Canadian Airgun Forum

Just bought a Diana 48 .177. Goal is to rid my yard of as many Grey Squirrels as possible. 20yrd shots max. Assuming they group well what weight range and style should I look for?

The Diana 48 is a powerful spring piston rifle. You may wish to try heavier .177 pellets such as JSB Exact Heavy in 10.34 grains, available in 4.52mm head size, or H&N Baracuda Match in 10.65 grains, available in 4.50, 4.51, 4.52, and 4.53mm head size. The JSB would be a good pellet with which to start.

Also the H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme, .177 Cal, 9.57 Grains, Hollowpoint might be a good choice if you are hunting.

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Ed.

Crossman Ultra-Heavy 10.5gr. shoot well in most .177's as a less expensive alternative. Every .177 I've had liked them, as well as the Predator pellets, however they are only 8gr.

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Best Wishes
Daryl

I agree with the above, plus I'd add the H&N Crow Magnum, which is devastating to pests. Round nose pellets are excellent but they typically pass thru, the Crow Mag is a hollow point that actually opens up (unlike most) so energy transfer is much greater. You see and hear the difference when they hit.
Fyi, my Diana 52 tried to crush/amputate my fingers, so be wary. The safety device designed to prevent exactly that did not work, and by looking at it I don't see how they expected it to work. So I'd say hold the cocking lever while loading it as if you expect it to release at any moment, because it may. My gun was made ~1985 so maybe they fixed that, but I doubt it.
I'd also check the bore to see what kind of shape it's in. It could be very rough, have tight spots, even screwed up rifling. I think in most cases all those are fixable but fyi. To check I push a pellet thru by hand, which is easy on a break barrel but not so much on yours. You should have a choked barrel so you can't push it thru from the muzzle end since it's tighter. I'd pull the gun apart so I could use a dowel to do it, but I guess if it shoots good enough as-is then no worries.
Have fun with it, just be wary.

Much as I like my .177s.....they won't do THIS to a soup can.....or a squirrel
Crow magnum 18.21 grain...602 fps......nice damage and still fast enough for shorter range targets to 30 yards or so....as shown in the pic......however.....the ..177 crow mags expand much better....as mentioned in the above post, while the .22 version I think is moving too slow for good expansion.....at least from my gun.....still though..... they provide a heck of a hole....

Crow magnum .177 is all I use for hunting past 30 yards..

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The cave you fear to enter....holds the treasure you seek

I don't know what pellets you are currently using, but if they are grouping well, they will easily kill the grey squirrels.

I have heard that .177 often penetrate right through. I'm hoping to minimize that. I am hoping a hollow point groups well enough as it should transfer more energy if it stays inside the squirrel. Shots will be 10-20 yards only.

I have to agree with lesrock......At 10-20 yards...just about ANY pellet will be effective...however....You may find Crosman Destroyers a good choice....they expand well...and they're readily available......keep in mind though that even an expanding pellet will probably exit a squirrel at THAT distance....I think your main concern would be shot placement.....so the most accurate pellet is the best....whether its a round or a hollow point.

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The cave you fear to enter....holds the treasure you seek

I'll 2nd and 3rd the Cr. Ultra Mags with a minor caveat....

They seem to like being driven in my pumpers and pcp guns: a little zip seems to tighten groups....
Definitely a pellet to try.

-D.S.

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"Ain't no half-way"
-S.R.V.

Despite the range/velocity I noticed that many squirrels/rats ran off when hit with a round nose 177 unless hit in the brain/spine/heart. Sure they still die, but I don't care for unnecessary cruelty and you might not like where they go to die. For me the Crow Mag fixed that with critters dropping on the spot even when I missed the above vitals, but as a bonus and additional evidence of their effectiveness I saw a lot more critters get blown off the branch/fence etc where as before they would usually hang on.
You can also try putting Crosman Premier in backwards for a poor mans hollow point. They actually work pretty good but not ideal for power or accuracy. Try some on water balloons, eggs, clay etc and see.

Any .177 pellet close to 10 grains should be sufficient with your rifle to take down those squirrels. I also use the Crosman Ultras at 10.5 gr.

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Megiddo65

What rifle, pls, MyCrossman?

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Best Wishes
Daryl