back yard" tunes & setting up new airguns for my friends. I dont have the eq. to mill new parts ect. I have an interest in 25 cal.,, but as we know,guns in that cal. are limmited,& 25 cal. ammo as well.But Ahhhh the Kodiaks are made in 25 cal. (enter smiley face!). Alot of my usual bla bla, sorry. My ? to you & others here: Any thoughts on the new Walther Falcon (25cal.)?? Maybee Turkish? I dont care if it comes from Timbucktoo! Anyone have one yet or some input? Thanks in advance. Tim.
I have been waiting for someone to fit a Lothar Walther .25cal barrel on a 350! They might be out there but so far I haven't been successful at finding anyone who 's done it. If you pull it off, I 'll buy a 2nd 350 and go with that configuration. It should be a good match along with your power tune
Diana 350 Mag .22
Hammerli 850 .22
A few Crosman CO2 & Pump .177
I have to agree with Rick on the B-40.Very nice shooting rifle right out of the box,great rifle after a tune.I,ve tuned five of them now and they,ve all turned out nice.The one that I used in the competition this would never be sold.I had a TX-200 HC and sold it because it would always take atleast three shots to get it back on target.I don,t know why,it had a full JM tune and shot like a dream after those three shots.The B-40 that I still have is one of those rifles that just does,nt seem to do anything wrong.I,m not saying it is better than the TX,I,m just saying when you factor in the price difference it wins hands down.I could tune one he!! of a B-40 and still not come close to the sticker price of a TX.
I think that a 350 Mag in .25 cal would be someting....shoot .25 cal pellets that are in the 17g+ to 28g range....not a WHOLE lot more weight than a .22 cal Kodiak (21.1g) but more SHOCK value because of the extra mass and the added kenetic energy transference!!!!!
Yep....one of my "tuned-for-power-not-smoothness" would fit the bill...add a bit of weight to the front of the piston and some spacing increases.
Oooooooooooooooooo...shivering just thinking about it!!!!!!!
When I can finally get around to doing mine, I'll let ya know how the testing goes and report to ya...will do a 2nd gun for you too if mine goes good!!!
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