So Does the Vortex Gas Piston Really Last Longer Than a Spring?

[Yogi]

I have a Hatsan Striker 1000x Vortex with wood stock and like it very much. It has the same power and is extremely accurate like the Hatsan 95 but is at least a pound lighter. The only negative is the trigger, which is pretty bad. However I have learned to adjust to it while I wait for Woodfield GCP to make a new batch of their "Welsh Willy" replacement triggers for the Striker, which should be at the end of this month. http://woodfield-gcp.co.uk/?product=welsh-willy-trigger-wwtii-3

Should have gotten the 95 Votex .
The quattro trigger is not half bad.  Weight is moderate, cocking effort is moderate, accuracy is pretty good, trigger not half bad.  Money well spent!
-Y

[Lostcoast]

No actually I should not have gotten the Hatsan 95, which weighs about a full POUND more than the Striker. In the Striker I got a relatively lightweight and extremely accurate and handsome rifle for a very good price, and with an upgraded trigger it will be exactly what I was looking for (which was not a Hatsan 95).

[Hatsanman13]

Guys,

Just got my Hatsan 1000x Striker Vortex back from HatsanUSA after warranty service.  After 800 shots, pellets were getting stuck in the barrel, and sometime I'd have to recock and fire 5 times to get the pellet dislodged.  Turns out the Vortex piston had failed and lost pressure, the tech thought maybe contaminants had degraded the seal on the gas piston, so they replaced it.

My question is, when I get my next air rifle, should I bother getting the gas piston?  Are they really more durable?  Do they really require less maintenance/attention?  I hope I get a lot more than 800 shots out of my new Vortex piston.  I'm guessing the average conventional spring must last for thousands of rounds.  I have found the Vortex gun very nice to shoot, prior to its recent misbehavior.  It's 30 years since I fired a conventional spring air rifle, so hard for me to remember whether the difference in shooting behavior between a gas piston and conventional spring is that great.

Thanks for your input.

Dennis

hahaha   My Hatsan 135 had been one of the first Hatsan USA coverterd to Vortex Gas Ram while under a main spring failure of over 4000 shots 6-8 months into warrentie. reason for all them shots was scope keep failing and I keep replacing them some 13 in all.  Back to the Vortex ram  it also failed in short order after getting  a scope to hold point. and the gun was returned total of 4 times now the 5 time all ready.  They are claiming its is the pellet I shoot in the 22 caliber. Interesting is I aways get very tight groups on paper out to 22 yards and on trees out to 72 yards. No complaints on accuracy of the gun and the power with srping stayed up until the spring failed. Sorry to say with the ram not so. even though I had the latest version install by Hatsan last april I got the gun back and it shot very hard and well with 200 shots speed dropped of 160+ fps so its back in the box.  I will see if hatsan will fix it free or not this time. I expect them to. to keep up good company P.R. 

[Old Corps]

Guys,

Just got my Hatsan 1000x Striker Vortex back from HatsanUSA after warranty service.  After 800 shots, pellets were getting stuck in the barrel, and sometime I'd have to recock and fire 5 times to get the pellet dislodged.  Turns out the Vortex piston had failed and lost pressure, the tech thought maybe contaminants had degraded the seal on the gas piston, so they replaced it.

My question is, when I get my next air rifle, should I bother getting the gas piston?  Are they really more durable?  Do they really require less maintenance/attention?  I hope I get a lot more than 800 shots out of my new Vortex piston.  I'm guessing the average conventional spring must last for thousands of rounds.  I have found the Vortex gun very nice to shoot, prior to its recent misbehavior.  It's 30 years since I fired a conventional spring air rifle, so hard for me to remember whether the difference in shooting behavior between a gas piston and conventional spring is that great.

Thanks for your input.

Dennis

hahaha   My Hatsan 135 had been one of the first Hatsan USA coverterd to Vortex Gas Ram while under a main spring failure of over 4000 shots 6-8 months into warrentie. reason for all them shots was scope keep failing and I keep replacing them some 13 in all.  Back to the Vortex ram  it also failed in short order after getting  a scope to hold point. and the gun was returned total of 4 times now the 5 time all ready.  They are claiming its is the pellet I shoot in the 22 caliber. Interesting is I aways get very tight groups on paper out to 22 yards and on trees out to 72 yards. No complaints on accuracy of the gun and the power with srping stayed up until the spring failed. Sorry to say with the ram not so. even though I had the latest version install by Hatsan last april I got the gun back and it shot very hard and well with 200 shots speed dropped of 160+ fps so its back in the box.  I will see if hatsan will fix it free or not this time. I expect them to. to keep up good company P.R.

Wow. I keep considering picking up a Hatsan, probably a 95 Vortex but posts like this make me think twice (2,3 + times?). I have 3 AGs now, all Benji/Crosman and no problems with any of them with lots of use. I also feel confident that if I do have a problem Crosman CS is top rate.

Ed

[Lostcoast]

Just to chime in with my experience: I have a Striker 1000X Vortex and it still shoots great after about 250 shots. Very accurate and powerful. So far so good..

[Old Corps]

Just to chime in with my experience: I have a Striker 1000X Vortex and it still shoots great after about 250 shots. Very accurate and powerful. So far so good..

Good to hear but 250 rounds ain't really a whole bunch. I'd actually lean more to the Striker because of the lighter weight but I want a good trigger & I see no indication of a Welsh Willy showing up anytime soon. I have no idea why I need another AG anyway, guess I'm hooked.

Ed

[Lostcoast]

Unfortunately there wont be any Welsh Willy triggers for the Striker - Will says it has to do with the sear spring being too weak on the factory trigger assembly. I certainly don't love the factory trigger but I'm getting used to it and can shoot the rifle well in spite of it.

If Hatsan put a great trigger in the Striker they would sell a LOT of them I do believe...

[vernongt]

G'day Dennis,
Vortex or Nitro Pistons and others, will last you long enough to know that you've got your money's worth out of them, but not because of the power.

There's two reasons that I can think of right now, why I have 4 rifles with gas pistons.
1. The Gas Pistons do not cause the rifle to torque in your hands as a spring does. This torquing of the rifle is not noticeable but is cause by the spring tightening up; which makes the spring turn slightly. When you pull the trigger, that unwinding happens very rapidly and torques the rifle.
2. If you use your gas piston for hunting, you will notice one very important advantage over a spring piston. Let me explain:
     a. I have a Beeman [German made] R-10 .22 cal springer and I used to hunt with it. I'd sit in a blind or by a bush or tree, waiting for my quarry to come by. I'd cock that rifle as I waited, and eventually I weakened the spring so much that I ended up breaking it and destroying the seal.
     b. I stripped the rifle down and found that the spring [in two pieces] had corkscrewed into itself and also my seal had a split on two sides, where it smashed into the front of the cylinder.

WHAT ADVANTAGE YOU GET WITH A GAS SPRING IS THIS:
a. The piston does not torque as it's fired. This helps to guarantee that if you do it right and consistantly, you will have a more accurate result.
b. The gas piston also can be cocked and held that way for hours, because it's pressure is made by compressing an inert gas [usually Nitrogen].
     Releasing that compressed gas will have the same power after two or more hours as it would if you fired it immediately after cocking.

I've never seen a gas piston leak slowly, but that doesn't mean it won't. NEVER LEAVE ANY GAS OR SPRING PISTON COCKED WHILE IN STORAGE. That's just common sense.

Hope that answers your question Dennis.
Cheers.
Vernon