Hatsan AT44QES -25 refurb from Hatsan USA...delayed review & repair

[mikeyb]

Started tuning my Hatsan AT44QES-25 (180cc) refurb from HatsanUSA. Overall the rifle arrived to me in very good condition a few months back. Fired a couple shots over the chronograph when received to verify it was a keeper. Then testing stalled until now.

I have an OLD AT44-177 with open sights and NO QE moderator. Accurate but it really does need something to muffle the BARK! Also have an AT44-22 with QE (nice & quiet) but NO open sights. Pellet-on-pellet accuracy with a scope attached. This is my first AT44QES, QE muffled with factory installed open Sights.

Had some time to finally load several magazines and start "tuning" the hammer spring adjustment for my preferred shot string (unregulated). To my disappointment I found BOTH magazines not indexing correctly. I needed to MANUALLY bump/advance each magazine just a little to allow the probe to seat the next pellet.

This seems to be a complaint from some AT44 reviewers on the Pyramyd site.

I found 2 issues.

The aluminum magazines had some SMALL machining burrs. I "thought" these might be part of the indexing problem so I CAREFULLY removed the burrs with a tiny needle file. The magazine not indexing fully was STILL a problem after the deburr and I needed to manually BUMP each magazine ~8/9 times (9 shot mags).

Next step was to remove the side panel(3 screws) to inspect the magazine cycling levers. BE CAREFUL HERE as there are 2 springs, one of which may want to LAUNCH to distant planets. There are 2 levers contacting the magazine. One (1) that PUSHES/ROTATES the magazine towards the next pellet as the hammer is cocked (side lever pulled back). The second lever (passive but spring loaded) rides against the magazine perimeter and STOPS it from going in reverse rotation.

After careful inspection I found that second TINY stamped steel lever resting on the magazine perimeter was SO ROUGH that its CRUNCHY DRAG stopped the magazine from completing a full cycle! I could feel GRINDING when I turned the magazine by hand... all due to that tiny lever!

I carefully unpinned the lever from the side cover making note of the proper spring position. I filed off some BIG STAMPING RIDGES and then sanded/polished the contact surface of the little lever. Burnished in a tiny dab of moly paste, then reinstalled the lever-pin-spring into the side cover and reattached the side cover plate.

WOW, what a difference! NOW the magazine rotates buttery smooth and cycles completely to the next pellet. So much grief from one tiny part. Probably the main REASON my rifle was returned to HatsanUSA for refund/repair. Why it wasn't caught and repaired before reselling is a mystery to me.

After all that I got initial velocity string data for the current hammer spring setting. Just a little hot for my needs so I will back off hammer spring screw maybe one turn and try again... with a lot less aggravation now that the magazines cycle LIKE THEY SHOULD.

I really LIKE all my Hatsan air rifles (even the ones with those pesky leaky Vortex air springs) and I want to promote the brand but cannot without fair warning. There is a reason some of these rifles are priced lower than the competing models. LOWER COST means manufacturing precision and quality control are LACKING. Small details, like this crudely stamped tiny lever, can have a HUGE IMPACT in performance. I can UNDERSTAND WHY someone would return a NEW rifle that could not properly index a rotary magazine. IMO this is UNACCEPTABLE on a new rifle even at the LOWER end of the price spectrum.

I'm happy with MY rifle purchased at a low refurb price because I can find and easily fix small problems like this one. But I'm sad that Hatsan gets dinged again for small (but significant) quality issues that could be EASILY avoided with just a little effort at the factory (or service) end:-(

Chronograph data and shot strings to follow :-)

[mikeyb]

UPDATE:

Was shooting on targets over the chronograph ( I HATE wasting pellets just for velocity measurements! ) and I noticed that my POI was wandering around the crosshairs with groups up to 3/4" at 30' That is simply crazy BAD for a PCP IMO. For all my past PCP experience with multiple Hatsans, a Gauntlet, and a Kral, my (YES, I know 30' is SHORT but it's my indoor limit) target/chrony sessions are always pellet-on-pellet. I put down a bunch of "sharpie marker dots" and proceed to make them all "holes" with a single pellet... usually followed by 2-3 more pellets through the same hole. A random 3/4" groups for these rifles is freaky BAD! I can do better with a jumpy magnum springer! Shot a couple pellets into "catch poly bags" and examined the rifling imprints. Rifling present but some "smeared" marks had me very concerned. Did I finally get a bad Hatsan barrel?

Pulled the barrel and shroud apart for inspection. Sliced OD and ID barrel o-rings. Yeah, no surprise there. Removed and discarded the 3 damaged o-rings. New ones waiting for AFTER bore cleaning.

Checked crown... looked EXCELLENT especially for a budget Hatsan barrel.

I am ashamed to say I did NOT examine or clean this bore before shooting the rifle. I clean EVERY springer bore because it is easy to do. I got LAZY on this PCP and assumed that, as a refurb, the bore should be clean and clear. It was NOT!

The MIDDLE 6" of the bore looked badly pitted/dirty?! I ran about 12 soaked patches through the bore and each time patches picked up a little more of the "debris" and came out dirty. Pitted/dirty area looked like it was getting better, but it was not happening quickly. So NOT pitted, just really dirty. With what? Rust? Pushed a pellet through the bore and got good resistance before and after the "dirty" section but that dirty section felt like I was pushing the pellet through sand paper (ouch!)

Had a sinking feeling that this bore might be "toast" and was possibly my first BAD Hatsan barrel. A chattering rifle button? Defects in the steel? Will I need make a lead-lap to TRY to polish out the damage? Oh my. Baby steps.

I picked up a 0.243 bronze brush and tried brushing the bore. I know everyone thinks a bronze brush will damage an airgun bore but this is a STEEL barrel, not brass. It was NOT shooting well so I didn't think it could get any worse after brushing. A 0.243 brush is a little undersized for a 25 cal bore so not a HARD SCRUB. Brush went through with only a moderate resistance so just a "light scrub". Perfect. A few brush strokes followed by a couple wet patches. More dirt removed and more shiny bore visible. Making PROGRESS! Bore looking BETTER each time. Repeated alternating brushing and patches several more times until bore looked smooth and shiny all the way through. Pushed another pellet through the bore and got nice even resistance past leade to muzzle, no ROUGH middle any more! Rifling marks on a pushed pellet looked nice and crisp. Success!? Put everything back together and loaded up a couple mags.

NOW the rifle is pellet-on-pellet accurate, as expected, on my short indoor range.

Folks, I really do LIKE my Hatsan rifles but they can REQUIRE some serious TLC to shoot right! I saved money on the bargain refurb purchase but spent significant time working on the rifle. Good thing I ENJOY the challenge :-)