Hatsan test.

[d2wing]

I bought 3 Hatsan air rifles and they all came this week. an Alpha for my grandson, An Airtract because it was a great deal, refurbished for $50, and a Hatsan 95 also refurbished because I wanted a .22.
The Alpha turned out to be harder to cock than I expected. accuracy was so-so. It might be a little much for the grandson.
The Airtract was a pleasant surprise light, not bad to cock, reasonably accurate and decent power.
The 95 was as expected much harder to cock. It was in 22, the others were .177. It needed a little break in to ease the cocking effort. It seemed pretty powerful but surprisingly recoil wasn't bad at all. It has a recoil reducing system. Accuracy was pretty good but just using open sights at close range.
At first I used Crosman Piranhas in the .177's. I had to check twice to make sure they weren't .22 cal. I had to drive them in to shoot them. I thought the guns were defective but then i found some old .177 pellets and they slide right in. I checked reviews and the Crosman Piranhas run oversize and don't fit many air rifles.
I shot them in my garage using a heavy duty bullet trap. The 95 was pretty loud. None of them recoiled badly and the triggers were good. None came with scopes and my eyes are not great. so not much in the way of accuracy report. Maybe with break-in and scopes they will be great.
I am looking forward to trying out my HW30S when it gets here.

 

[wesmonster]

I just picked up a Hatsan 95 .25 cal. Yea, takes some effort to cock compared to my old Gamo .177. But has some punch. Like the fiber optic sights but added a red dot, easier for these old eyes. The new QEs are quieter but I wanted a springer, heard too many stories about the gas pistons leaking down and replacements are $50. That Turkish walnut is very nice for the price. Recoil is surprisingly tame, you can feel the vibration in most springers, this one is smooth.

 

[HJ857]

Refurb Hatsan. 30 day warranty last I knew. Shoot it a lot within the next 29 days because you just don't know. Mine lasted more than 30 days but a lot less than a year. Repairs are possible though.

 

[d2wing]

Years ago I had a GAMO. GAMO is junk compared to this.

 

[Armored farmer]

I like my hatsun 95 .22, but nothing to compare to since the Crossman and Daisy Powerline of my youth.

 

[d2wing]

A GAMO really soured me on Springers but I decided to give them another try. My CO2 QB 78 is a nice little gun but it lacks power and forgetting to empty CO2 out once ruined it. I like the idea of PCP's but hate the idea of pumps, then emptying it everytime.
If I need more power, I have some nice .22 LR. rifles.

 

[3Crows]

A GAMO really soured me on Springers but I decided to give them another try. My CO2 QB 78 is a nice little gun but it lacks power and forgetting to empty CO2 out once ruined it. I like the idea of PCP's but hate the idea of pumps, then emptying it everytime.
If I need more power, I have some nice .22 LR. rifles.

I really do not like spring or air piston rifles. The smaller ones can be fun (and even accurate) but anything large enough to hunt with, not so much. I know that opinion is not shared by many but over the years I have not had good luck with them. Saying that, my Stoeger X20 in .177 has been and still is a good shooter. It kind of sits at that point where it is strong enough to be useful (12 to 14 fpe) but not so much that it beats up scopes, slaps my face and tears itself apart.

You do not have to empty a PCP rifle each time, it is best to leave them filled. Who told you that was needed? Same with pumper rifles like the Crosman 362 or the Benjamin 392, best to leave them with a two or three pumps.

I get the point about a 22 rifle as I have a fleet of them but a PCP does have a niche. A pellet just does not fly as far or ricochet as much. I do like the CCI Quiet Segmented and CCI Auto-Quiet, if you can find the dang stuff, low energy and low noise. But the CCI Quiet does fly further than a pellet even if the PCP rifle has more muzzle energy.

3C

 

[d2wing]

I got that idea from my CO2 rifle seals going bad. Also comments about it other places. Some guns have a valve to let the pressure out. PCP's might be a good option but the expense and hassle isn't worth it to me. That is no reflection on those that like them. I am curious about if you can really leave them under pressure. That would make a difference. And you make a point about how they fit in.

 

[d2wing]

Hunting with a pellet gun to me is getting away with shooting pests in my yard in town. Not hunting hunting. LOL.

 

[d2wing]

Update Hatsan Alpha. This is marketed as a youth rifle. It is smaller but is not a toy. I test fired it today again. Turns out the accuracy problem was poor quality pellets. It shot pretty well today, open sights close range. Cocking effort was a little better, but I would say teens or up is more like it. Still low pellet count though.

 

[3Crows]

I got that idea from my CO2 rifle seals going bad. Also comments about it other places. Some guns have a valve to let the pressure out. PCP's might be a good option but the expense and hassle isn't worth it to me. That is no reflection on those that like them. I am curious about if you can really leave them under pressure. That would make a difference. And you make a point about how they fit in.

The depressure "valve" tool is to allow the rifle to be worked on. There is no need to depressurize a PCP rifle, none I know of. I leave mine charged. It is recommended to do so. But, now, a spring rifle cannot be left cocked. There is various opinion how long they can be left cocked, maybe for the duration of a stalk. Air pistons are different, I suppose it okay to leave them cocked for a period of time when hunting.

I am about spring rifles like you are about PCP, they are too much hassle for what I get from them.

I expect accuracy out to 50 yards on par with a good .22LR with good ammo. I can get that with a PCP, a powerful spring rifle, beats me. That harsh slamming reverse recoil at that power level is not enjoyable.

3C

 

[d2wing]

Interesting. Thanks for the info. I checked and you are right about leaving air pressure in a PCP. That makes them a better option. I do like how they shoot.
I also confirmed that I am right about CO2 guns. I didn't realize that PCP and CO2 were that different. CO2 guns should not be left charged as that can damage seals. In my case it did. However I bought a shop manual from Archer to repair my QB78 and I found out that just using Pelloil can repair or prevent seal damage in a CO2. I put some on the exposed seals then put some on a CO2 cartridge and shot the CO2 and peloil through the rifle until the CO2 was empty as per instructions in the manual. I am happy to report that it worked I think. I will test it today.

 

[d2wing]

Thanks and after learning that I will consider a PCP gun. But right now I am in trouble for buying the guns I did so that will have to wait. SO many guns to buy and a wife that doesn't like me buying them. It wasn't a problem until she retired and can keep an eye on me.

 

[d2wing]

I scoped my air rifles and sighted them in or tried to. The Airtract was not real accurate, at 15 yards it shot in a 1.5-inch circle and recoiled more than the others. Of course, the HW30s was accurate and was pretty good to shoot. Not much recoil and fairly easy to cock. It was hard to adjust the scope because it shot so low. The Hatsan 95 was surprisingly accurate and unlike the others did not shoot low. At 15 yards it shot nice tight groups except some shots were high right. Not sure if that was operator error or what. It was hard to cock but recoil was mild. The HW30 is best all around. When more power is needed the Hatsan 95 is a good option. The Airtract is about what you would expect for $55 refurbished.

 

[Ascot500]

I disagree that CO2 guns need to be emptied before storage because:
1. Trying to unscrew a pressure cap while it is under pressure is unadvisable
2. Bulk fill CO2 guns existed long before the disposable cartridges and I doubt that people dry fire them until empty. I sure don't and mine keep a charge for months at a time.

 

[d2wing]

I disagree that CO2 guns need to be emptied before storage because:
1. Trying to unscrew a pressure cap while it is under pressure is unadvisable
2. Bulk fill CO2 guns existed long before the disposable cartridges and I doubt that people dry fire them until empty. I sure don't and mine keep a charge for months at a time.

Hmmm. Food for thought. My problem now is should I send it , my QB78, to Mike for repair, try to fix it myself. Or just not bother as new ones are still cheap.

 

[Ascot500]

As much as possible, I try to fix things myself.
That's how you learn stuff.

 

[d2wing]

True but I have too many projects piled up now.