AT44QE HotSun

[Lastcat]

The HotSun, as I have heard Hatsan pronounced on Euro YouTube. 

I never thought getting into Air Guns would be a riot. This is a great hobby. I have always just shot AR15’s and Handguns for fun out in the woods, here in the NW. I did some Coyote hunting with my AR15 back in 2008. Those were fun days.

I had this no-name Break Barrel .177 that my brother left me. Shot it in the backyard a few times. Ok, but nothing too excited about. But about 2 years later I remembered that I live in a city that is surrounded by at least 20 miles of Sloughs (narrow water channels about 15 yards across, 4 feet deep, with high 12’ banks on either side).

 In these Sloughs, we have these large South American Rats that have invaded Washington and Oregon. They are huge, from 10-20 pounds. About the size of a medium Beaver. So these Nutria live in the Sloughs throughout our little city and they are everywhere. They are legal to hunt, all year round and no limit. But no firearms in the city. Air Rifles are fine, as long as it is not in a public area. Which is fine, there are many area’s outside the city limits.

So I have this bug now, gonna hunt me some dirty rat Nutrias, with my Brother’s Break Barrel no-name .177. During the day, I couldn’t sneak up on them, because they could hear my footsteps (even when I crept in) and they would take off. Sometimes 100 yards away, they’d scramble. So I would sneak in up to the banks and hide in the tall grass and wait.

I could hit them with the .177, which later I chrono to 5 fpe. When I did get a hit, they would just sit there, or swim away. Not much luck. I was about 1 for 15. So it was time to upgrade.

I found a refurbished Hatsan Edge .22 at AirGunProShop for $78. I was stoked, now I’m getting some knock down power. Shot great out of the box, was in excellent shape. Got the scope mounted, (which I killed after 300 rounds). Went out Nutria hunting later that day. Was able to nail them, but they were only getting annoyed. LOL. They would sit there and not move, or swim away after I made a shot. Sometimes I would get lucky and get a heart shot and they would go down. But still not making a “dead right there” shot. I tinkered with this gun. Changed a few washers, new O-rings, Piston Seal and polished a few parts. Did the trigger job by changing the Bolt length (found here on Gateway). I was a CNC Machinist for 16 years and have worked on Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles, etc…. So tinkering was and is a standard when you get a Hotsun.

About this time, I had nailed about 12 of the Nooters, and the kill ratio was a bit better but needed some improvement. So it was time to upgrade again. I looked at the Hatsan 125 and 135. But I found a good deal again at AirGunProShop for a refurbished Hatsan AT44QE .25 for $299. The Folks at AGPS have been great too. Nice folks. I was like, oh &^^&, am I headed to the “Dark Side”? The tank, hoses, fittings, fill station, SCBA, CGA, 4500, 3000, 200 bar, Stainless, Brass, Whip Hoses….on and on. Crappola, what am I getting into? Somebody stop me. But it was too late. I had to have the “Power”.

So I figured a Hatsan 135 new would be about the same cost as a AT44 used. So I went for it. The AT44 arrived about 2 weeks ago. But I had to wait on parts for my SCBA and fittings. But during that time I found Bob’s write-up on the AT44 .25 upgrades. That was an excellent post too, thanks Bob. So I clocked the valve, filled the 5 remaining holes, JB Weld. Took the main port to .180 along with the Transfer Port, Breach and Barrel. Added a few new O-rings, polished the barrel. The gun was about ready but I found the Brass rod that loads the pellet kind of gritty. So I took this apart. I found this Rod was being guided by a steel bushing that had a hole that was .020” bigger. Wow, talk about slop. Plus the tip of this brass rod would seal inside the barrel end, against an o-ring.
 
The rod looked all scuffed. So I took it out and polished it and found a Nylon Spacer at Ace Hardware. It was .500 od and .250 id. Just the right id for the rod, but .062 too big on the od. So I turned this nylon piece down to .438”. Cut it to length and inserted it back into the upper. Put the nicely polished brass pellet feeder back. Boy, did that smooth things out. Really nice, took away the slop and all that gritty feel it used to have.

So I did some testing and things went great. Finally got a light mounted to the AT44 (I used a WildFire Green Light, mounted to the lower rail). I found daytime hunting was the worse, the Nutria could see me 200 yards away and would run and hide to the Dens.

So I started night Hunting. My luck finally changed. I had the AG I needed finally, at 40 fpe and the advantage of the night. I was nailing them left and right. During the night I could get anywhere from 15 to 30 yards. Sometimes they would just be sitting on the far banks, just chilling. They need to eat at least ¼ of their body weight a day, so they would mostly feed at night. I could take a knee, hit the green light and nail them. They were going down on the first shot. I had a good night when I nailed 5 within 15 minutes.

I live next to a Slough, it’s about 300 yards long, next to my field. So I can hunt anytime. It’s been a riot. I have nailed 31 so far. They are becoming scarce. I have to find other areas to hunt. Where did they go?

So finally yesterday the last part to my SCBA finally showed up and I did some pellet testing. I know you guys like data, I do too. So here is my testing of the fill of the 180cc tank at 2800 psi. Using JSB 25.39 at 75 yards. 33 Shots, average fps 843. Average fpe 40.

Shots = 33
FPE Av. = 40.1
FPS Av. = 843
Drop at 75 yards = 7.50”
Start PSI = 2800
End PSI = 1400
Used PSI = 1400
Avg FPE/Cu in Per Shot = 1.25
Avg Bar-cc/FPE per Shot = 13.1
Avg FPE Per Shot = 40.1
Avg PSI Used Per Shot = 42

1)   805
2)   807
3)   810
4)   819
5)   825
6)   828
7)   831
8   836
9)   841
10)   851
11)   849
12)   855
13)   858
14)   864
15)   871
16)   873
17)   874
18)   872
19)   877
20)   873
21)   872
22)   873
23)   865
24)   859
25)   854
26)   850
27)   841
28)   837
29)   827
30)   819
31)   812
32)   802
33)   795

On this 33 shot string. The most efficient range is from shots 14-23. Should I be filling the gun to 2250 psi? Would it start out at 864 fps? Or just leave it as is? Not too concerned about a Regulator, right now. Maybe later. Since the accuracy is great and all I need is 15-40 yards. I only hunt Nutria, so far. But a nice bell curve would be cool.

For Nutria, the Edge was at 19 fpe. But now I have the AT44 shooting great at 40 fpe, which is the perfect power factor to put them down.

I did 9 shots at 75 yards @ 1.25" ctc. Not the best rest I was using at the time (a wood block and a towel). One day I’ll get the bench rest out. But this AT44 shoots great. I can’t believe how much fun shooting an air rifle can be. I’m stoked and addicted. Can’t wait till dark and nail some Nutrias. There are 100’s if not 1,000’s here in town. Love this AT44. A big thanks to everyone here for their enthusiasm and reviews.

[dw]

Very, very interesting.  Thanks for the detailed write up.

Dennis

[Lastcat]

You are welcome Dennis. Lots of fun with this AT44. 

[mcoulter]

That's a great write-up.  Thanks for taking the time to share it!

[Lastcat]

That's a great write-up.  Thanks for taking the time to share it!

[TF89]

Great review, thanks for the detailed information.

[Lastcat]

Great review, thanks for the detailed information.

You are Welcome, Dave

[customcutter]

It's quite clear you have the addiction, as we all do.  Be warned there is no cure....

[Lastcat]

It's quite clear you have the addiction, as we all do.  Be warned there is no cure....

No kidding

I hope I can control myself and just stick with the AT44 and sell the .25 Edge. Funny too, I see the signatures of some of the members, and they have a slew of AG's..wow! Time will tell.

[customcutter]

I did lots of research thinking I could get one gun to fill all my needs.  I wound up buying a BT65 in .25 cal, figured I could do everything from paper punching to killing pigs.  That was a couple of months ago.  Now I've got the itch for a bullpup.  I was eyeing the Bullboss then I heard about the Turkbull semi-auto.  I don't think the addiction ever ends  .  I haven't even started modding the BT65 yet and thinking about other guns....

[Old Corps]

I just recently picked up an AT44S QE in .22 cal and really like it. I was "on the wagon" re. air gun purchases since I'd bought a Benjamin Marauder .25 only a few weeks before. When I discovered I could get the AT for less than $400 delivered to my door I caved. Midway sent me special birthday pricing then they had a one day sale that knocked another $40 off of that. I couldn't resist! I actually paid $400 EVEN 'cause I contributed .56 to the NRA. I've been saving so much money I'm going broke. My name's Ed and I'm an air gun addict....
The Mrod & the AT are very comparable. I'm getting 30 fpe with the AT and 35 fpe from the Mrod. I had both rifles tuned up higher but brought the power back down some to maintain a good shot count. Both are VERY accurate with JSBs, 15.89 in .22 and 25.39 in the .25. Love 'em both.
Like to take out some of those nasty rats but at the same time I'm glad we don't have them around here.

Ed

[Lastcat]

.... Now I've got the itch for a bullpup.  I was eyeing the Bullboss then I heard about the Turkbull semi-auto.  I don't think the addiction ever ends  .  I haven't even started modding the BT65 yet and thinking about other guns....

Me too...really want a BullBoss .25. I hunt carrying the AT44 (w/mounted light) is a bit of a small chore. That BB would be perfect. Midway USA has one right now for $599. .177, .22 and .25.

That or I am going to build my own Bullpup from Walnut.

[Lastcat]

I just recently picked up an AT44S QE in .22 cal and really like it. My name's Ed and I'm an air gun addict....

Like to take out some of those nasty rats but at the same time I'm glad we don't have them around here.

Ed

Congrats. Hope that AT has been holding up well. Those Nutria are also down in the South around Louisiana. Here in Wa and Ore. But for some reason near my house, there are 31 that went missing...

[Voltar1]

Kind of a teaser for you to think about
Walter

[Old Corps]

Kind of a teaser for you to think about
Walter

That's what I call consistent! I really need to pull my stock and dial down the power some more. On a 30 shot string my average speed is 912 fps and that's with JSB 15.89s. The poi starts dropping at the 27th shot so I quit at 30.

Ed

[degorovi]

Congrats and welcome to the AT44 QE club.

[Lastcat]

Congrats and welcome to the AT44 QE club.

Thanks degorovi

[Lastcat]

Kind of a teaser for you to think about
Walter

Looks good, if I had a .22. But since I own the AT44 .25 cal. Do you have a Reg for my AG?

[Voltar1]

Have tried it in 25cal. See if I can find numbers