Here's my HYSCORE 810M. This rifle is a labor of love. It came to me from an auction a few years ago. It didn't shoot and the stock was a mess. However, somehow the bluing was nearly perfect. So, I got the idea to save it from the scrap heap.
I sent it to Scott Blair of Airguntunes. He managed to work a small miracle and make it into a functional work of art.
I had the 810 aka Diana 60 out today for some target practice. I shoot at 20 yards so twice the distance it was made to complete at. The 810 is well balanced for what by today's standard would be a big rifle. The cocking is butter smooth like you'd expect from a fine instrument. Squeeze the trigger and immediately you know
[/attach] how sublime it is. You'd be hard pressed to find a finer trigger action. The release is no different than shooting a pcp. The proof being the consistent one hole groups.
What a wonderful mechanical devise this Giss System is. Incomprehensible to think the technology is over 50 years old and totally mechanical. To those not familiar with the Giss guns, there's a great blog by BB you can look up.
never had a 60 series rifle and may never get to try one but I do own 3 model 75 T01 's and there trigger are as light as feather and I have 11 Giss pistols 6-6g-6m-10's, I just couldn't stop
so yes they are fine guns and yes they were ahead of there time
the 60's must be fun to shoot being lighter, well they are not lighter after looking in the Blue Book, but still fun to shoot
the good thing is parts can be had out of Germany but for how long is the question, with the company changing hands last year ?? thing seems to be different
but for those that don't have a Giss System rifle or pistol and you get a chance to buy one at a fair price in working order---been rebuilt---think about getting one and it would help me a lot I have enough???
take care
mike
oh and that's a great looking 60
That's a beautiful rifle - a tip of the hat for bringing this beauty back to the land of the living!
I have two model 60's. One is a standard model, like yours marked "Hyscore 810" and made in 1967. It was one of the last guns rebuilt by RWS in New Jersey back when they were the main importers. The other is a Tyrolean with RWS markings, made in 1982. Randy Bimrose brought this action back from the dead, it's a great shooter and quite strong velocity-wise.
If you take the barrel sleeve off, the model 60 is about the same weight, and slightly shorter, than the contemporary recoiling HW 55. It's my favorite Giss gun, the perfect marriage of old-time workmanship and "modern" recoil-free technology, nice and compact with a great trigger.
The model 60 was introduced in 1963 (same year as the first of the all-conquering FWB’s, the model 150). The model 65 came along in the 1968. The main change was replacing the 60's simple ball-bearing auto barrel detent, with a wedge detent having a manual barrel locking lever. It also had a slightly longer action (with a modified rear piston that allowed removing the springs without taking out the entire power plant). The model 66 replaced the 65 in 1974, but the only change was the stock. The fixed-barrel model 75 was introduced in the summer of 1977. All of these guns use the same springs and piston seals, by the way.
Many don't realize that the model 60 continued to be manufactured as Diana's Junior or lower-priced introductory model, until 1983! It out-lived the "improved" 65/66 action, and remained in the catalog alongside the model 75 for several years.
Well guys...thanks for sharing! Mike, as usual, you are a wealth of information. I didn't know any of that. I'd love to SEE those beautiful rifles. Especially the tyro!
I do have a couple of HW55M rifles as well. They are as accurate as the 810M, but the trigger and the Giss system make it a more consistent shooter.
I knew about the pistols and I may even have one and not realize it! I need to do some searching in my safe. Either way, thanks for taking the time to enlighten us all.
Personal opinion....but the giss system is recoilless (or counter-cancel motion). Loved the FWB 150/300's, but if they didn't actually recoil, then why did the action move on the rails?....effect was about the same,but basically the FWB's were recoil-isolation systems.
I take out these old photos of a pair of RWS 75's every so often to post....back when they really went the extra mile and actually made a ture mirror image left handed rifle.
Have no idea what it would cost to make these rifles today (they certainly are internally complicated critters)….know enough that finding a good one and having it rebuilt is a comparative bargain.
Maybe an award for the most convoluted stock design...they made it complicated enough that there is no comfortable way to shoot a "right"gun from the left shoulder or a "left" gun from the right shoulder.
It's a "fishtail" stock with a vertical "off" side/sharp cornered comb...very unfriendly to crossing the handedness line.
Thanks for the reminder! I’d meant to drag these old archive threads up for my first post, but ran out of time...
Here is the 1967 Hyscore 810:
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/thedianawerkcollective/diana-model-60-in-detail-t3073.html
And here is the 1982 RWS 60 Tyro:
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/yellow/more-old-springers-diana-model-60-tyrolean-t208585.html
And this is a great place to thank our forum host for the miracles he performed in creating the archives for this forum! I really thought these photos were lost forever after the great Photobucket debacle, so I’m doubly delighted to be able to share them.
More superb photos of collectible Dianas can be seen at his Vintage Airgun Gallery site, too. This should be at the top of every old-airgun nut’s bookmark list!
https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery.com/post-war-diana-air-rifles/
Personal opinion....but the giss system is recoilless (or counter-cancel motion). Loved the FWB 150/300's, but if they didn't actually recoil, then why did the action move on the rails?....effect was about the same,but basically the FWB's were recoil-isolation systems.
Well said! Technically speaking the Feinwerkbau “sledge” action is not “recoilless” at all, rather it just re-routes the recoil to a spot where it doesn’t get in your way.
The design is utterly ingenious in its simplicity, sturdiness, and effectiveness; but if there’s a downside it’s that the guns are very specialized 10-meter machines. If you aren’t holding the action pretty close to level, the feel gets a bit clunky.
I appreciate the kind words!
It seems to me that collectors tend to regard Diana guns as a step down from FWB, Walther, or Anschutz. But the old 60-series barrel-cocking Giss guns are truly something special IMHO. In particular the workmanship and finish on the wood is absolutely second to none.