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Next airgun...hmmmm... gladius long?

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E30_S50

Member
Apr 15, 2018
122
2
NY, United States
I recently started out in the PCP game with a Nova Freedom but I am already itching to get a second plinker...something a little nicer with a bit more power. I have really been looking at all the options (too many good options!) and I think I may get a Gladius Long for my next gun. 

Has anyone had good or bad experiences with this product? I do like the simple (and non-plastic) design of their magazines and the gun comes with a few of them...and the holders for extra mags on the gun is a cool feature. 

I plan to to stick with 22 rather than 25 because there seems to be many more pellet options in that size. Also, the 22's are slightly more cost effective pellets. In the future, I will get a bigger caliber gun, but would jump up substantially to .35 or .357 and get something that can shoot slugs.

One thing I really do NOT like is how the safety kicks on every time the gun is cocked. I can already tell that will be annoying. Has anyone found a work-around for this? I was wondering if something as simple as a small rubber band could be put around it to pull it back to OFF position automatically. 
 
Mine is now a shooter but it didn't start out that way. Many hours of shooting and testing. It started as a maxed out .22 cal squirrel getter and has progressed to a 20 fpe, regulated, HFT gun. Most of the modifications made can be easily reversed and turn it back into a 30 fpe+ hunter. 
I can't think of anything I don't like about the gun. As for the safety, you get used to it quite quickly. Most of the time I don't even notice when I switch it to fire.
 
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Take a look at the Brocock Bantam Hi Lite for the same price. I just researched various .22 PCP's in depth and bought the Brocock Bantam Hi Lite after having it recommended by a plethora of different people. I was told by many people, for the money, the Brocock is the best bang for the buck... I'll let you be the judge of that! I do own a Hatsan AT-44 Long QE which is very similar to the Gladius in many, almost all aspects and can tell you from first hand experience that the Brocock is superior to my AT-44. If you go with the Hatsan, I'm sure you will love it. I loved my AT-44 too. Only after buying the Brocock did I realize there was such a huge difference in....shot count, no automatic safety, accuracy, balance, and overall fit/finish. Either way, you'll love these guns! If you have any questions, feel free to get a hold of me. I hope this helps a little. Kevin
 
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I have a Gladius .22 Long and have had no problems with it. I don't shoot it much as I prefer lighter rifles, but it is a nice gun. I would agree that the Brocock Bantam is a nicer rifle, but the Gladius is cool and the street price might be lower than the Bantam, or you might pick one up used for a good price.
I have been thinking of selling my Gladius and getting one of those new Hatsan FlashPup bullpups...check it out and see if you like it as it is much less money and also quite cool (but not as heavy), but also not as tactical looking. 
 
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While a little on the heavy side, Hatsan makes good quality airguns. Unless you're hand pumping, you might look at the Hatsan Bully. There's a lot of similarity between the 2. 
Here's some info that might help. I've been focused on the Bully the past couple weeks, so this is fresh in my mind.

Bully Pros over the Gladius Long:
A much larger air capacity
A higher pressure limit
Almost 2" shorter overall length with the same 23" length barrel
Has a larger capacity mag with the same simple mag design as the gladius. 
Bully safety is manually set 
The pressure gauge is on the bottom vs the gladius is toward the muzzle of the gun
Very long top Pic rail (some might consider this a pro)
I don't know what price you have on the Gladius, but the Bully might be cheaper. Indianaairguns.com is selling them for $750 

Same as Gladius
Same weight
Same trigger
Same anti-double feed
Same in stock mag storage
Gladius comes with 4 x 10 shot mags (40 shots), Bully comes with 3 x 14 shot mags (42 shots)
PA lists loudness of both airguns as 4-medium/high. 
Hammer spring adjustment

Cons - Bully not as good as the Gladius
I think the Gladius is better looking 
Bully doesn't have an adjustable buttpad. The gladius can adjust for elevation and angle
Bully doesn't have the External power adjustment knob. I believe this restricts air flow. Some might see this as a con. Ironically, people spend a great deal of time removing air flow restrictions.
​Bully doesn't have side Pic rails like the Gladius does

I own a bullboss and bully, but don't own a Gladius. I'm sure there are Gladius owners that can add/change this list. I'm having a similar experience with my Bully as dleadslinger had with his Gladius. Out of the box, Bully power is set to shoot heavy slugs. It's going to take a little time and attention to make it into a great pellet shooter. 
 
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Rich, all of those functional pros definitely make the bully an instant winner...Even more so for the full size Hercules. The thing that kills it for me (both for the bully and the Hercules) is the aesthetic design. As much as I love those functional advantages, especially the higher air capacity, I just can't stand the overly busy design of the plastic stuff/stock on those 2 guns.

I feel bad bad saying so because I know some designer somewhere probably spent lots of time working on the design of those plastic stocks...but in the end he failed because it looks very toyish. Like a teenager took his dads perfectly nice bmw and ruined it with a cheesy body kit and a spoiler. 

I wish the bully looked more similar to the gladius...without the functionless "ornament" so to speak. Or better yet, they could have just gone purely simple and functional like the FX impact. The gun would honestly look much better with all the plastic bodywork left off and the air tank left visible. 
 
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"E30_S50"Rich, all of those functional pros definitely make the bully an instant winner...Even more so for the full size Hercules. The thing that kills it for me (both for the bully and the Hercules) is the aesthetic design. As much as I love those functional advantages, especially the higher air capacity, I just can't stand the overly busy design of the plastic stuff/stock on those 2 guns.
I feel bad bad saying so because I know some designer somewhere probably spent lots of time working on the design of those plastic stocks...but in the end he failed because it looks very toyish. Like a teenager took his dads perfectly nice bmw and ruined it with a cheesy body kit and a spoiler. 
I wish the bully looked more similar to the gladius...without the functionless "ornament" so to speak. Or better yet, they could have just gone purely simple and functional like the FX impact. The gun would honestly look much better with all the plastic bodywork left off and the air tank left visible.
Click to expand...

I with you. I think the Gladius is a better looking airgun. I think saying the Bully favors function over form is a fair assessment. I might have made a similar comment a few months back. :)
 
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I was just thinking about this. The Bully is heavy. It could stand to lose a pound or 2. If I get ambitious, I'll make a carbon fiber stock. Not silver checkered carbon fiber, but a nice dark matte. Maybe I can shed some of it's weight and create easy access to the Hammer Spring Tension screws while I'm at it. Maybe even add support for AR or AK interchangeable grips. 
 
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"stony30"Kind of off topic but do you guys happen to know how to remove the shroud of the Bully ? Thanks
Click to expand...


I'm going to write this for others as well. 

Safety first
To state the obvious: ensure the airgun is empty by
  1. Removing the magazine
  2. Dry fire the gun in a safe direction (this will be loud) 
  3. Ensure it's de-cocked
  4. Put the safety on
    [/LIST=1]
    To remove the barrel shroud, do the following:
    1. Put the gun in a gun vise 
    2. You can skip this step, but you might mar up the barrel shroud if you do. First remove the carbon fiber bottle cover. To do this, remove the 2 screws in the top of the pic rail closest to the muzzle. Then slowly walk the carbon fiber bottle cover down the barrel shroud until it's off
    3. The shroud screws into the breech block. Grab the shroud with both hands and unscrew. Side note: Rings on your fingers could scratch the shroud.
    4. Once unscrewed from the breech block, slide the shroud down the barrel by slowly twisting back and forth while you pull it off. Try to keep it as level to the barrel as possible. If the shroud gets pulled at an angle, you could scratch the barrel surface. Also, there's an air stripper on the end of the barrel that has an o-ring on it. You want to be careful not to damage it.
      [/LIST=1]
      Hope this helps. 
 
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"E30_S50"Ahhh so the bottle cover is separate from the stock? In the photos it looks like the plastic is all one continuous piece.
Click to expand...

Here's the photo you're looking for. The only thing I didn't remove is one of the barrel bands and that requires a greater tear down. 
1525922844_13152027325af3bc1c81e176.43079887_Hatsan_Bully_25cal_light_disassemble_cropped_small.png
 
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