AOA Blog

The typical springer recoil is very much present as it pertains to the scope, even though the “Retrograde Break Mechanism” on this Airking Pro reduces the felt recoil fairly effectively. Even with this slingshot sled system the typical springer forward & backward recoil caused my Mamba-Lite scope to creep back until I installed a stop pin. I didn’t believe a stop pin was necessary due to the Diana system, but I was wrong. My suggestion is to use a non-permanent thread locker compound on the muzzle cap socket-head screws. (Don’t want to call it a muzzle weight as it is made of aluminum and doesn’t really fit that designation). This should secure them yet still allow easy removal should you desire to replace it with the unit that contains the ramp front sight. I had assumed that was done at the factory. Again, I was wrong and after a hundred shots or so the cap took a dive onto the concrete (Sorry AofA…). With springers it is a good idea to check the stock screws regularly to ensure accuracy doesn’t suffer. That would also apply to scope and scope mount screws when in use. Add to that list any set screws that hold other attachments or you might be sorry.

Results from my time with the Airking Pro were excellent, as would be expected from an air rifle in this price category. The trigger pull of the T06 trigger out of the box was a very light one pound 3.3-ounce average. I prefer a little less take-up on triggers, but since adjusting it would require rebalancing between the adjustment screws, I believed discretion was the better part of valor in this case and left it alone. There are good videos on YouTube regarding adjusting the T06 and the friendly folks at AofA would also be good resources to check with.

Using a variety of pellets from Hatsan, JSB, SigAir, RWS and Predator International, the Airking Pro showed a definite preference for heavier domed pellets. The one exception was with the Predator lead-free GTOs at only 11.75 grains, which are still domed pellets. They landed higher on the target, but after adjusting my elevation turret to match the point-of-impact, the accuracy was excellent. The other pellet I had excellent results with was the new JSB Hades at 15.89 grains (See accompanying photo). The Hades, for those unfamiliar with it, has three triangular cuts in the domed head that cause expansion on contact with soft tissue, making them a hunting round as opposed to everyday plinking or target shooting. The Hades edged out the JSB Exact Jumbos of the same 15.89 grain weight by just a bit in my testing.

Results from behind the chronograph were impressive. Diana rates the Airking Pro in .22 as a 900fps airgun. Typically, these figures are derived from the use of lightweight lead-free pellets. Shooting the GTOs, the highest individual pellet speed clocked at 889.3. Close enough for government work and most likely they would have broken the 900fps barrier if I were shooting at sea level versus 6200 feet. The Extreme Spread was 11.74 with the Standard Deviation being 5.00.

Consistency between shots was very good for a springer with ES and SD being low across the majority of pellets tried.

The Diana Model 54 Airking Pro Laminate retails on the AofA website at $739.99. As mentioned before, it comes with a two-year warranty. MTC scopes can be found here and scope rings/bases here. These German made beauties are brand new, so get ‘em while they’re hot!