Hi everyone
Full disclosure - airgun pistols are not my thing, and my experience them has been mostly "goofin' around". I am not well versed.
But !
I have recently had the chance to shoot two Diana Giss pistols - a Winchester 363 (Diana Model 6) and an Original (Diana) Model 10M.
Color me impressed!
Last night I took some shots with the 10M. Here's what I can report:
- It looks kinda heavy, but isn't.
- Build quality is top notch.
- It is shooting 7.0 wadcutters very consistently between 490 and 500 fps. ES is less than 10 fps, maybe 6 fps or so.
- Cocking is surprisingly smooth and pretty easy thanks to the long-ish barrel. Love the flip-up barrel shroud that leeps the front sight and your hand separated.
- Love the sights. And, the front sight swivels to allow it to squarely face the shooter. Cool.
- Lock up is truly impressive.
- The trigger should be in the Airgun Hall of Fame. Somehow, it is fully tactile while also being elegantly light, crisp and clean and measured in ounces. I don't know if it is a true 2 stage or just has a very light initial take up, but once you find the wall it then breaks in tune to your subconscious desires. The trigger is so good that it's nearly thrilling to use.
- I think that the grip ergo's are super, allowing me to fully control the pistol with only modest grip effort.
- The gun is simply stationary when fired.
- Accuracy is clearly top notch too, though I simply can't get by with my old eyes anymore. The targets were so blurry to me that even the black bulls were blurring into the background, color and all. That said, most groups were around the width of 2 or maybe 3 pellets (at 9 yards in my basement). Once I get my hands on a Merit aperture or similar for my glasses, I expect them to shrink dramatically. I think that the pistol can shoot true one hole groups. I'm just holding it back.
in short, I like everything about this pistol!
I also shot the Winchester 363 a few days ago, and while it isn't designed to the same level as the 10M, it is a fine shooter in its own right.
I had the same struggle to shoot over the sights, though I feel like the M6 sights were a little more visible to me. A very little, if so.
But, the M6 is definitely the not-so-little Little Brother of the 10M! The trigger is a different design but also measured in ounces, and is very clean and crisp too. The way it is adjusted, it does not have the "tactility" of the 10M but I think that a small increase in pull weight may improve it. It is an A+, where the 10M is an A+++.
The shorter barrel and sight radius work against it on paper, but not in reality. My M6 is a fine shooter, though it's a 450 fps gun with the same 7.0 grain wadcutters that the 10M launches at 500 fps.
- Cocking fells a little less smooth than the 10M, but identical to the other M6 I have shot.
- I also like the grip on this pistol, and it's weight & balance.
- The sights are good, and luckily I have a full set of front sight inserts including a standard post. It came with the low post insert installed, and is shooting very high at 9 yards. I suspect the previous owner was shooting it at much longer distances than 9 yards!
I know that it is possible to get a scope mount for these pistols, and I will be looking for an original Diana-made one. But I will find a way to get some optic on one of these pistols. I'm dying to see what they can really do!
Full disclosure - airgun pistols are not my thing, and my experience them has been mostly "goofin' around". I am not well versed.
But !
I have recently had the chance to shoot two Diana Giss pistols - a Winchester 363 (Diana Model 6) and an Original (Diana) Model 10M.
Color me impressed!
Last night I took some shots with the 10M. Here's what I can report:
- It looks kinda heavy, but isn't.
- Build quality is top notch.
- It is shooting 7.0 wadcutters very consistently between 490 and 500 fps. ES is less than 10 fps, maybe 6 fps or so.
- Cocking is surprisingly smooth and pretty easy thanks to the long-ish barrel. Love the flip-up barrel shroud that leeps the front sight and your hand separated.
- Love the sights. And, the front sight swivels to allow it to squarely face the shooter. Cool.
- Lock up is truly impressive.
- The trigger should be in the Airgun Hall of Fame. Somehow, it is fully tactile while also being elegantly light, crisp and clean and measured in ounces. I don't know if it is a true 2 stage or just has a very light initial take up, but once you find the wall it then breaks in tune to your subconscious desires. The trigger is so good that it's nearly thrilling to use.
- I think that the grip ergo's are super, allowing me to fully control the pistol with only modest grip effort.
- The gun is simply stationary when fired.
- Accuracy is clearly top notch too, though I simply can't get by with my old eyes anymore. The targets were so blurry to me that even the black bulls were blurring into the background, color and all. That said, most groups were around the width of 2 or maybe 3 pellets (at 9 yards in my basement). Once I get my hands on a Merit aperture or similar for my glasses, I expect them to shrink dramatically. I think that the pistol can shoot true one hole groups. I'm just holding it back.
in short, I like everything about this pistol!
I also shot the Winchester 363 a few days ago, and while it isn't designed to the same level as the 10M, it is a fine shooter in its own right.
I had the same struggle to shoot over the sights, though I feel like the M6 sights were a little more visible to me. A very little, if so.
But, the M6 is definitely the not-so-little Little Brother of the 10M! The trigger is a different design but also measured in ounces, and is very clean and crisp too. The way it is adjusted, it does not have the "tactility" of the 10M but I think that a small increase in pull weight may improve it. It is an A+, where the 10M is an A+++.
The shorter barrel and sight radius work against it on paper, but not in reality. My M6 is a fine shooter, though it's a 450 fps gun with the same 7.0 grain wadcutters that the 10M launches at 500 fps.
- Cocking fells a little less smooth than the 10M, but identical to the other M6 I have shot.
- I also like the grip on this pistol, and it's weight & balance.
- The sights are good, and luckily I have a full set of front sight inserts including a standard post. It came with the low post insert installed, and is shooting very high at 9 yards. I suspect the previous owner was shooting it at much longer distances than 9 yards!
I know that it is possible to get a scope mount for these pistols, and I will be looking for an original Diana-made one. But I will find a way to get some optic on one of these pistols. I'm dying to see what they can really do!
