Diana Chaser Air Rifle Test Review .177 Caliber

VALUE FOR MONEY

There’s no doubt about this! The Diana Chaser air rifle kit offers outstanding value at its Street Price of $142.99.

For that price, you receive the basic CO2-powered action, two barrels (long and short) a rifle/carbine stock, a soft case to hold it all – at least when the gun is configured as a pistol – and a single-shot tray for pellet loading.

When you add-on the 12-month warranty, two sets of sights (one for rifle use, the other for pistol), a barrel band and small bag of O rings, you have to say that it’s amazing how they can do it for the price!

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Diana Chaser CO2 Air Rifle Kit 0.22
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SPEED AND ACCURACY

In rifle configuration, the Diana Chaser tested by HAM achieved a maximum Muzzle Velocity of 676 FPS with the 5.0 Grain Predator GTO alloy pellets. The maximum velocity achieved with lead pellets was 605 FPS with the 7.0 Grain RWS Hobbys.

The velocities were obtained at an ambient temperature of 67 degrees Farenheit. That’s important to note, as we’ll discuss later in the “Comparison to Makers Claims” section of this review.

Accuracy was definitely “backyard plinking good” with a 10-shot, one hole group resulting from the 8.44 Grain JSB Exact pellets. The 10.65 Grain H&N Baracuda Match pellets were not far behind this in accuracy.

This is a good place to mention that HAM Tester Doug Wall achieved 50 “consistent-ish” shots from one 12 Gram CO2 cartridge. At shot 50 on his test, the Muzzle Velocity of the Diana Chaser rifle had fallen fairly slowly to 307 FPS. After that, it declined very fast.

This is a creditable performance for a CO2-powered airgun of this power level.

TRIGGER AND COCKING EFFORT

The Diana Chaser is fitted with a two-stage trigger. This has a light, easy first stage. Then there’s no doubt that you have come to the second stage!

Sear release is rather long and somewhat gritty. The average trigger pull weight encountered on test was 3 Lbs 8 oz. While this is not an exactly feather-weight trigger, it’s fine for the price and the intended use of plinking and close-range pesting.

There is a single adjustment screw for the trigger. However – as always – HAM tested the trigger in the condition we received it.

The safety is manual and located in the trigger blade itself. It’s of the “push across” type, simple to set and positive in action.

The bolt handle is on the left side. While unusual, it  works well and operates smoothly. Cocking effort is moderate and the O rings let into the bolt handle knob make for a secure hold in use.

COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS

The manufacturer’s claims for the Diana Chaser rifle are that it has a maximum Muzzle Velocity of 560 FPS and a peak Muzzle Energy of 7.5 Joules (5.5 Ft/Lbs).

In HAM testing, we experienced peak velocities of 676 FPS with alloy and 605 FPS with lead pellets. The highest Muzzle Energy was 7.13 Ft/Lbs, produced using 10.65 Grain H&N Baracuda Match pellets.

So – whatever way you look at it – the Diana Chaser tested by HAM significantly exceeded the manufacturer’s claims. However there’s more to it than that…

HAM testing was undertaken in an indoor range with an ambient temperature of 67 degrees F. As the Muzzle Velocity for CO2-powered airguns varies by about 2 FPS per degree F temperature change, then the gun would shoot considerably faster at higher temperatures.

Thus, at 90 degrees F (about the peak for CO2 guns), the Chaser tested by HAM would achieve a maximum Muzzle Velocity of no less than 812 FPS with 7.0 Grain Hobby lead pellets. That would give a Muzzle Energy of around 10.25 Ft/Lbs – approaching TWICE the manufacturer’s claim!

Yes, it’s true and is all part of the performance characteristics of CO2-powered airguns.

CONSISTENCY

HAM uses Standard Deviation as the measure of consistency for Muzzle Velocity in our testing. The Diana Chaser rifle we tested gave an average across the standard HAM pellet test suite of 6.56 FPS.

This is creditable for a CO2-powered airgun, however it is the result (as always) of slow, consistent shooting by HAM Tester Doug Wall. Rapid fire with any CO2-powered airgun will lead to a rapid fall in velocity and a much wider Standard Deviation figure.

Likewise, the trigger pull weight was pretty consistent also. It varied by +/- 5 Ounces around the average HAM test figure of 3 Lbs 8 Oz. Most backyard plinkers will consider this good consistency.

NOISE LEVEL

The Diana Chaser air rifle barrel includes a built-in, non-removable silencer. This – combined with the low power levels of this CO2-powered airgun – means that the report is very, very quiet.

This definitely takes “backyard friendliness” to a new level!

The short, pistol barrel is un-silenced and results in somewhat more of a “pop” when fired. But, even in this configuration, it’s not very loud. As the short barrel is threaded for an aftermarket silencer, that noise level could be reduced, too…

SIGHTS AND SCOPE

The Diana Chaser is supplied with two sets of rear sights. Both are of the “notch” type with no fiber optic inserts. However they do have screw-controlled elevation and windage adjustment.

One is mounted to the rear of the receiver and intended for use in the pistol configuration. The other is mounted atop the barrel band and is intended for rifle/carbine configuration.

For scope use, both rear sights need to be removed. However that’s a simple matter of undoing a couple of screws and tapping the front rear sight (Duh…) out of its dovetail grooves. Just don’t loose the small sight parts as the sights disassemble themselves on removal!

Once the rear sights have been removed, access is gained to the dovetail rails machined in the top of the breech for scope mounting.

Note that you’ll need high rings for a scope with 40 mm diameter objective lens – as we fitted for the test. That’s to avoid contact between the scope’s “Bell” at the front with the barrel or barrel band.

And if you plan to mount a red dot sight – an attractive option for this gun – note that you’ll most likely need an adapter as most red dot sights have Picatinny bases and will not mount directly to the Chaser’s dovetail rails.

SHOOTABILITY

At an all-up weight (including scope and rings) of just 4 Lbs 13 Oz, the Diana Chaser air rifle is very light. This makes it ideal for those of smaller physique, however with a 15.25 Inch Length of Pull, it’s still long enough for long-armed adults. So it’s an ideal “family gun” for backyard plinking competitions.

The short, pistol-style forend of the stock makes forward hand positioning a little cramped for me. But we adapted to it…

The HAM Team fitted a riflescope for this Diana Chaser air rifle review, as we anticipated that the accuracy would justify it. (It did). However, it’s clear that the rifle stock was designed with the expectation that the gun would be shot with open sights.

When a scope is fitted, the shooter’s eye line becomes much higher. Now the buttstock gives a “chin weld”, rather than the desired cheek weld.

If this was our gun, the HAM Testers would rig up a cheek pad of some sort to increase the comb height. I probably would not look pretty, however it would make shooting with the scope more comfortable and consistently accurate.

As the Diana Chaser was obviously originally designed as a pistol, the bolt handle is on the left side. While unusual, this is not a big issue once a little experience has been gained. Muscle memory soon kicks in!

Single shot loading is easy enough. The single shot tray is held in place by a small magnet. It’s best to load pellets from the left side, as loading from the right, finger pressure tends to push the tray out of alignment with the barrel.

In our opinion, the Diana Chaser would be much better shot using a magazine. Although – given the great value – it seems churlish to say so, the gun would be much better if it were supplied with a magazine.

Such magazines – 9-shot in .177, 7-shot in .22 caliber – are readily available as accessories. They are common across a number of airguns, including the Seneca Dragonfly MK2, Diana Stormrider, Diana Bandit, Diana Stormrider, Diana Trailscout, Diana Airbug, Seneca Dragonfly, and Stoeger XM1.

The magazines are tiny and a little fiddly to load at first, but overall they represent a great improvement in shootability. When you’re buying the Chaser, order a couple of magazines, too!

APPEARANCE AND FINISH

The Diana Chaser is a pleasant-looking air rifle, if rather “spindly” due its sparse, light design.

The quality of machining and surface finish on all of the external metal parts is really very good. The blacking of the barrels and CO2 tube is satisfactory while the breech is nicely powder-coated.

The synthetic stock is also nicely finished with a textured surface. There’s a visible seam where the two sides of the mold meet, but it’s not unpleasant.

The fit of mating parts is good. Everything looks to be assembled well. Overall, very good!

BUYING AND OWNING

The Diana Chaser is readily available online from Pyramyd Air, Airgun Depot and other leading specialist airgun dealers. But you’re less likely to find it in big box sporting goods stores locally.

The whole Chaser kit comes complete in a soft case with foam cutouts. It’s a very nice way to protect the gun when its being shipped to you, however the case will not hold the Chaser in rifle configuration as the gun has to be separated into its constituent parts to fit.

As usual with Diana airguns, there’s an excellent multi-language illustrated user manual in English, German, French and Spanish. The warranty is 12 months.

Unlike some CO2-powered airguns, the Diana Chaser has an unpressurized tube. The 12 Gram CO2 cartridge is tightened against a seal at the front of the valve.

That’s proved by the unusual slot cut in the side of the gas tube. What’s it for? Undoubtedly to provide access to lever recalcitrant, empty CO2 cartridges back out of the tube after use!

Another interesting CO2-related design feature is the Tommy Bar that’s provided to give additional purchase for tightening and loosening the CO2 cartridge cap. This is stored in the end of the cap and unscrewed for use. Neat!

Configuring the Diana Chaser in rifle mode requires the installation of the supplied barrel band. This holds a rear open sight for rifle use. It’s shown removed in the photograph below.

The bottom of the barrel band also incorporates a one-slot micro Picatinny rail. This can be used to attach a bipod, as shown. That’s another useful design feature for the Chaser.

TEST TARGETS

This entire article including scoring, test targets etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.

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Diana Chaser CO2 Air Rifle Kit 0.22
Diana Stormrider .22 Cal Magazine