Diana Model 52 vs Diana AirKing

Our burgeoning airgun industry is rightly a source of great pride, as British manufacturers still largely dominate the market, with highly innovative, well made products.  The developments and advances made in the last few decades are quite startling, and home grown companies have often been at the forefront, spearheading the way.

The rifles that I’m testing here, the semi-recoilless Diana AirKing (Mod 54), and it’s more straight-forward brother, the Model 52, hail from Germany; another major player, with a host of high volume airgun manufacturers and a rich history of shooting sports in general.  The Germans reputation for quality and engineering integrity means that their guns are - more often than not - way above average and aimed at the more discerning enthusiast.

Diana is an airgun brand name with an illustrious history, yet there seems some sort of identity crisis with all the name changes over the years. Basically, a company called Mayer Grammelspacher have marketed products under the ‘Original’ brand name (remember the superb Original 45 back in the 80’s?), and have now reverted back to ‘Diana’. Confused? Well don’t be. Forget the name games. It’s now simply RWS Diana and she’s got a few tricks up her sleeve.

Adult Sized All-Rounders

Whilst Diana maybe named after the Goddess of Hunting, these two offerings are clearly capable of additional duties into the bargain.

What we have here are two top quality spring powered air-rifles. My test rifles happen to be a .177 calibre AirKing, pitched against a Model 52 in the larger .22 calibre; this choice was more for reasons of availability at the time of the test, rather than anything more scientific.

The AirKing is mechanically based on the Diana model 52 action; a rather imposing, large framed rifle, aimed fairly and squarely at adult hunters and possibly HFT/FT shooters.  Both actions come complete with open sights, and utilize side lever cocking; thus maintaining the all important rigid fixed barrel for consistent accuracy.  However, though physically similar alongside each other, all is not what it seems, and the AirKing has a rather special feature cloaked neatly within its stock.

Very like the now sadly discontinued, Air Arms TX200SR, the AirKing’s action is actually semi- recoilless. This is achieved by mounting the action on a sliding ‘sledge’ mechanism which incorporates 2 mini sprung buffers.  When the rifle is fired, the whole action with the scope fitted, is forced backwards by around ¾ inch; thus counteracting the majority of recoil generated. All clever stuff, and it’s nice to see the AirKing thriving, despite the rival TX200SR’s sorry demise (apparently production costs made it unviable).

The standard Diana 52 comes in at 8.8 lbs, but the privilege of the AirKing’s recoilless action, and all that this entails, comes at a cost in terms of more weight; tipping the scales at a significant 9.8 lbs. If this doesn’t make your knees tremble, then read on.

Cocking the Action

The cocking of the AirKing action does require a fair bit of effort, but, like so many rifles, there really is a technique to achieving a far more efficient stroke.  The rubber coated lever needs to be pulled quickly in one firm motion, and the final piece of travel actually pulls the whole action forwards by ¾ inch.  As the rifle is cocked, a safety ratchet system is brought into play, and large teeth effectively block the return of the sidelever, until the user presses down a safety bar to the left of the breech.  This may sound complicated, but in practice, it’s all one smooth operation. The action sequence is basically as follows: the user grips the gun with the left hand, pulls down the large, pivoted side lever with the right hand ,setting the action and exposing the breech for direct loading of a pellet.  Once this is achieved, the safety ratchet bar is pressed and the lever can be returned to its closed position.  A small safety catch to the rear of the action can then be pressed and the gun is ready to fire.

The Model 52 action follows a near identical layout, except, with no recoil absorbing ‘sledge’ to prime, the cocking action is a little easier. The routine with the safety bar etc., is all the same.

Visually, these rifles are similar, with the actions appearing to be almost identical. What sets them apart is the tell-tale plastic block on the AirKing, just to the rear of the receiver. The gap here marks the travel of the action rearwards.

The AirKing’s stock is somewhat beefier too, and whilst both fall into the ‘sporter’ category, the near recoilless model gets a deeper forend, with wrap-around chequering, and a more pronounced cheek-piece. This isn’t to say that the timber on the model 52 is any less impressive, and with both stocks incorporating a fully extended and solid forend (a feature afforded by the side-lever action), a quality rubber butt pad, and finely figured beech, they are two quality offerings indeed.

The metalwork to both rifles is exemplary, as expected, with beautifully lustrous chemical bluing covering the metal surfaces, and I particularly liked the subtle but stylish etching on top of the main cylinder - again applied to both rifles. Just in front of the raised scope rail, a small picture of ‘Diana’ and the words ‘Diana Model 52’, are neatly picked out in silver; whilst the AirKing sees it’s name boldly picked out, which again adds a classy touch.

The sidelever itself has a subtle air all of its own, and needs no catch to retain it. What’s known as ‘over centre engineering’ sees it pulled snugly into the rifles body, and retained under spring pressure on its last few inches of travel. The tip of the lever is given a pleasant rubberized handle for comfort, and looks smart in the process.

One criticism of these rifles, coming from a traditionalist, would be the over use of plastics. I think the foresight (identical on both) is excellent, despite being ABS style plastic. It is crisply moulded, and extremely well styled and shaped. However, where the manufacturer has started to get carried away, is with the inclusion of a plastic trigger and plastic front and end caps to the main cylinder.  If it comes down to cost, surely on a rifle of this pedigree, it would be worth a few pounds more, to use metal castings. This apart, it speaks volumes for the design, that the overall impression of the gun, is still one of solid quality.

Field Test

Over the chrono I tested the AirKing with the most popular competitive pellet currently available, the JSB (Air Arms Field in this case). Like any spring piston action, it can take quite a few shots to bed in and settle down, and over time, consistency should improve.  My test example showed a rather lively action, hovering dangerously close to the limit, with an average velocity virtually on the limit.  If this AirKing was my rifle, I’d have to reduce the power somewhat, just for peace of mind. Very few rifles can stay consistent enough within a very tight margin. There’s just no point in permanently nudging the limit with power levels. Setting rifles to 11-11.5 ft/lbs would normally be perfectly adequate, and the difference in performance is negligible. Indeed, on this note, I understand that the airgun trade are currently implementing a self-regulatory policy whereby rifles are set to a slightly lower power level, (around11ft/lbs) to virtually guarantee that their products stay the right side of the law, with a wider selection of pellets; so this AirKing had most probably just slipped the net.

The Model 52 by comparison, was the model of good behaviour - generating energy at 11ft/lbs, and displaying stunning shot-to-shot variation of 5fps and 8fps with the two test pellet brands.

And so to the range.  In operation, the trigger on the AirKing proved fairly light and predictable, yet the plastic blade was a little disconcerting, with some flexibility felt.  This apart, the firing cycle was unusual and quite pleasant, with the sliding mechanism absorbing the majority of movement from the action. 

With the Model 52 sharing much the same trigger set-up, the same plastic blade is present, and I have to say that the class of rifle on offer here with both these examples, deserves a more up-market trigger - with a metal blade at the very least. Whilst a PCP ultra-fine match unit can get away with a plastic trip, the much greater pull weights involved on a spring/piston design aren’t so forgiving, and I find that slight flexibility in the blade just a little irritating. That said, the trigger does its job, and is certainly comparable to much of the opposition.

The sheer mass of the 52 action must help in absorbing recoil, making it fairly civilized to shoot; yet obviously the AirKing takes the plaudits here, with it’s near motionless shot cycle.

Accepting the intended market for these rifles, I went straight to 45 yds for a significant test of the accuracy, and was rewarded with ¾ inch groups from both rifles - pretty impressive straight from the box. Admittedly, the model 52 demands that bit more input from the shooter, with the recoiling action slightly less forgiving, yet the potential accuracy is still there. The AirKing was happy with a diet of JSB pellets, whilst the 52 in the larger calibre, wasn’t too keen with the same brand. RWS Superdomes soon restored order, and once I did my bit, the groups soon came, thick and fast-even equalling the AirKing, just requiring that little bit more effort. With time, and allowing for a bedding-in period (as with most spring rifles), I would expect even tighter groups to be achieved from both.

Weight in itself, helps to absorb recoil, and coupled with the ingenious sliding design of the AirKing, HFT or FT shooting is definitely on the cards. Because of the sheer heft and dimensions, the AirKing has to be aimed at the serious adult shooter who is after something a little different. If you just don’t fancy the hassle of pneumatics and having to deal with air bottles etc., then the AirKing offers an alternative route to near recoilless shooting. It’s a well thought out rifle, occupying a largely unique position in the market place, and as such, is well worth considering.

With it’s model 52 stablemate, offering the same great accuracy, and superb standard of finish/build quality, in a more traditional package, great choice is on offer, and in my opinion, neither would disappoint.

PRICE: £368 approx. | £270 approx.