Hatsan At44-10 Synthetic review

[Jesim1]

I try to get odd reviews up on guns I've tried just for a bit of fun and to let people see what they have been like if they are thinking about one or just want some basic info.

Here's one for a Hatsan AT44-10 I recently sorted out as it was in a sorry state when I got it with just some basics needing repaired to bring it back to working life. There are probably so many guns which die a death this way, as having them professionally done, especially at this price point, is beyond some people, so they are left in a corner or attic, which is one reason I often hear guys shouting - "get them out for the lads" in true airgun spirit



So here we have a pretty decent budget rifle from Hatsan, it's got no right to be as good as it is, but for a cheap entry into PCPs it's a great bit of kit, and although I'm not going to trade in my BR target rifles for it, it deserves some praise for doing what it does at the price it does it at

The AT44-10 in a synthetic stock like this one in .177 is available from around £400 up, so it's the entry level option for a full power PCP, and other stocks are also available. It's not going to compete for quality with the big names like Air Arms or Daystate, but bearing in mind the budget, it gets you into the game at least.

The gun has a list of features found on higher quality guns, but you can see and feel where they have "dumbed them down" a bit to get to a price point. Take the adjustable stock for instance, it's ballistic plastic, so can feel a but cheap, but will also take some knocks and not be a write off, so for hunting and playing around without worrying about it then it's no bad thing. The actual adjustment is pretty good in the fact that it's there at all, in both butt pad and cheek piece, many guns twice or even three times this do not have any kind of stock adjustment, so again, it's a win for Hatsan with this.



The gun has a removable 180cc cylinder with a quick fill and gauge. The gauge seems to be accurate enough, and with a 200bar max fill, it will do around 40 good shots before it starts to drop below 11fpe from the max this one was doing at 11.6fpe with JSB heavies. I think these have some sort of basic reg fitted? I'm not 100 % on that, but it does not have a power curve like an unregged rifle, and does around 40 shots over 11fpe before starting to drop by about 0.1fpe ever shot after that, so you can get another 10 shots on target with a touch of holdover, but you need a fill by the time you get to 50 shots at around 140/150bar.



The trigger is marketed as a match trigger with two stages, but in my opinion you can really feel the cost cutting here, and it's quite agricultural along with the whole side lever cocking system which feeds the 10 shot magazine, two of which are supplied. The auto safety take a bit of getting used to, and like the rest of the moving parts, is build down to a price, but as I keep saying, I'm surprised they got it on the gun at all given the price point. The gun comes with a screw cut barrel, but no moderator, so adding one helps reduce the bark as you would expect, but also give it a better look IMO



There is plenty of room for your scope on the 11mm dovetail, and if that's not enough, they have cut a 20mm dovetail into the rifle also - I can only assume that's for other markets as a 20mm dovetail is not commonly used in the UK.

The barrel is quite good, and the accuracy during the 40/50 shots from 200bar is impressive for the type and price of gun. I've mentioned the trigger, cocking and safety all being a bit agricultural, and this feeds through to the rather harsh firing cycle which limits the accuracy a touch as you feel the gun kick, not like a springer, but more than a normal PCP. I'm pretty sure with some time and effort the gun could be tuned to be a lot better, but you would have to be able to do it yourself on a cheap gun, as if your spending money on it you may as well buy one higher up the range to begin with - but did I mention it's a cheap gun?

On the card below you can actually see the accuracy starting to drift from left to right as this was well into the 40 shots. These were 5 shot groups, and the first 5 were a real surprise, but to constantly get those I've got a feeling you would have to refill every 30ish shots, but it's not too shabby at all.



So that's about it then, you have to read between the lines on the advertising on cheap guns, you do get what you pay for, but that can be pretty good, and you can't get sucked in by terms like "smooth operation" or "match trigger", they are what they are, so as long as you bear that in mind, then these are pretty good guns built to a reasonable standard.

James

[angrybear]

Very good, But there is a separate section for reviews so that the post doesn't get lost in general.

[Shed tuner]

maybe it's had an aftermarket reg fitted ?
Or, as the good shot count it quite low for the CCs, it may have very tight porting and a heavy hammer/spring, which would also explain the flat line then drop.

Good review, I am genuinely surprised at how good some of the current crop of budget PCPs actually are...

[Jesim1]

Very good, But there is a separate section for reviews so that the post doesn't get lost in general.

Good point, I'll ask the mods to move both I've done recently

[Waltherfan]

Fantastic review mate enjoyed reading it
Think it’s similar if not the same platform of my BT65 and I’d agree they are fantastic guns!

[Johnsriot]

Enjoyed your review. Spot on. I've had a couple of these and among them a regged version. They're good out of the box and a brilliant introduction to a hunting pcp but my regged version really was very very accurate. As good as some of the much more expensive guns I've had.

[kamyonsofor]

I try to get odd reviews up on guns I've tried just for a bit of fun and to let people see what they have been like if they are thinking about one or just want some basic info.

Here's one for a Hatsan AT44-10 I recently sorted out as it was in a sorry state when I got it with just some basics needing repaired to bring it back to working life. There are probably so many guns which die a death this way, as having them professionally done, especially at this price point, is beyond some people, so they are left in a corner or attic, which is one reason I often hear guys shouting - "get them out for the lads" in true airgun spirit



So here we have a pretty decent budget rifle from Hatsan, it's got no right to be as good as it is, but for a cheap entry into PCPs it's a great bit of kit, and although I'm not going to trade in my BR target rifles for it, it deserves some praise for doing what it does at the price it does it at

The AT44-10 in a synthetic stock like this one in .177 is available from around £400 up, so it's the entry level option for a full power PCP, and other stocks are also available. It's not going to compete for quality with the big names like Air Arms or Daystate, but bearing in mind the budget, it gets you into the game at least.

The gun has a list of features found on higher quality guns, but you can see and feel where they have "dumbed them down" a bit to get to a price point. Take the adjustable stock for instance, it's ballistic plastic, so can feel a but cheap, but will also take some knocks and not be a write off, so for hunting and playing around without worrying about it then it's no bad thing. The actual adjustment is pretty good in the fact that it's there at all, in both butt pad and cheek piece, many guns twice or even three times this do not have any kind of stock adjustment, so again, it's a win for Hatsan with this.



The gun has a removable 180cc cylinder with a quick fill and gauge. The gauge seems to be accurate enough, and with a 200bar max fill, it will do around 40 good shots before it starts to drop below 11fpe from the max this one was doing at 11.6fpe with JSB heavies. I think these have some sort of basic reg fitted? I'm not 100 % on that, but it does not have a power curve like an unregged rifle, and does around 40 shots over 11fpe before starting to drop by about 0.1fpe ever shot after that, so you can get another 10 shots on target with a touch of holdover, but you need a fill by the time you get to 50 shots at around 140/150bar.



The trigger is marketed as a match trigger with two stages, but in my opinion you can really feel the cost cutting here, and it's quite agricultural along with the whole side lever cocking system which feeds the 10 shot magazine, two of which are supplied. The auto safety take a bit of getting used to, and like the rest of the moving parts, is build down to a price, but as I keep saying, I'm surprised they got it on the gun at all given the price point. The gun comes with a screw cut barrel, but no moderator, so adding one helps reduce the bark as you would expect, but also give it a better look IMO



There is plenty of room for your scope on the 11mm dovetail, and if that's not enough, they have cut a 20mm dovetail into the rifle also - I can only assume that's for other markets as a 20mm dovetail is not commonly used in the UK.

The barrel is quite good, and the accuracy during the 40/50 shots from 200bar is impressive for the type and price of gun. I've mentioned the trigger, cocking and safety all being a bit agricultural, and this feeds through to the rather harsh firing cycle which limits the accuracy a touch as you feel the gun kick, not like a springer, but more than a normal PCP. I'm pretty sure with some time and effort the gun could be tuned to be a lot better, but you would have to be able to do it yourself on a cheap gun, as if your spending money on it you may as well buy one higher up the range to begin with - but did I mention it's a cheap gun?

On the card below you can actually see the accuracy starting to drift from left to right as this was well into the 40 shots. These were 5 shot groups, and the first 5 were a real surprise, but to constantly get those I've got a feeling you would have to refill every 30ish shots, but it's not too shabby at all.



So that's about it then, you have to read between the lines on the advertising on cheap guns, you do get what you pay for, but that can be pretty good, and you can't get sucked in by terms like "smooth operation" or "match trigger", they are what they are, so as long as you bear that in mind, then these are pretty good guns built to a reasonable standard.

James

I wished I'd known you 3 years ago I bought a nearly new AT44 .22 but for me a disappointment on the 25 yd range got miffed watching the slug/pellet arcing down to the target had more fun with my Sharp innova and Benjamin Franklin pump.

[Sonny200]

Great review - neat little gun especially for people just getting into the pcp game. The shot count is low for me but then again I’m used to the bigger 500cc bottle rifles with height shot count. Or maybe I’m just lazy

[MrGreengrass]

Enjoyed your review. Spot on. I've had a couple of these and among them a regged version. They're good out of the box and a brilliant introduction to a hunting pcp but my regged version really was very very accurate. As good as some of the much more expensive guns I've had.

Good review.
I have had the .22 version for a few years...and sold the S400 in .22 i had and kept the Hatsan...as the Hatsan was just as accurate in a shootout...and bought me x2 more Hatsans.
It is now fitted with a Pard 008 on an Eaglevision mount and A&M mod and is my go to dedicated night gun.
Very accurate with H&N ammo and Accupells.
A fairly heavy gun, but has a solid build.
50 good shots off a charge and never needed any seals either.
I have had worse guns that were more expensive.
Not finished like a Ripley..but a damm good field gun and i
also like the revolver style mag system.
In fact, all 3 of my field guns are Hatsans..AT44 10, BT65SB
125 Springer all well up to the job and are cheap enough to bash around the land and not worry.
None have ever let me down in the field either.

[Sonny200]

Great review
Really detailed - loved reading it
Shame there isn't more reviews like this

[Jesim1]

Great review
Really detailed - loved reading it
Shame there isn't more reviews like this

Thanks for the encouragement, if your interested in a particular rifle then put up a general add asking for links from members, someone will have reviewed one, probably several times for the more popular ones. I've done dozens over the years, but not all on this site, particularly Daystates which I've had dozens of, so it's worth asking.

James

[TX200 JC]

that is one in-depth review, thanks for taking the time to share.

[zooma]

Nice review James - we don't see enough reviews on the BBS - so many thanks for taking the time to produce this one ........and keep them coming

[Jesim1]

Nice review James - we don't see enough reviews on the BBS - so many thanks for taking the time to produce this one ........and keep them coming

Thanks

I'll do another couple once my shoulder OP has healed and I can shoot again, so probably a winter project

[Nibbles]

Good review, thanks for posting. I have an AT-44 in 22, now fitted with a lane regulator and it's a very consistent rifle with pellet on pellet - shame it weighs so much!