I think more and more people are getting into airguns b/c of the current pew pew situation causing some shortages. I have several friends who scoffed at airguns as serious hunting tools that are now drinking the kool-aide. As far as a food-procurement/survival tool, take a look at a Benjiman 392. Since they are self pumpers, no ancillary equipment is needed. The seals are about the only thing that go bad after a very long time. You can buy reseal kits cheap. The .22 is much more common than a .25. It has iron sights if your scope breaks. Plenty of power for small game. Personally I would look for one of the older models with a wooden stock, not a fan of the new synthetic design. Just my two cents.
Random thought but how much power and distance do you actually need/want?? I still have my original Hatsan 95. Was my first rifle getting back to shooting and it did what I bought it for. Headshot with an H&N Crow Magnum on a raccoon at a touch over 20 yards and done. Depending on pellet used they're an 18-20 fpe rifle and I've smacked any number of squirrels very easily out to the 30 yards I have for shooting. Stock has been refinished and it's now a springer after I got tinkering and ended up blowing the seals out of the gas ram it came with.Also have the Model 87QE .25 which is basically the same rifle (the safeties are different) but comes in a synthetic stock with adjustable cheek riser. That one is a Vortex, same 18-20 fpe. Also had one in .177 sitting in a Model 95 stock, but when I was selling off a bunch of stuff, the guy looking liked the idea of .177 for buying pellets local so I said give me 10 minutes and I swapped stocks around and the .25 now rides in that refinished 95 stock with a few custom things and the scope that used to be on the .177.Model 95 .25 on top before and after refinishing. Never took pics of the 87 .25 after swapping stocks but one of the 87 .177 after I got that project done and the .25 doesn't look any different in that stock...lol.
My 95 started life as a Vortex and ended up the springer it is now because I got to tinkering with a high pressure hand pump and that gas ram and a seal or seals in the ram failed. It's now a springer after I saw fellow member SpiralGroove selling his for parts and bought it. I used the .25 cal barrel from mine on his fully tuned springer action and went right back to shooting. The stock from his rifle got refinished and is the one with my 87QE in it.I'll stick with my original answer and say get the Vortex, then go to Hatsan and ask them to sell you the end cap, spring guide and spring (might as well get a couple piston seals and breech seals while you're at it to have them) so if/when that gas ram fails, you can rebuild/convert it to a springer. There's really not much difference power wise between spring and gas ram. I dug out my chrony notes on both setups and there was only a 10-12 fps difference depending on pellets used.The QE part while it it makes a minor difference really doesn't make much of one unless you want to tinker with the sound deadening material inside it. I have pics somewhere if you want to see the QE internal parts and I did tinker with a couple different things I got off Amazon just to see, but again, no real difference from the felt stuff Hatsan uses. Most of the sound you hear firing is the mechanical stuff going on inside the gun when you shoot being right next to your ear. You should probably also budget for an air gun rated scope since the ones Hatsan includes tend to not hold up well if at all unless you plan to shoot open sights. Anything else that comes to mind, feel free to ask, there's plenty of Hatty owners here who'll happily help.One more thing...wanna save some money?? Field Supply has the non QE version Model 95 Vortex .25 on sale right now for $162.17 and the QE version for $197.12. Same 30 day return policy, free shipping and a couple bucks cheaper either way than PA even with the GATEWAY-PYRAMYD 10% off code.Thanks Steve.So why not just get the spring version and be done? I'm asking seriously I only want to do this once right now. I've only shot one other gas piston rifle, my son's Benjamin Titan NP in .22. That link is great, but sale is up in 22hrs and I haven't heard from the guy buying my RC yet. I have the standard spring 95 combo and 4 tins of pellets (600) in PA cart for a total of $190 after GTA discount.
Looks like they also have more than a few styles of the H&N .25 cal pellets listed too down at the very bottom.
What can go wrong with a gasram ? If it is broken, 99% chance it is the seal, right ?For a .25 springer I would definitely go for the Vortex to avoid any stress on the spring. Just my 2cts.
Quote from: triggerfest on January 27, 2021, 03:11:32 PMWhat can go wrong with a gasram ? If it is broken, 99% chance it is the seal, right ?For a .25 springer I would definitely go for the Vortex to avoid any stress on the spring. Just my 2cts.I'm no expert but I've read loss of pressure? Is that from seals? I'm leaning towards the gas ram, but spring power will work also.
Loss of pressure isn't a sign of a bad piston seal, it's a sign of a failed gas ram. When a gas ram fails, you go from normal power to none and with no pressure in that gas ram, the barrel just drops. Gas rams don't normally bleed out over time. When the seals inside them fail, out comes the air inside considering that ram is under at least 125 bar of pressure. Usually also no warning they're going to.Loss of power is a sign the piston seal or possibly your breech seal is going. The gas ram still has all it's power but with the piston or breech seal wearing out, air escapes around them and the more they wear, the more power loss you experience. Why chronies are handy gadgets. I have baseline numbers on my rifles so when the day comes I think something is off, I can shoot a few over the chrony, see where the fps numbers are and if they've dropped a lot, I'll have a pretty good idea where to start looking.
Specs are part of the FPS wars between makers and they're all hoping you'll see that big number and buy their rifle. Most use the lightest weight pellets they can find to get their FPS numbers and that means the lead free stuff that won't likely be one bit accurate in the rifle. Start shooting heavier weight pellets that will be accurate and those numbers go down.Hatsan uses the lightest weight pellets they can find but they use real lead, so the numbers you see are usually pretty close to the FPS numbers they claim.Also not a good idea to store a gas rammed gun barrel up for long periods of time. Gas rams have a little silicone inside them to keep the seals lubed. Store it too long barrel up and that silicone migrates away from the seals and they dry out. Barrel up is fine if you're going to shoot fairly regular but if you're going to store it a long period of time, store it barrel down. Don't know if anyone has truly put that to the test to see just how long before it does happen, but the gas rammed guns I still have got stored that way last February before I had shoulder surgery knowing it would be an easy 6-7 months before I could try shooting them again.