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I did this review in three parts here (dutch!)m I'll do the same here as I tend to include a lot of pictures
The parts are: General observations, grouping at 50m and shotcount and velocity.Anyway, let's get to it.
DISCLAIMER: The review is for the full power caliber .22 Diana P1000. If you want a .177 or if you live in a country with a power limit on airguns, some of the stuff below might not apply. Consider moving, too, so you can shoot real airguns!
Also, I can't seem to put the pictures inline in the review text like I normally do. So all piccies are at the end in the order of mentioning.The Diana P1000 has been long in expectation as it has been shown at the SHOT show and IWA at least two years ago. Early last year there was finally a release date, october 2011. October came and went. November, december and january 2012 too, but in february 2012 it was finally there. The Diana P1000 was in the shops!
I asked one of my suppliers to give me a heads up when the rifles arrived and indeed I received an email in february with the joyful announcement that they indeed had arrived. I couldn't get to the shop right away, so I wasn't the first to get one. No, someone else I know got a P1000 before me and soon after I received a worrysome message: The P1000 had problems with the magazine indexing. It skipped pellets. Oh dear.
Anyway, I went to the shop anyway and tested the rifle. Indeed, it had the same problem so I left it there. I did make a deal though, I still want the rifle (let's face it, it's drop dead gorgeous!) and I wanted a nice scope on it too (I selected an Optisan Prestige 6Z 2-12x50). The whole batch went back to the factory to get fixed and a few weeks later I was able to pick up my brand spanking new rifle and scope combination. Of course I test fired the gun and all was well with the magazine indexing. As I understand it, the ratchet on the magazine had been modified, the dimples are deepened and the spring retaining the ball bearing stiffened. Who cares, it works
I selected the base model. Sporter stock, no silencer. The thumbhole stock is...well, I don't like it. I don't like silencers either, but if you intend to shoot this gun in enclosed or "sensitive" areas be sure to order the silencer too. Especially in full power (40+ J) this gun barks like there's no tomorrow. Diana made it so that you can basically only use their silencer, a generic 1/2" UNF threaded one won't fit. Not because the threads are different but because the reservoir extends all the way to the muzzle, leaving no room for the silencer body. Clever marketing to sell their own (expensive) can, I guess, but not very consumer friendly.
So, what's in the box?
Well, the rifle of course, duh.
See: "Box 1" and "Box 2".
It also contains a booklet, one 14 shot rotary magazine of the proper type (i.e. simple). It also contains a single shot "slide" adapter which I don't particularly like (design wise) and the adapter to screw directly into your bottle or pump. Yes people, this gun doesn't have a "quickfill", to get the reservoir filled you need to take it off the gun. The reservoir is made by Walther, but it does have a Diana label on it. And as with all Walther tubes, it can be filled to 300 bar (good luck with that if you have a pump).
See: "Airtube 1"
The rifle itself shaped very nicely. I'd call it classic. It comes in a two part beech stock. This might sound cheap for a gun of this (E1000) price range but it looks nice enough. I would prefer a nicely figured walnut though.
See: "Overview 1"
A nice detail is the forestock has been shaped properly around the airtube.
See: "Forestock 1"
The Diana P1000 is a socalled Sidelever gun. It means you pull a lever to cock the gun. The stroke is quite short and reasonably light for a 40+J gun. It feels a bit "new", hopefully it'll wear in after a tin or two of pellets.
See: "Sidelever 1"
The magazine is how I like it most. Simple in design. I've seen them more simple, but this will do. At least it doesn't have any moving parts, springs, grease holes and whatever else manufacturers come up with these days, so they should be fairly cheap to buy as spares (as opposed to the idiotic amounts of money "other brand" magazines cost). The flipside of a simple magazine design is that all the indexing mechanics are hidden inside the gun, and that can become quite complex. We've already seen with the false start of this gun that it's quite hard to do right and if something goes wrong the you're out of a gun as it needs to get fixed. Every upside has its downside I guess. Anyway, the magazine is simple to load, just push the pellets into the holes and be done with it. 14 holes, if you're a good enough shot that's all you need in the field
See: "Magazine 1"
Placing the magazine in the gun is easy too. Pull the sidelever back to clear the bolt, slide the locking button back for the central magazine pin, and place the magazine in the slot. A ball bearing will hold it in place for you, but don't forget to slide the central pin back!
See: "Breech 1"
Next up is to shoot the gun. Pulling the trigger feels nice. It's a large trigger blade which sits in an also large guard. If you like to shoot with gloves on, this is the gun for you, plenty of room! Anyway, the trigger itself is a fully adjustible two stage trigger which has a long first stage travel and a bit heavy break right out of the box. Not unpleasant for a hunting gun maybe, but for target shooting I need to set it to my liking. But hey, that's different for everyone.
See: "Trigger 1"
In general, the build quality of this rifle is very good. It has nice wood, nicely coated metal, it all feels solid and heavy. Well engineered piece of kit!
This also shows inside the gun. I received these pictures from someone who isn't afraid to pull apart a brand new gun. So if you ever wanted to see what a Diana P1000 looks like on the inside, this bit is for you!
See: "Intestines 1" to "Intestines 4"
In the next bit we'll shoot the gun on the 50m indoor range!
- Box 1
- Box 2
- Airtube 1
- Overview 1
- Forestock 1
- Sidelever 1
- Magazine 1
- Breech 1
- Intestines 1
- Intestines 2
- Intestines 3
- Intestines 4
