Hatsan 135 .177. Advice needed!

[sandman]

I've been looking for a new gun, and I really like the hatsan 135. It looks absolutely gorgeous compared to the 125 sniper (yuk!). A lot of people seem to own this model in either .22 or .25. I don't intend to use this gun for hunting -hunting with airguns is illegal where I live- but rather for long range (50-200 meters) plinking and target shooting, so and since it's my favourite caliber, I'm going to buy this one in .177, which still gets around 1050 fps with jsb exact heavies (25fpe !!)

Does anyone own this gun in .177? Experiences, accuracy, and chrony numbers would be much appreciated. Also, how does Hatsan stack up against it's german cousins quality wise?

Sand.

[Allen Rice]

FYI, my Hatsan 135 in 22 shot 970 fps on my chrono with 14.35g ammo (30fpe).  The power was awesome but unfortunately after about 2000 shots the barrel joint developed vertical play and I had to return the gun.  Hopefully, the rifle I purchased was not the norm - You may have better luck.  The gun is very heavy, making it difficult for most to shoot off hand.  I never considered a 177, thinking that the extra mass of the 22 pellet would track better at long range.  I ended up replacing my H135 with an RWS 460 (a fixed barrel Magnum springer).


Good Luck,
AR

[triggerfest]

Hi Berend - the 135 in .177 can go subsonic, which causes inaccuracy... Or you need to use the JSB Beast of 16 grain... In that case, keep us posted on the results with this pellet 

By the way, I really would buy this air gun only with the Vortex gasram. Cocks much easier and then you will avoid the vertical play on the barrel joint.

Take a look here: http://www.buitenmenswebshop.nl/a-33975341/hatsan/hatsan-hs-135-walnoot-houten-kolf-5-5-mm-vortex/

Enjoy making your choice 

Ruud (NH  )

[JR]

I think a 135 in .177 is way to much gun for the caliber. Might be fast but it will be loud and would require supper heavy pellets to prevent the piston from smacking to a stop or hitting anything at any distance at all. A 22 cal would be a far better choice in a gun like these for any intended purpose. Speed is worthless if you can't hit anything.

my .02

[GunnerAl]

I think a 135 in .177 is way to much gun for the caliber. Might be fast but it will be loud and would require supper heavy pellets to prevent the piston from smacking to a stop or hitting anything at any distance at all. A 22 cal would be a far better choice in a gun like these for any intended purpose. Speed is worthless if you can't hit anything.

my .02

I couldn't agree with you any more - dead true...

While it's freedom of personal choice and everyone will see it their own way, in my opinion any air rifle with this much potential power is a bit but wasted on the .177 caibre. Don't get me wrong as I love the .177 caibre but only in its own velocity realm. You should really try to match calibre to power output for a number of reasons, and the Hatsan 135 is a prime candidate for this...

1. You can't take full advantage of the potential power output of the rifle (in fpe or ft-lbs) in the .177 cal because it just wastes energy trying to squeeze that small pellet down that small barrel - commonly referred to as Volumetric Efficiency.
2. A potential 30 ft-lb or more for a .177 cal means a huge possibility of breaking the sound barrier (approx 1120 fps at sea level) and that is a No-No for many reasons.
3. The likelihood of having to choose the correct pellet may become even more essential, and, you still should NOT be using heavier pellets at 10+ gr, even in these monsters as it may just serve to make self destruction of the mainspring even more imminent than usual scenario of using heavy pellets. It may exaggerate and hasten the process with all that extra power.

Any 1250fps or more rated rifle is well suited to the .22 calibre and just enough to justify the use of the .25 calibre if hunting or game shooting is your thing. These two will pack a wallop like no .177 ever will at these velocities... Other than that - It's your choice..!!

It's for this very reason I have not bothered to buy either the Hatsan 125 or 135, because I cannot find any .22's or .25 versions locally. Now, if I could...!!! But that's another story...

[sandman]

I think a 135 in .177 is way to much gun for the caliber. Might be fast but it will be loud and would require supper heavy pellets to prevent the piston from smacking to a stop or hitting anything at any distance at all. A 22 cal would be a far better choice in a gun like these for any intended purpose. Speed is worthless if you can't hit anything.

my .02

I see where you're coming from, and that gun will push anything under 10 grains supersonic, so that's why I wanna stick to jsb heavy's or heavier (around 1050fps).

[Allen Rice]

You seem to like velocity - Go for the 135 in 22 cal.  It will shoot normal lead at around 957 fps with about 30fpe.  If you stick with 177 cal, you will not be taking advantage of the power potential of the 135.  If you don't like it after you try it, send it back to AGD in like new condition and get something else.

[Voltar1]

I am very pleased with mine. Shoots 10.5 grain Crosman Ulramagnums very accurately!
Received a Vortek kit and seal for it so will tune her up asap.

[Paul68]

I've had the 125 in .177, and it was a high power laser after some tuning work. Sent 10.3 gr pellets to 1050 FPS for 25 fpe and produced numerous dime size groups at 45 yards. Biggest issue for me was finding a pellet to work with the gun. I could get ten grain pellets in the diablo shape, but at the speeds this gun was producing, they were very unstable. The only pellets that worked well with mine were the cylindrical Air Arms heavies, which I could no longer find. The JSB heavies are similar, and Air Arms now carries these same rebranded JSB's, but they don't behave as the earlier cylindrical pellets.

 Anything over 10 grain lost power, which tells me the gun just has too much volume to work well with the small bore. There just isn't enough bore diam and area on the .177 pellet to allow efficient energy transfer and high speed pressure flow. Regardless, durability wasn't an issue after tuning, the gun held up just fine. Only reason I sold it was because of too few pellet options. I can only imagine the 135 in .177 would present similar problems since it produces a slight bit more power than the 125. 

[daddy b]

Mine shoots 10.3 and 10.6 pellets most accurate at 33 yds. But shooting light lead is fun too and pretty accurate despite subsonic.  My favorite gun indoors at 30 feet. stacks pellets.
 

[sandman]

But will it blend?