I'm starting to notice a slight drop-off in accuracy with my 54 as I approach 2000 shots on her. Mostly an increase in fliers and difficulty getting the tack-driving groups I was getting after she settled down around 1000 shots. There's no loss whatsoever in power, just much wider groups than I routinely get on her.
The daily diet is the 14.3g CP's and I've read about how they can dirty up the bore pretty badly in high powered rifles and how tight the groups come back up after a good cleaning. What I haven't been able to find is pretty reliable information about a safe and effective way to clean the bore of the 54 without causing any damage to it. I've read a few articles about this from BB Pelletier, but he's been a little inconsistent in his cleaning advice and is never really clear about exactly what to use(rods, brushes, pads, cleaning pellets, to use or not use in a Diana, etc...), other than JB NonEmbedding compound to clean with.
I would love to hear how some of you guys clean your Diana's, how you do it, any problems associated and post clean accuracy results!
I usually get her naked first then jump in the shower making sure the water is nice and warm and holding her hand.Next comes the..never mind(sorry i couldn't resist).
I use Goo-Gone on my .22 cal.48,from the breech I insert a piece of 24" plastic weed wacker line I have melted a ball on one end with a bic lighter then thread .22 cal cleaning patches onto the line soaking them with G-G.Sometimes I will insert a Q-tip soaked with Goo-Gone ahead of the patches and pull it thru.In many cases this will need to be repeated many times until the patches come out clean.
Do not be surprised if your first few shots are all over the place.This is normal and should correct itself with a few shots fired thru your bore.The more patches you add to the line the harded it is to pull thru the bore,to many and you loose the whole works because the ball will pull thru the patches.
had the same problem. crosman premiers (in the cardboard box) are very accurate in my 54 so i shot them almost exclusively. the "dirtyness" from crosman premiers is graphite and doesn't harm the barrel. The alloy used in crosman premiers that makes them harder than the all lead pellets (like jsb exacts that I now shoot in the 54) will/did leave deposits in my 54 (and most guns that shoot over 900 fps)and accuracy suffered in my 54. Ideally you want to disassemble the gun and clean from the breach. To just clean the barrel it's tough to justify taking the 54 apart. If you're extremely careful not to nick the crown and not drag the cleaning rod against the edge of the barrel I would suggest using a DEWEY, nylon, one piece cleaning rod and grip the handle so the rod is allowed to rotate, put a brass/bronze brush on the end, load it up with JB non-embedding bore compound, and SCRUB the barrel. Secure some cloth in the loading chamber to catch the metal pieces from the crossman premiers and excess jb compound that you will push into the chamber. You will probably find, like I did, small metal pieces on the brush in the bore compound when you extract the brush. Follow as usual with patches until clean. My accuracy returned immediately. Running patches through the barrel alone will not dislodge these metal filings left from crosman premiers. I now only shoot crosman premiers in my lower powered springers for this very reason.
Sounds pretty much similar to what Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier) said to do when shooting CP's. I'll have to give that a try.
Do you find that the JSB's are not as accurate in your 54 as the CP's? Gaylord's review of the 54 showed the CP's to be much more accurate than the JSB, so that's why I've used them almost exclusively as well. Otherwise, it would be nice to get the same accuracy, trajectory and BC in the JSB's and not dirty up the barrel as much.
and there is one in your owners manual. Both advise using the RWS chamber lube and/or RWS spring cylinder lube as they are compatible with the seals in the gun. If I recall the recommended cleaning interval is 1000 rounds and very little lube is needed. I use the RWS flexible push through cleaning rod (its plastic) and use 22 cal cleaning pellets (any brand) soaked in spring cylinder lube til they come out clean. Hope this helps.
Cool just did a test post and you do not need to be a member to post (it a pain in the butt sometimes make an account).
I know for myself i think it was cheaper and a better deal to buy the RWS shooters kit.Bought it from Pyramid air for something like 29+ s&h.I ordered some other items so the s&h wouldn't figure into the cost TOO much.The spring and compression lubes if separate are around $15 avg. for both.Rod say 8-10 bucks,the stupid friggin needle is over $5 separate...so right there your up to 30.The thing that sealed the deal for me was you get about 500 rws pellets (2 tins of 250).That is about 6 bucks for the type of pellets they give you (not the hobby crap).You also get something like 20 cleaning pellets and some targets...maybe tack on another 2 bucks if bought separate.So think it was worth it in the end.
Break the barrel and cock the gun. GOD DAMMIT DON'T HIT THAT SAFETY OFF AND PULL THE TRIGGER OR YOUR GUN WILL LIKELY BE RUINED!!!!!!
Look down the barrel and see how bad it needs to be cleaned. If it's bad, DO NOT skip step 1, if not bad, go to step 2.
1) Use a .177 brass bore brush with a cleaning rod that has a rotating handle.
2) Use a .177-.22 100% cotton bore mop.
I do three passes with each. First one from the breech, then the muzzle, and breech agaian.
3) Peer down barrel again and look for any foreign matter.
4) Put a few drops of Hoppes #9 down the barrel, wipe excess off breech and gently blow down to get the oil moving. Once a drop lands on the ground, I load up with a pellet and shoot it.
5) I shoot it another 2-3 times to get all the excess oil out of the barrel, but it leaves enough for me to let it sit without corrosion.
The thing about cleaning always from the breech comes from the firearms world where the bolts are easy to take out and the old cleaning rods (and the new soft ones) picked up grit and sand. It was the sand and the grit that destroyed the crown.
Nowadays, SOME airguns have softer steel barrels that can end up pretty much the same way. High quality airguns, like HW's, Walthers, Steyrs, Dianas and others of the same quality do use hard steel barrels.
It is still, anyway, an intelligent measure to protect your crown. Mac 1 sells a Crown Protector that is a plastic funnel that you put in the crown before pulling the worm/weed-eater line.YOu cn make a crown protector using handtools and simple materials, just make sure that it stays in place when you pull the line and MOST IMPORTANT: make sure the line is CLEAN when pulling it.
The other method is to use the modern rod's capabilities to disassemble: You take the rod, put it INTO the gun without a patch and then wrap the patch around the patch keeper and screw it into the rod when the gun is opened. THIS MEANS A COCKED GUN! BE CAREFUL!
In essence: just protect the rifling crown and you'll be fine. Goo Gone is an excellent cleaner as it will degrease the bore, JB bore paste is a mild non-embedding abrasive that will also polish the bore a little at a time.
Now, having said that, my guns ALMOST NEVER need cleaning. Why? because I lube my pellets.
There are conflicting testimonies about pellet lubing, but CP's are, IMHO, the pellets that need MOST lubing. I clean and lube ALL my pellets: Crosman or JSB, RWS or H&N. If you enjoy cleaning your gun, then it is alright, but if you enjoy more shooting than cleaning, I would advice using clean, oven-toasted-Pledge'd, pellets.
Dear forum-members: the way ( for me ) to keep my 48 in topcondition and keep my barrel superclean and lubricated is a kind of ritual:
*after shooting I spray a little Ballistol in the barrel and fire two
pellets ! A small cloud of Ballistol is leaving the barrel.
*every week ( after some shooting ) I press a cloth cleaning pellet (for .177 )
dipped in Ballistol in the barrel, put a Diana / H&N pellet behind it
an fire the rifle. Always a second pellet behind to "blow the cloth parts"
away.
*the stock ( the genuine Diana ) was always done with Balsin clear stockoil
from Ballistol, I think I use this also for the Ginb stock in the future.
*the moving cylinder from unpainted / unblued metal is well lubricated with
an American product !! called Super Lube from the Synco Chemical Company,
well known and it has an very high burning / flamepoint ( +250 degr. C. )
so ideal for our rifles. ( whenever it -what's nearly impossible- reaches
the compression chamber it will give no dieseling ).
Everybody has his own method but in the USA there are a few good products
like Molykote 111 and 44 for sale, good for the air rifle. It seems diffi-
cult to find the Ballistol but I amsure it's for sale in your country.
Warren has some experience with it now and possible he can give an impres-
sion if yoy ask him, best regards from Johannis.
I usually run a patch lightly soaked with Hoppe's #9 with a rod and let the gun sit for 10 minutes to soak and penetrate. I then run a boresnake through about 4-5 times and that gets my barrel sparkly clean! I test by shining a low-level flashlight from the breech end and look down from the muzzle end. Shiny!!
you have the wood stock, action, trigger, spring, breech and the barrel inside and out
for the wood stock I use Old English oil, action I wipe it with Silicone oil after I use it, for the trigger I lube it with fishing reel oil, the breech seal and also the spring. the barrel is cleaned with Go be gone or Lucas Oil Gun Oil
but, if you want to avoid all this trouble every 1,2,3 months then clean and LUBE your pellets, just like Hector say's. a clean and lubed pellet leaves very little residual of the lead in the barrel, it takes a longer to clean and lube pellets' but compared there is less wear and tear by cleaning everything in your air gun
maintenance is one thing, deep cleaning is another
warren
and remember "it's 30% the gun and 70% the shooter"
Howdy Hector, I enjoyed your reply to the cleaning question. Would you please describe your method for getting those "clean, oven toasted and Pledged pellets.
Thanks alot
I spray Pledge right down the barrel. Been known to heat the barrel with a hair dryer and then spray the old pledge down the ol barrel and blow hot air in from the breech side. Seems to work. I also Pledge the pellets when I remember to.
Pretty sure I got the Pledge idea from you Hector. But how I do it probably isn't the way most people do it lol.
I was first introduced to this Product "Ballistol" by my friend and great tuner MZ.This product is great. Used by the Russian Soldiers in subfreezing temp. for their guns.It does everything from protecting guns to protecting your shoes. You could even drink it, as it is not-toxic. Just recently I purchased a Beeman C1, The gun was brand new. (Right out of the box. It had been sitting near a wall in the store and some how some small specs of paint or something had speckled the stock. I could not get it off. That night I lubed the gun barrel and the stock as I do with all my rifles. The next day the spots were gone. You can order from the site below, or from Pyramid Air. I have it has a spray, and bought a 16 ounce bottle. It is great for many uses. Terrific product!!
Jan, thank you. I am lucky in that I have found a gun shop locally that carries Ballistol. I am stocked up, as I use it for so many things. By the way, it is great for lubing pellets.
Best wishes!
Dave
By the way, if there is any thing you need here in the US, just let me know.
Put some pellets in a colander in a shallow tub-dish (separate and use ONLY for pellets!)
Put some dishwasher liquid or any other bio-degradable detergent on the pellets. Pour some HOT water on them. Swish around. They should foam and the foam is what takes the grime away. Grime makes lead particles stick to the pellet and it prevents you achieving top accuracy as well as leaving residue in the barrel. Look at what remains after washing 500 Copperhead pointed's in .22":
each small grain of sand is a potential "flyer".
Once you have them washed, you dry them. You either blow them dry, using an old hair drier, or put them in a toaster/oven for 4 minutes to dry them. Both techniques work well, I find it easier now to use the toaster/oven, as it leaves me free for those 4 minutes, but the drier or heat gun approach will also work.I transfer the pellets from the collander to a pellet tin or other metallic container to put them in the oven.
When they are HOT and DRY, you spray them with Pledge/Blem, it should smoke on the first two sprays, I seldom use more than 4 quick bursts.
Once the pellets are sprayed, I swish them around in the tin to ensure that all the pellets are evenly covered with the wax.
When they are uniform and "snowy" looking, I put them again in the oven for another 4 minutes.
When they come out they are clean, lubricated and for all intents and purposes, the lead is "sealed" inside a wax envelope.
If you want to sort them, now is the time, or simply shoot them.
It's easy and with the toaster/oven technique, it takes very little effort.
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