Doug Wall is back with part two of his 50 years with Diana saga. This time he’s covering the current 34 EMS model. You can read part one here.
50 Years With Diana – A New, New 34 EMS
As received, the Diana 34EMS was in direct from the factory condition. It hadn’t been shot at all. As with most spring or NP powered guns, there was quite a bit of oil in it that had to be shot off to start to break in the gun. It can often take up to a few hundred shots to break in a gun properly.
Since this is just a quick evaluation, I’ll be giving my impressions on a gun that’s still pretty raw.
Below. Model 27S on the left, 34 to the right.
My first thought is that this is a moderately powerful gun, but not up to current “Magnum Class” guns. At about 14 Ft/Lbs muzzle energy in .22 caliber, it’s a nice power level for anything from backyard plinking to small game hunting.
As with almost all new “spring” guns, the cocking stroke and firing cycle can be a little rough (the 34 EMS is better than most), but this will smooth out some as the gun breaks in. The trigger is the newer, EMS trigger, that breaks at about 1 Lb. That’s a little light for my liking for a field gun.
This gun is part of the Diana EMS (Easy Modular System) that makes this a great gun for the hobbyist airgun tuner. It offers options for changing barrels/calibers, pistons, power plants, sights, and adjusting barrel droop.
Since I’m a somewhat experienced tuner, I would consider opening it up and adjusting the lubrication on the spring and internal parts. It would be interesting to do a before and after comparison.
50 Years With Diana Air Rifles – Model 34 EMS Accuracy
I put on a temporary Leapers UTG 3-9×40 scope to do some initial accuracy testing. Since the Diana 34EMS (in 0.177) was tested by HAM in 2021, I’ll just do a little “mini test” on this one.
Testing was done at 10 Yards. Of the five pellets tested, again HAM Gold Award-winning H&N Field Target Trophy (14.66 Grain weight) was the winner of this mini test, with a group of 0.31 In. x 0.25 In. CTC.
Remember that the 34 EMS is in .22 caliber, the Model 27S was .177 cal.
| Pellet | Average Muzzle Velocity | Average Muzzle Energy | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|
| RWS Hobby 11.9 Grain | 742 FPS | 14.55 Ft/Lbs | Good. |
| Crosman Premier HP 14.3 Grain | 587 FPS | 10.94 Ft/Lbs | Poor. |
| JSB Jumbo Exact 14.35 Grain | 650 FPS | 13.45 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| H&N Field Target Trophy 14.66 Grain | 633 FPS | 13.06 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. Best Tested. |
| H&N Baracuda Match 21.14 Grain | 474 FPS | 10.55 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
50 Years With Diana – Inside The 34 EMS
As a quick follow-up to this initial evaluation, I did do some minor work on this gun.
The first thing that I did was to remove the action from the stock. A note and reminder: check your stock screws! The two screws at the front of the stock were a little loose!
The next little project was to adjust the lubrication a bit. This involves removing the trigger group spring and spring guides. A SPRING COMPRESSOR IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST FOR THIS PART, BOTH FOR SAFETY AND FUNCTION!
Doug made his own spring compressor, as you can see below.
If you don’t feel comfortable doing this kind of work, there are professional airgunsmiths that can do it or you.
After the action is in the compressor, and the two retaining pins are removed from the trigger unit, the spring compressor is eased off carefully to gradually release the spring preload pressure. For this gun that was about 3 Inches of preload.
DISCLAIMER: Please note that internal modifications to airguns may void your warranty! Do this at your own risk, or wait until the warranty has ended.
While professional tuners will go with custom made spring guides, I have a tendency to keep things simple.
I start by cleaning the spring and guides. Next I flatten and polish the spring ends. I used a belt grinder to flatten the ends, and a fine flap wheel on a drill press to polish the ends.
After that, I add a little Honda Moly Paste (M77) to the spring ends, where they meet the guides. The final step is to add a very thin dabbing of ARH Heavy Spring Tar to the spring.
Some people have been having very good results using Krytox lubricants instead of the Moly and tar.
When reassembling the gun, I added a little blue thread locker to the stock screws to keep them from vibrating loose. After the gun was reassembled, the “ringing” in the firing cycle was completely gone, just a very solid “thunk” on firing!
I’m trying out an inexpensive CVLIFE 4-16 x 44 AO scope on this rifle. It gets good rating on Amazon, and since this isn’t a magnum rifle, it has a very good chance of working OK.
The last step is to adjust the trigger. The Diana manual shows all of the adjustments. The most forward screw is for first stage travel. The next screw back is for let-off point. The screw in back of the trigger is for trigger weight. I settled for a 1 Lb. 12 Oz. trigger with a decent second stage.
With a few minor adjustments, the Diana 34 EMS goes from a great gun, to something even a little better. This could be a Diana for the next 50 years!
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Diana 34 EMS .177 Cal Wood
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