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Mod125 Vortex 177 refurb... another one!

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mikeyb:
WingSupply, Hatsan Sale, last one available Mod125 refurb Vortex 177.

I love Hatsan air rifles and the cost/performance I can get from them, but am disappointed/sad once again about the condition of a supposedly "factory" refurb as-received... just not surprised.

I should note that the retail box had a hole where the muzzle punched through the cardboard. The OUTER BROWN BOX also had a hole where the muzzle punched through that cardboard. There was some minor damage to the plastic muzzle break but the recessed barrel (& muzzle crown) was fine. Shipping distance was only 1 State from here and only took 2 days, but apparently UPS is getting BETTER at package (mis)handling ;-P

Inside the damaged retail box was a paper refurb checklist signed by a Hatsan technician. It read average velocity was 860fps and everything else was in good working condition?

If that test was with a 7.9 grain CPHP that's ~13 fpe. WAY TOO SLOW for a Mod125-177! My first sign things were going to be disappointing.

Cocking felt odd. Needed extra effort to latch piston and it didn't "catch" 100% of the time. If I were a newbie to springers I might have relaxed my grip on the barrel and LOST it! The resulting bent barrel, damaged breech, missing digits, etc... would have been VERY PAINFUL. Thankfully I've learned to NEVER LET GO OF THE BARREL so it is now routine muscle memory.

THEN the trigger would LOCK UP like the safety was ON but it WASN'T! After several re-cock cycles and shaking the rifle... the trigger finally worked. That happened 2 times in a row. THAT is a HUGE problem!

I've seen this before on Quattro trigger groups and had a pretty good idea what was causing the malfunction. For ANYONE (Hatsan or a Reseller) to ship a powerful air rifle in that dangerous condition just melts my brain.

Was able to get the 2 shots off into a safe target but neither was over my chronograph. From the "sound" I'm thinking they were just supersonic (ouch, my ears!). Definitely NOT the 860fps listed on the checklist paper! Some smoke and burnt oil odor so definitely some dieseling going on there.

I also noticed a VERY wobbly barrel lockup. Thought that might be the pivot bolt just needing to be tightened one more notch. Could also be a weak lockup spring or a worn lockup wedge/hole?

I'm KEEPING this rifle because the low price was a deal for the "PARTS" alone. However, as-is the rifle is WAY TOO UNSAFE to shoot any more pellets before finding and fixing the trigger problems.

Breakbarrel -> Breakdown!

Missing SAS bolt washer one side :-(
SAS bolt head scarred from someone (NOT me) using an improperly sized screwdriver :-(
PLEASE people & repair-techs... USE PROPERLY FITTING TOOLS for working on any airguns!
Removed rear stock screw, wasn't fully tight.
Removed stock and inspected Quattro trigger assembly.

Found Quattro trigger problem right away. Small torsion spring arm NOT in the right place. EASY 2-second fix!



I have a theory that this particular trigger assembly error may be at least PARTLY to blame for Quattro trigger blade breakage. When the spring was out-of-position and the safety was off I was tempted to squeeze the trigger HARDER to fire. The trigger won't release in this state no matter how hard you pull on the trigger blade. I bet I could have easily squeezed hard enough to SNAP the cast metal trigger blade. If anyone experiences a Quattro Trigger malfunction like this please check the spring leg position on the "porkchop" lever.


?????
Just a bunch of guesses here... but based on received condition I'm thinking "maybe" Hatsan properly cleared this Mod125 for resale with a weak Vortex (13fpe)? It somehow made its way to a third-party-reseller who sold the "factory" refurb to a customer. That customer damaged the SAS bolt head, pumped up the Vortex air spring, fiddled with the trigger, and loosened the barrel pivot bolt.

Then that customer returned the rifle to the reseller who only made a visual inspection before re-selling it again to me for my enjoyment.

That explains everything including the missing SAS washer... maybe?
?????


I decided to do a complete tear-down at this point just in case the person who last worked on this rifle messed up something else inside.
I DON'T KNOW if that last person working on this rifle was a Hatsan Tech or a customer fiddled/returned it AFTER Hatsan refurbished the rifle at least one time.
Either way SOMEONE was inexperienced (I would normally use MUCH harsher adjectives) and should NOT HAVE WORKED on this air rifle :-(

*** Disassembly process ***
Swap dummy short pin for long Quattro pin.
Remove anti-bear-trap link.
Remove front 2 cross-pins.
Unhook safety link.
Slide intact Quattro trigger assembly OUT of the action.
Use spring compressor to remove final cross-pin and relieve the preload on the Vortex air spring.
Remove end plug and Vortex air spring.
Slight BUMP to unlock barrel pivot latch.
Loosen barrel pivot screw and remove.
Unhook cocking shoe from piston and remove barrel assembly.
Remove piston.
Clean and inspect all parts.
***

EVERYTHING was VERY oily/greasy! WHY? This is a Vortex air spring rifle. Only the piston skirt needs a TINY bit of moly paste and/or grease. Burnished moly paste on piston skirt.

Piston seal and breech seal were in good condition. No reason to replace at this time.

Reassembled in reverse order.

Added a few drops of light oil to trigger group parts and verified all trigger parts were NOW in the correct position.

At a relaxed pace from start to finish this whole tear-down-rebuild process now takes me about 45 minutes.

After assembly results:

Rifle now cocks normally (100%) and Quattro trigger releases cleanly every time. MUCH SAFER!

MV average is now ~1140 with CPHP 7.9 grain (~23 fpe). That's better than the checklist 13fpe but MV should be ~1240fps ~27fpe for a Mod125 in 177.

I expect the Vortex air spring may still need a small pressure bump to the factory 145 bar. I didn't check that earlier. Was just HAPPY the Vortex had any air period!

updates to follow...


Update1:
Hand pumped the Vortex pressure up to what I thought was 145 bar. At least as close to that as my best pressure gauge can indicate. That is the value PRINTED on the Vortex as providing the maximum velocity. Rifle is now a BEAR to cock and my ears HURT from all the CRACKING supersonic pellets. Unless it leaks down again on its own I may go back in to drop Vortex pressure to 135 bar.

Update2:
Never mind :-/ Vortex leaked down to almost nothing in about 3 days. That makes #6 bad Vortex for me. Looks like I'm on a Lucky Vortex streak! Will order the Coil-Spring rear plug (3-hole) and install one of my custom spring guides in a "VorteK" magnum coil spring. I KNOW that will work reliably for years to come.

These bargain Hatsans are still my favorite break barrels. The sloppy factory OR third-party refurb state of many of these rifles and the low purchase cost are a plus for me. Unfortunately that same sloppy condition (AND leaky Vortex air springs) has/will sour a lot of potentially HAPPY Hatsan owners :-(

Cheers :-)

dw:
Mike,
Sorry you got a poor quality "refurb"!

I expect to replace the Vortex springs in my two 135 rifles with coil springs and know you recommend a custom spring guide. Would like your best recommendation for this. I did see you made one but needed a welding machine, but I don't have access to one of these.

I follow these posts with great interest!

Thanks for your advice.

Dennis

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