Airmaks Katran .22 Bottled, Owners, what do you think?

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I bought the Katran Long in .22 Cal and this is the best air rifle I have bought since 2007. It is outstanding in quality .accuracy and very easy to tune.

https://u.cubeupload.com/crazyhorse4/IMG24462.jpg

You will not be disappointed at all. The price at $1249 is very competitive Chrono data using JSB 18.13

LO 925.5
HI 934.8
AV 930.2
ES 9.30
SD 2.82

Only issue is I have not worked out a suitable sling as I hunt although it is lighter that all my other hunting rifles. I went with the tube vice bottle as I felt there would be plenty of air capacity for my needs. In fact my tune delivers 102 shots on one fill without falling off the REG.
I purchased the Katran from Utah Airguns.
 
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I recently did the same as you - only in .177 cal. Needed another .177 besides my Crown.

I hate bolt actions after having now used side levers for some time. I figured that the straight pull action on the Priest might not be too hard to cock against a .177 power hammer spring. 

I will say that I love that little gun. I wish it would shoot the Monsters better since I seem to have a ton of those, but they are good enough for plinking. Monster RD's work really great for any real target work. I think that the gun was designed around the RD's. Don't know about the .30 cal but do any research you can on what it likes best - it can makes a pretty big accuracy difference in these guns.

Also beware of the first owner's tune. I swore off RTI's for a couple of years after the harsh shooting of my first Prophet 2. But I was less knowledgeable then, and should have known that many American air gunners tune everything they own for MAX POWER. That was probably the biggest issue with that gun. Tune these for reasonable power in any caliber and they are incredibly more pleasant to shoot.

Congrats on your new/used Priest.
 
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I have the Katran Compact Bottle, and it's a great gun. Being small there's an incredible amount that can be done with it, and if work wouldn't be bogging me down I'd have time to update my review of it further.

Very accurate, fast, light, solid, reliable. It's my go-to pest gun. It came from Utah Airguns as have many of the add-on parts and much of the ammo, they've been awesome to work with.

I get two mags (32 shots) out of a fill. It uses a fill probe and therefore not teatherable, but with a EdGun fill probe valve is very fast to fill.

I also love how the stock folds, it fits in tight spots when needed, which is really helpful when backpacking/camping/other.

Congrats on your Priest 2, how are you liking it?
 
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Just bought it yesterday online, it will take a couple days to get here, AoA has always taken about 3 days to send their guns here to the San Diego Area, I like that you can change barrel calibers easily, I will get a .22 cal barrel kit when they get restocked, they also have a side lever kit for it too, we'll see how I like the straight pull bolt.

I'll test the gun and set a tune I like, I don't like over powering tunes, I like to tune for best accuracy, although I will be using this gun for Hog hunting so it will be dialed in to have accuracy and enough power for a clean take down. (For when I move to Texas next month). 
 
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crazyhorse said:
I bought the Katran Long in .22 Cal and this is the best air rifle I have bought since 2007. It is outstanding in quality .accuracy and very easy to tune.

https://u.cubeupload.com/crazyhorse4/IMG24462.jpg

You will not be disappointed at all. The price at $1249 is very competitive Chrono data using JSB 18.13

LO 925.5
HI 934.8
AV 930.2
ES 9.30
SD 2.82

Only issue is I have not worked out a suitable sling as I hunt although it is lighter that all my other hunting rifles. I went with the tube vice bottle as I felt there would be plenty of air capacity for my needs. In fact my tune delivers 102 shots on one fill without falling off the REG.
I purchased the Katran from Utah Airguns.
Click to expand...
Hi Crazyhorse

Just wondering if you can assist me in making a purchase decision. Please bear in mind that I shoot exclusively offhand!!! - only use a bench occasionally for zeroing.

I shoot competition air-rifle silhouette 6 times a month (competition 2 nights a month and 4 practice sessions a month) out to 41 metres. Since mid-2018 I have been using a FX Crown (Mk 1) in .177 and then 2.5 years ago bought a FX Impact M3 in .22 calibre. I knew before I ordered the Impact M3 that it was not the ideal rifle for offhand, but took a gamble, and recently sold it. I just could not get the balance and ergonomic fit to my liking; and neither the trigger. I get far better offhand results with the Crown.

I wish to replace the M3 with another .22 and am very interested in the AirMaks Katran LB (520mm barrel with a 480cc carbon fibre bottle) as it seems to fill most of my criteria. I only use JSB 18.13 grain pellets and have some near non-negotiable criteria:

1. the rifle must be very accurate with the 18.13 JSBs
2. the rifle must shoot at least 70-80 pellets without requiring a refill. I am a senior citizen and don't want to lift a 22Kg scuba tank in and out of the car at home and at the range.
3. the trigger must be very light. Some of my colleagues shoot Steyrs and Feinwerkbaus (FWBs) and, when I have used these rifles you don't pull the trigger but rather just a light touch - their triggers are between 100-150 grams (3-5 ounces). I have modified the Crown trigger to make it lighter, but it is not excellent.
4. the rifle should not be a bullpup, but rather a full rifle with good to excellent balance and ergonomics for offhand shooting.

I could consider another FX Crown in .22, but want to give the FX a miss as their trigger design is very rudimentary and next to nil adjustment for weight, whereas the Katran does have an adjustable weight feature and some sophistication to the trigger mechanism. Also, I want something that has a solid barrel as opposed the more "flexible" FX liner system.

(A) So, have you had any issues with the Katran?
(B) Is it accurate with 18.13 gr JSBs to 41 metres?
(C) What is the shot count - I notice that you say 102 shots on a fill on a Katran 285cc tube, but I cannot see anyone else getting anywhere near that number of shots?
(D) How do you find the trigger, and have you managed to adjust the weight?
(E) How do you find the Katran for offhand shooting? Is it a bit too light?
(F) Is the foldable stock holding up to wear and tear?
(G) Have you made any tuning adjustments to the regulator and/or hammer spring?

Do hope you can help me out, as it will be appreciated.

Cheers

Matt
 
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