I purchased this air rifle for back yard pest control this past Wednesday, July 4th, 2007. I had a serious cottontail rabbit issue and needed to resolve it asap. Following are my impressions after preparing (sighting in) and using the air rifle for its intended purpose.
Air rifle: Umarex RWS Model 34 Diana
Caliber: .177
Pellets used: RWS Superpoint Extra, Kal. .177, weight 8.2 gr
Reflections on air rifle from the box.
1] No flaws in wood. One minor surface flaw in bluing where mfg jig may have left very slight mark.
2] Barrel to receiver fit is very tight, no wobble.
3] Wood to metal fit seems very good.
4] Trigger adjusted so no discernible creep.
5] Factory open sights were high and to the right. Adjusted down and left with no problem.
Performance:
Accuracy;
1] Offhand at 20-25 yards with factory open sights: I am getting 1 to 1.5 inch 6 shot groups. The rifle is probably capable of better, I am not.
On pest cottontail rabbits:
2] Two one shot kills.
1 at about 40 feet behind the left shoulder blade as it was sitting facing away. Hopped once, rolled over and died, all within 10 feet of where hit.
The second rabbit was shot at about 15 feet behind the right shoulder. Hopped, crawled and fell over and died about 30 feet away from where hit.
Note on other aspects of rifle/caliber performance:
1] Fairly quiet, offering just a little more report than son’s Red Ryder BB rifle.
2] Heavy but well balanced for offhand shooting.
3] Factory open sights give good sight picture, front blade being visible yet not obscuring a large part of the rabbit so the shot can be delivered accurate and the kill thus is humane.
Summary:
For back yard pest control, the RWS Model 34 Diana in .177 with the RWS Superpoints is both accurate and lethal.
