Hey guys, I usually hang out on GTA, but I've been a member here for a while. Norman showed me the link to his post, so I figured I'd log in and give you guys some(a lot) more details
The problems I've been seeing with the newer Hatsans have really bothered me as well. A little backstory: I've been playing with them for a few years now, and know them well, especially when it comes to making them "better". My first was an AT44 Long, which I learned a lot from, and eventually sold to finance a Bullboss when they came out. That AT44 is still shooting to this day with the person I sold it too. My Bullboss .22 is still going strong after thousands of rounds, many at higher than factory power levels. Like many of you, I've always loved the Hatsans for the their value, reliability, and tune-ability. I've never thought they were the best gun out there, but I've always considered them among the best bang for the buck one can buy. There are few guns that you can get the power or shot count(for air available) out of with very little cost in parts. All that's needed is some elbow grease.
The problems I've seen aren't limited to the Nova Star, and it is entirely possible Norman got a "Friday" gun. I started getting concerned about a year ago when I started seeing a lot of issues with the newer runs of the Bullboss. Parts that are metal on my early run Bullboss are plastic on the newer ones, which means the triggers aren't that great. I also started seeing a lot of them with the "wishbone" de-bounce device failing. They changed the design from the original, which was the exact same one as on the AT44. I've never had one of those fail. The new design splits in half and gouges up the breech assembly, on top of not functioning as a de-bounce anymore. Symptoms are everything from lots of air use, to rough cocking, to the inability to cock, and even ruining the breech assembly. Less than a year ago, I ordered the the AT44 de-bounce from Hatsan to replace one in a Bullboss, and it was the old design, so ordering that part for the AT44 may be a solution to those of you who have had that piece fail, fwiw.
The problems I found with Norman's Nova Star are as follows: 1) The pellet probe was too short. About 1.5mm of the 34 grain JSB was still sticking out over the barrel port when the pellet was loaded and the cocking handle closed. I will admit that it was barely sticking out with the factory porting in the breech, but still inexcusable. I was able to remedy that by extending the probe a bit. 2) The de-bounce wishbone was in two pieces. That is the first one I've seen that wasn't in a Bullboss. Fortunately, I had ordered two for an AT44 last time I ordered one, so I had one to replace it with. 3)The cocking lever is held into place with pins, like most Hatsans. The bottom hole on the lever was wallowed out, so the pin was barely hanging on. I fixed that. 4) One of the o-rings for the transfer port was the wrong size(too large). I replaced that. 5)Both of the outside barrel o-rings were cut, so I had to replace them. 6) The hammer spring was MAXED out, and hard to break free. That was producing a steadily declining shot string. 7) The tip of the valve stem that gets struck by the hammer looked like it had been ground down, and not evenly either. I evened that out and cleaned it up. 8( The valve itself had been tightened down so hard that the flats on the end of the valve were warped, and were catching causing an extremely tight fit in the gun. I fixed that too. All of this stuff is absolutely unacceptable! Especially, considering Hatsan's price saving changes may have saved them a $1.39 on each gun,lol. It will cost them a lot more, if they don't get their stuff together with lost customers and returns. Bean counters never count the cost of the aftermath of their changes
After it was all said and done, Norman's Nova Star should be an awesome gun now though. I basically threw the kitchen sink at it with tuning and fixing stuff. It went from a max speed of 850 fps with the 34 grain JSBs to a max speed of 1060fps with the 34 grain. Obviously, that isn't the tune he'll be using it with. I had to see what it could do though
The gun is actually capable of a solid 20 shot 80 fpe tune with a sub 20 fps ES using 43 grain Eun Jins! Per his request, I tuned it to around 890 fps with the 34 grain for a 60fpe tune. It is getting about 50 shots at that power level with an ES under 30 fps. If shooting at 50 yards or less, then it can probably do 60 shots around that level. Now it is quieter, cocks easier, and just feels better all around. These results are a perfect example of why I've always loved Hatsans. You can just do so much with them!
I will say, I don't think they're all bad, and most any gun can be fixed, but they really need to get it together. At this point in time, I will only recommend two of their PCPs. The AT44 is one, because it has been around forever and is generally bullet proof. The other good one is the Flash/Flashpup, because that gun is so simple it is hard for them to get wrong(even on a Friday). Most of you know what can be done with the AT44 platforms, which is basically anything from 20 fpe to 60+fpe. The Flash uses a very similar valve, and is easy to work on. It also has pretty good power potential, and doesn't weigh anything(great hunter). I hope all of this info helps some of you guys that may have been considering a Hatsan PCP. They can still be great guns, but know you may need to do more work to them than you planned. I really do hope someone at Hatsan sees this and takes action. I hated to see them go down hill like this. Their designs are SOLID, but they better work on that execution during the production side for sure. That's all I have for now!
