Which air rifle is best for india

[Mack The Knife]

Mack The Knife and his disdain for Dianas

That post was primarily correcting two wrong statements made you.

As for the 'disdain', if you think a gun is worth buying just because its manufacturer has been around for hundred years, instead of a better one made by a relatively newer manufacturer, then you really have odd priorties or money to burn. Or are you trying to flog that 350 Magnum to some clueless wonder reading this board?

Insite of all the perceived drawbacks of the Diana brand they have a huge fan following....below is testament

If IHP had a forum for its crap, the membership would be in thousands. So the point you are trying to make is without foundation.

There are good Dianas and there are bad Dianas and as far as I am concerned, the 350 Magnum most definitely falls in the latter category.

[mundaire]

Well, while I may not be anywhere close to an expert on air-rifles - but for spring piston air-rifles the following would be my personal list:-

1. For accuracy and smoothness, combined with acceptable power levels - AirArms Tx200 or AirArms Prosport or HW77 or HW 97 (in that order). Once again in .22 cal.

2. For power - HW80K (carbine length) in .22 cal, with a V-Mach/ Venom tune kit installed.

3. For general plinking at cans and value for money accuracy at 10m - the Russian Baikal IZH-60 (the single shot version the 5 shot one is IZH-61). This only comes in .177 cal, but given the intended use, .177 cal would be the most sensible option anyway.

Of course this in India, and you are not going to be able to simply walk into a store and pick and choose from one of the above... If you are a rifle club member you could however, import one via post (.177 cal only)...

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[sitar]

why we can not compare diana 54 air king to the hws (97k)??

second consideration can also be price??

i dont know but it seems that hws are cheaper than diana.

[mundaire]

i dont know but it seems that hws are cheaper than diana.

If that's the case, you would have to be crazy to pick up a comparable Diana! Check any of the online retailers - comparable models of HWs are pricier than similar Dianas! The price difference reversal in India could be simply due to the fact that Diana is a "known" brand here... something akin to the fascination in rural/ semi-rural India with "Webley" revolvers - it's not based on performance or reality... just brand recall...

In my humble opinion, more than anything else, the HWs win hands down in the trigger department and end up being more accurate (much better fit and finish too)... No brand is perfect and you'll see the occasional "pig" in the HW line-up as well... I handled the HW90 that Dev had gotten hold of, and it was... well... not a pleasant gun to shoot!

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[Olly]

Well, I do second Abhijeet's assessment on the HW and AirArms rifles... well the Rekord Trigger is very unique and accuracy is superb. As far as power goes, i can break a Vitrified Floor Tile at nearly 70 ft. with my .177 HW-77K. The TX200 (.22) might shatter it completely...

[dev]

No brand is perfect and you'll see the occasional "pig" in the HW line-up as well... I handled the HW90 that Dev had gotten hold of, and it was... well... not a pleasant gun to shoot!

Cheers!
Abhijeet
[/quote]
It was abused and it is so misunderstood,but it still shoots like a beauty. All it needs is a little Tlc.
Dev

[sitar]

where is the motion of the topic

we should consider that we are talking about indians
and we ought to find the best suited air gun for common indian

[hamiclar01]

where is the motion of the topic

we should consider that we are talking about indians
and we ought to find the best suited air gun for common indian

i thought this was what we were talking about. with imports available there is no need to limit our selection . if you're looking for the best air rifle why limit yourself to a shoestring budget. btw, would be worth checking up the gunmark air rifle reviews in a previous topic on the same forum

moving to my humble opinion, the weirauch underlevers (specifically the carbined 77) are the best things i've fired so far. over the pro sport, dianas and of course, the IHP......out of the box

[mundaire]

Sitar if you are looking at ONLY the Diana 54 and the HW97, then a quick price check at Pyramydair reveals -

The Diana is priced at $529.95 (approx INR 21,198.00)
The HW97 is priced at $555.99 (approx INR 22,239.60)
Price difference is just a shade over INR 1,000/- so not much to separate them price-wise!

If you are planning on ordering one online then Pyramydair will charge you over US$ 100/- for freight+insurance, I am told Tim at Mac1 will do the freight etc. for approx half of that amount... adding customs duty on top of that would mean that your total cost for the HW97 would be around INR 33-34,000/-.... this for a brand new gun, with only the restriction that the calibre must be .177

The HW97 does not come with iron sights at all, nor does it have any provision to fit them - so you will have to use a scope... on the other hand the Diana 54 does come with iron sights fitted as standard...

Inder & Rusty have first hand experience on both of the above models and I'm sure they'll be able to add more to this discussion....

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[Yaj]

they looked good to me untill i had a word with the mother of airguns

LOL!
Yaj.

[Hunter]

Hi Sitar,

should u have the option of buying the HW or an AA then go for them. For me the Diana still works best no matter what all the soothsayers of airgunning say!

Happy shooting!

[snIPer]

I havent used the HW but the Diana is something i have used effectively and am pretty impressed with it. There is however no reason why I will not switch over to HW or anything that proves superior if i do have an opportunity to do so.

[shahid]

The Diana model 35 is an Indian generic classic. It is a high power air rifle, quite light weight and handy for general plinking purpose.

It was replaced by Diana 36 which had a safety catch but now Diana 35 come with safety catches to this market, however the new catalouge does not list it, it lists 36 only.

.22 is more popular in India but .177 has a better range and flatter trjectory. However if shooting within 20/25 yards .22 has a better wound channel ( pest control work etc. )

There are Mgnum Models like Diana 350 in .22 and .177, but not very popular. Long, heavy cumbersome to handle and inaccurate.

Why - in .22 the Diana 350 mag may be OK. But the HW 80 is superior in accuracy, construction, sights, record trigger, firing, finish everything, including handling.

If .22 then go for HW80 rather than Diana Mag 350.

Now this question of .177.

My advice - no magnums, stick to high power models like Diana 35/36/38 or 68.

Why ?

An HW 80 or Diana Mag 350 will generate Muzzle velocities in excess of 1250 fps with lighter pellets. This is above the sonic zone or Mach 1.

THis velocity will return to sub sonic at about 12 to 15 yards. At rentry into the sonic zone from supersonic the air disturbance pattern with the resultant sonic boom is going to throw the pellet off target.

My advice is a strict no for Magnum power in .177. Stick to Diana 35 and you will be happy. If scoped, use good quality single piece mounts, possibly with elevation adjustment.

There will be a pronounced barrel droop. Shimm the rear scope rings with 2 layers of old photo negative films the point of impact of your scope will improve by 3 inches.

Happy shooting, plinking, enjoy the great outdoors.

IHP Air Rifles.

These products are fairly good. Not a subsitute for stuff like Diana, but quite all right I would say.

Think of it and use it as a rung below Diana and you will not be surprised.

In National 35, use light weight pointed pellets ( imported only ) with a tight fitting Diablo Skirt at the pellet end. Results will be very accurate. Treat it like a medium power Air rifle and it will produce good plinking results, it will never exceed 1/2 inch groups at 10 m but that is withing acceptable plinking purpose limit.

[snIPer]

Shahid any reason why you would recommend light weight pointed pellets only.
Thanks

[shahid]

They have better penetration in Medium power rifles - so pointed.

Light wt. because they will generate better velocity and thus accuracy in Medium piston power plant.