Getting terrible results with my first airgun, is it the gun or me?

[JohnnyPDX]

Take 20+ lb fishing line, tie a loop in the center, run it through the barrel and pull patches through.

WD-40 or engine starting fluid used sparingly are wicked good cleaners. Finish with rubbing alcohol / denatured alcohol patches and then dry patches.

Sounds like those barrels are FILTHY and you might have numerous BLACK patches returning.

 

[Fatmike]

Learning a good hold for a bullpup does take a little trying. The shortness of the gun makes even small movements look big on target. Practice alot itll get better.

 

[bckyrdsnpr52]

Let someone else shoot it, you may just be a lousy shot! Hatsans although inexpensive, have some decent barrels on the Flash series rifles.

 

[timmah]

It should be capable of better than that. I have two Flashpups, one in .22 and the other in .25 cal, and they'll get hole touching groups all day long at 20 yards using JSB Kings. As others have said, start out with a clean barrel, and make sure your optics are mounted correctly.

 

[rong1966]

My .22 flashpup shoots FX/jsb 18.13's the best--under a half inch at 30 yards and around a half inch at 50 yards on its best day. My first barrel wouldn't group under an inch at 30 yards and HatsanUSA replaced it with a new barrel. The only other pellet which it shoots well is the FX 15.89. None of the H&N pellets that I tried shoot well in mine.

 

[timothybobw]

That's really interesting about the H&N pellets. Especially unfortunate since I've purchased so many different kinds of H&M pellets. I've wanted to buy the 18.13 JBL's but they seem to be out of stock everywhere.

How was your warranty process with HatsanUSA to get them to replace the barrel? 

 

[rong1966]

Very easy. I filled out the website form and Hatsan got back to me pretty quick and I received a new barrel in two weeks.

 

[davidsng]

My first Hatsan was really accurate. I thought they were all like that, but they are not. I had one Hatsan the I could do nothing with, one that was Good, three that were okay on accuracy. Hatsan barrel chew up pellets more that others. I've had better luck with H&N than JSB. They have a harder alloy in the lead.

 

[JimD]

If you want another inexpensive scope (about $100) I recommend the Hawke Vantage 2-7. I had a bug buster (UTG) on my Prod and it would move POI an inch while the gun was hanging on a peg. No bumping or anything, POI just drifted. It has been with UTG since December and I have no idea when or if I will ever see it again. They are not responding to my requests for update. The Hawke has worked great from day 1.

If you have trouble finding JSBs you might want to look for the other brand pellets they make. FX, for instance. My Avenger happens to like the FX better than the Kings in 25.4 (25 caliber). There are others made by JSB. It seems like all pellets drift into and then out of stock right now, however.

My Prod likes H&N Barracudas and FTT but my Avenger dislikes every H&N pellet or slug I've tried in it except the Barracudas are OK. FTTs are bad in the Avenger and best pellet I've tried in the Prod. I don't think you made a mistake trying them in your Hatsan, but it may not like them.

I shot a couple fairly normal 1/4 inch groups in my Avenger this morning at 33 yards and then turned around and shot the Prod and the smallest group was at least 1/2 and the biggest might have been an inch at the same distance. The Avenger shoots fine just laying on the front bag but the Prod wants a little hand pressure on the front. I knew that - from previous experience - but forgot. I'm not sure I can get the Prod down to 1/4 inch groups this afternoon but expect to get it to more routine 1/2 inch groups shooting Crosman hollow points. It doesn't love these pellets but I have several tins I would just as soon use up practicing. I will probably shoot a magazine or two of the FTT too just to see the difference. I don't think it will be large. My point is just that I had to learn how each gun wanted to be held. The Prod is not a bullpup but it is quite short and I find it more challenging to shoot well than the normal length Avenger.