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Hatsan Galatian 5 Semi-Auto Initial Impressions

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Rat Sniper (AKA: PaulT58):
When I received the e-mail from Hatsan USA about these I was intrigued.  I did some searching on the internet and there is not a lot of information out there about them.  These is some info available about the US version, the Galatian Tact, which is essentially the same air rifle, this one is just it's much prettier European cousin!

Apparently, these are not normally available for sale in the US.  Hatsan USA had them listed as limited quantity and classified them as Open/Sample.  I'm assuming these would probably display/demonstration models used at the recent Air Gun shows, but don't know that to be certain.  In any event, it may become a collector's item, so I figured I'd take a chance on it.  I have dubbed it G5 because typing out Glatian takes too many keystrokes!   :D

Initial impressions aren't bad.  It is one beautiful air rifle!  It arrive full of air, so that was a good sign.  The sun was starting to set when it arrived, so I just removed the iron sights and mounted the ATN 4K Pro scope and sighted it in.  The zeroing process is very simple with the ATN Scope, you just fire a couple shots and then use the on screen prompts and move the crosshairs from where you were aiming to the POI and hit save!  Unlike the Air Speed, the G5 does not reliably actuate the recoil activated video recording of the ATN Scope.  It's hit and miss at best, so it will be going back on the Air Speed tomorrow!  The ATN is heavy, so being mounted to the already heavy G5, the whole package was a rest only rifle.  It's much easier to shoot the Air Speed off hand with the ATN mounted since it's about 2 lbs lighter than the G5.

Accuracy isn't too bad and ac tally better than the initial accuracy I was getting from the Evanix Air Speed!  I have not run it over the chrony, so I don't have any speed/power numbers yet, hopefully I'll get some time today.  Surprisingly, it's not real loud either.  It does not appear to have baffles in the shroud, so when it's actually slinging pellets it is back hard friendly.  I did have one misfire, removed the magazine and fired to clear any pellet that may have been in the chamber.  There wasn't one, and it was significantly louder when dry fired!  Maybe it's an echo from that huge shroud that resembles the barrel of a 12 gauge shotgun!

I got the .25 caliber so it does send the pellets down range with some authority!  It came in a nice hard side case and included 3 magazines, a sling and the normal assortment of other parts that typically accompany a Hatsan, like a degassing tool, fill probe and an assortment of o-rings.  The air cylinder hold 255cc of air, filled to 200 bar and is removable so you can carry a spare to extend your shooting time between fills.  Hatsan claims a shot count of 50 rounds at optimal velocity, but does not tell you what they think the optimal velocity is.  I think I shot 3-4 magazines through it last night and was real close to 100 bar the I finished.  I'll have to pay more attention to that next time.  the 3 magazines hold 10 rounds each, so I doubt I'll need any extras.  I think it's great that Hatsan includes multiple magazines, I wish more companies did the same.

The included manual was for the regular side lever Galatian model, so it's pretty much worthless to me.  Fortunately, I found the manual on Hatsan' website so I do have the correct manual now.  Having said that, that manual isn't a lot of help either.  It covers noting about any sort of adjustments that may be available for this air rifle.

The trigger leaves a lot to be desired.  It's long and heavy and does not appear to be adjustable.  With limited information on this air rifle (in english anyway) it may take some further exploration to see if anything can be done to lighten the pull a little.  The best I can describe it is it's a lot like the trigger feel of the Crosman 1077.

There is a warning in the manual about the bolt cycling to the rear with every shot, and caution left handed shooter to use caution.  So, this may not be for the south paws!

Thus far, here are my pros and cons:

Pro:
Beautiful looking rifle  :o
Semi-Auto!  ;D
Decent accuracy

Con:
Long heavy trigger pull
Weight (well, it is a Hatsan!)

As I gather more info, I will post it here.  I hope this helps for anyone considering this air rifle...

Rat Sniper (AKA: PaulT58):
Well, I shot it some more today and it broke!  Yep it's not cycling correctly, so I have submitted a CS Form to Hatsan and am now waiting to hear back. 

I believe the problem is either the action, the magazines, or a combination of both.  The action does not feel real smooth.  I popped off the side cover where the gear mechanism sits the cycles the pellets.  It's coated with a very heavy grease which makes the whole thing feel sluggish.  I don't know if this is the problem or not, but it's new, so it's Hatsan's problem to figure out. 

When I fire it, it will shoot the first pellet I manually chamber.  What happens next is consistently inconsistent.  What I mean is, sometime the bolt does not fully cycle back forward to chamber a pellet, so I have to lock it to the rear, remove the magazine, shoot it ensure there isn't a pellet in the chamber and then reinsert the magazine.  That first shot after reinserting the magazine and chambering a pellet works fine, but then it may do the same thing again, it may actually shoot the next pellet, or it may shoot just air!  This seems to happen because the magazine isn't advancing fast enough to allow the probe to chambering another pellet. 

When it was working, I ran some chrome numbers and did some accuracy testing.  IMO, the power is not up to Hatsan standards.  Typically they tend to shoot really hot right out of the box!  This one, not so much.  Here are the chrony numbers:

Pellet         Weight      Avg FPS   FPE
H&N FTT           19.91           805.20   28.67
JSB King           25.39      728.00   29.89
Benj Domed   27.80      693.00   29.65
H&N Grizzly   31.00      631.40   27.45
JSB Heavy   33.95      634.20   30.33
Eunjin           35.80      621.40   30.70

Accuracy was okay with most of the pellets I tried, but it did the best with the H&N FTT which are pictured below. 

In any event, once I get an RMA from Hatsn, it will be sent back and I'll have to wait and see if they can repair it, replace it, or offer me a refund... 

Back_Roads:
 Yeah that seems pretty anemic compared to the .25 G-3 I had  :-\

Rat Sniper (AKA: PaulT58):
I heard back from Hatsan, they are sending new magazines to try. I hope that works, but I suspect it may only be part of the problem. On some shots the bolt does not return to the full forward position even though there are still pellets in the magazine. I guess I will give them a try and see what happens.

Thane:
That is a very classic looking rifle!

I would like to see the differences in the magazines sent to you, what issues they address.

Hope they get your rifle cycling consistantly!

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