by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
Hatsan Sortie semiautomatic pistol.
This report covers:
- Shooting with a scope
- Sight-in
- The test
- RWS Superdomes
- H&N Field Target Trophy with 5.53mm head
- H&N Sniper Light
- Last pellet — Baracuda with 5.50mm head
- Summary and evaluation
Today we see how accurate the new Hatsan Sortie pistol is at 25 yards. Remember, this is a true semiautomatic .22-caliber air pistol that looks ideal for hunting.
Shooting with a scope
Several readers wondered how the pistol could be held to shoot with a rifle scope attached. I said I didn’t want to try a pistol scope and readers know the eye relief with a rifle scope is about three inches or less, so how can that work? I promised to show you in this report, so let’s do that now.
I mounted a UTG 10X44 Mini SWAT scope on the Sortie. That scope is either discontinued or out of stock, but it looks quite similar to the UTG 10X50 SWAT scope. All the features are identical.
To attach it to the pistol I initially used BKL 301MB rings, but I needed to cancel some droop so I switched to the Weaver rings that come with the scope and attached them to a BKL 4-inch 11mm dovetail-to-Weaver Cantilever Base that cancelled droop and clamped to the 11 dovetail base on the pistol’s receiver. If you remember, the Sortie magazine sticks up above the top of the receiver, and this base allowed me to extend the scope rings behind it.
I’m resting my back against a tree. Notice I am using the scope to steady the pistol. This puts no strain on the scope, and allows the pistol to be held about as steady as a rifle.
I learned how to hold a scoped pistol this way back when I had a Crosman Mark I that had been modified by Mac-1. It had a 12-inch barrel and a 3.5-ounce CO2 bottle hanging below the grip and holding the scope was the only way to hold the pistol steady.
Sight-in
I had already sighted in the pistol last time so all I had to do was fill it and load the magazine. I will note that the scope base is a little out of alignment, and the pistol shot to the left with the scope adjusted as far to the right as it could be adjusted. If this was my gun I would need to find an adjustable scope mount to replace the UTG rings.
The test
I shot at 25 yards, with the Sortie rested directly on a sandbag. I filled after each 10-shot group.
RWS Superdomes
The first pellet I tested was the RWS Superdome. They did poorly, spreading 10 pellets out in a 2.14-inch group. Obviously not the pellet for the Sortie.
Ten RWS Superdome pellets made this wide 2.14-inch group at 25 yards.
Okay, that didn’t work! At this point I decided to use only those pellets Hatsan sent me for this test.
H&N Field Target Trophy with 5.53mm head
First up were 10 H&N Field Target Trophy pellets with 5.53mm heads. These started out okay, but shot number 7 jammed in the barrel. I re-cocked the pistol and shot it out. The next shot went okay, then shot 9 jammed in the barrel and I stopped shooting. I rodded the pellet out of the breech and resolved not to test this pellet further, as it clearly has problems in this Sortie. The 8 pellets I did shoot went into 1.595-inches at 25 yards.
Eight Field Target Special pellets with 5.53mm heads made this 1.595-inch group. Two pellets got stuck in the barrel.
H&N Sniper Light
Here’s a pellet I don’t think I’ve tested before — the H&N Sniper Light. They fed well through the magazine and 10 went into 0.952-inches at 25 yards. Finally! A pellet I can use! I was becoming concerned that I had forgotten how to shoot an air pistol before trying these.
Ten Sniper Lights went into 0.952-inches at 25 yards. The Sortie can shoot!
Last pellet — Baracuda with 5.50mm head
The final pellet I tested was the last one Hatsan sent me — the H&N Baracuda with 5.50mm head. On the third shot I knew this was going to be a winner, because they were all going into the same hole. Ten shots went into 0.681-inches at 25 yards. I guess this is the pellet for the Sortie!
Ten H&N Baracudas with 5.50mm heads went into a tight 0.681-inch group at 25 yards.
Summary and evaluation
Well, this was an interesting test! The Hatsan Sortie semiautomatic pistol is both powerful and accurate. The open sights don’t do much for it, but when scoped with a rifle scope it’s a small rifle.
The trigger is long and takes getting used to, but it’s worth the effort. The pistol fills to 2900 psi with a proprietary probe and you get about 15 good shots per fill. The discharge sound is loud but not annoying.
There aren’t many air pistols in this power class, and certainly not any semiautomatics. If that’s your cup of tea, this one’s for you.
Morning BB, Wow! That’s an impressive group with the baracuda pellets.I know I’m only a fair target shot,so as with many air rifles,they shoot better than I can shoot them.Being said,it would not greatly effect the accuracy if it were mine to install a UTG red dot,it would give a much longer eye relief and maybe easier places to steady a short gun.That’s just me,I’m a hunter at heart,Dan
B.B.,
Well this one has certainly been interesting. Very nice shooting. The off kilter rail would cause me pause. The pellets jamming in the barrel would be another. These were 5.53’s and you chronied with 5.55’s. It is like the valve stuck a bit? Or the bolt did not seat fully and there was some air loss out the back end? There is plenty of air push, so I don’t know. It is hard to imagine anything getting stuck.
All in all,.. a nice “cup of tea”. 😉 I’ll stick with coffee though.
Good Day to you and to all,…. Chris
Chris
Bet it’s got a smooth twist barrel like the FX guns. The FX Monsoons I had would do the same if the pellet fit was too tight or if the pellet weight was heavier.
The jamming of the bolt and magazine happens on the semi-auto FX Monsoon too.
They are very picky guns on fill pressure in relation to the mag and pellet sticking problem. And I think this Hatsan might just share some FX parts. So same problems.
GF1,
That all is very interesting and at the same time a bit of turn off. It sounds as if the bolt cycling needs a bit of a regulator by itself. Or, in a (regulated) rifle that is semi-auto,.. would the bolt cycling air also be supplied by regulated air? Then you throw in the smooth twist comment. I am not sure about that one and having it tie to pellet sticking. Are you saying that the pellet will be fine until it hits the choked down/rifled portion at the end of the barrel? Is the Monsoon regulated?
Chris
Yes about the pellet when it transitions from smooth bore to the rifling.
Nope Monsoon is not regulated. And the bolt is basically a blow back design. It uses a piston sort of in the shroud on the barrel that is attached to the bolt by a rod. So the air blast blows the piston back after it leaves the barrel. So imagine how that will change when the pellet leaves the barrel in the shroud with different be fill pressure and as the pressure changes velocity in a shot string. Then add weight of the pellet into the equation. So yep finding the right fit pellet and weight and fill pressure in a Monsoon is very critical and tricky. If you can get one to be reliable you are probably a heck of a pcp tuner.
Now one step farther. Look at the FX Revolution. It does not use the piston in the shroud. It’s actually got a adjustable air flow up in front of the barrel. So t then routs the air back to the breech by a air tube. Kind of like the gas return on M1’s if I remember right and the AK’s. And again. The FX Revolution is not regulated.
Maybe a regulated Monsoon or Revolution and the gun BB is testing would make for a more reliable semi-auto. That is interesting question.
I would not be a bit surprised to see this pistol with a shoulder stock similar to Hatsan’s previous pistol show up at the Shot Show this year. That would most definitely be a dandy little carbine.
RR
I only hope so.
I tried a couple different scopes with my very customized Crosman 2300T. I tried a rifle scope and it is super accurate. Now I’m thinking about a shoulder stock modification. The scope and crossed arm setup really hold it well. I’m surprised I don’t see more pistols with rifle scopes.
Racer X,
Probably because most pistols aren’t sold with a rail for easy mounting of a scope. End-users usually have to either find a replacement breech with a built in dovetail rail or resort to some form of clamp on mounts to the barrel that will allow them to mount a scope.
Siraniko
Siraniko
Search the Crosman 2300T.
It has a steel breech similar to the Discovery and Maximus if I remember right.
Some guns are not created equal.
Racer X
Check out RAI air gun parts. He sells adapters that will mount a AR butt stock on your gun.
Matter of fact. Search the 1720T on the Pyramyd AIR site. They offer it as a option on the gun. I had one. Makes the stock very adjustable in 360° of the center line off center.
There are a lot of stock options for the 2300 T. The problem is I am thinking of using the 2300T for Field Target . I don’t think I can use a shoulder stock at all.
Racer X
What class feild target are you shooting?
I don’t think I remember that being a rule.
My normal class is open spring
But I built the 2300 for PCP pistol.
I think the barrel length and stock are not allowed. It has been a while since I built it and have forgotten . I would still shoot open springer primarily. But I had a great time shooting a P1 magnum at the nationals. I finished last but hit most of the face plates and knocked down seven of them. Finished a solid last place.;)
Racer X
If it’s pistol specific then maybe shoulder stocks are not legal. But I think they do allow shoulder stocks on pistols in certian classes.
And it doesn’t matter what place you finished. It matters that you got out there and done it. 🙂
Ya I beat everyone that did not show up. I finished ahead of all the ones that talk about competing. I had a really great time and got to team with some real shooters and learned a lot. To me that is 100% success
Racer X
Definitely have to give you a thumbs up for that.
I did not think about that. It is difficult to mount a scope on a small breach. I have a couple pistols with scopes. All have pistol scopes. It is not easy to hold a scopes pistol at arms length. The weight of the heavy scope and pistol make it fatiguing. Maybe a couple shots but after twenty or more I get tired. With a rifle scope I cross my arms and hold the pistol like I would a rifle. Of corse there is no recoil. Would not do that with a .357
Racer X,
I have the same issue with a pistol scope on a pistol. I scoped a pair of Beeman P17s in order to get more cocking leverage for my grandson and to provide a better sight picture for my old peepers. Now the gun is easier for him to cock but he can’t hold it still at arm’s length. I also tire out after a short time, making the gun less fun to shoot.
I never thought about a rifle scope because of the short eye relief. If I understand the hold that you are using, I think it might just work for me, at least, if not for my grandson. I’m visualizing a setup (for a right hander) where the offhand (left) shoulder is pointed more or less down range with the hand of that arm going under the gun, in front of and then over the forearm of the opposite (right) arm where it can rest on or grip the crook of the( right) elbow. This would leave the barrel or butt of the gun on the crook of the offhand (left) arm and the scope nice and close to the eye. Have I got that right ? Is this a common way of shooting a scoped gun or your own technique ?
Yes that is it. And seated on a bum bag or small seat 6 inches high. My knees are up supporting g the elbows. Feet apart making a wide three point base. I always try to remove any mussel action and get everything bone on bone.
BB,
Any guess about the H&N FTTs? Since they were sent with the gun, one would expect that a good result was anticipated by the company, so, ” What hoppen’ !?”. Was the report lower as it would be if the air volume down the barrel was reduced ? When you pushed out the pellet, was it especially tight? Just curious, was it an unopened tin or do you think it had been shot from by Hatsan ? If it was opened could you please count the remaining pellets in the tin so we can see how many shots Hatsan probably took with them ? ( Stop! Don’t do that! I was only kidding about that part!)
Good morning.
I too am surprised by the problems with the H&N FTT 5.53 pellets. These are the favorite pellet for my HW 50 and Marauder both In .22.
Coduece
Just because they work in one gun doesn’t mean other guns will like a pellet.
There are pellets that do good with a broad range of guns. But still there might be one pellet brand or type that will shine in that gun.
Halfstep,
They sent me this pistol and also a rifle to test. These pellets may be for the rifle?
B.B.
BB,
That would explain it. As for the question about the report from the gun with the stuck pellets, I eventually figured out that if the pellet didn’t exit the barrel there probably wasn’t a report. Duh !( I get up much earlier than usual on Thursdays because I’m in a morning bowling league and my brain is always asking me, for reasons such as this query, to try to do little besides drink coffee. Some Thursdays I acquiesce, but not today.) 😉
B.B.
Is it the scope base from BKL that is out of alignment, or the scope base on the Hatsan?
-Y
PS weird set-up, but I guess it works.
Yogi,
It’s difficult to tell. Both might be within tolerance and just off by a little because of manufacturing tolerances that are permitted. Either way, it’s the mount that must adapt because the pistol is fixed.
B.B.
B.B.,
Would it be possible to negate the alignment problem by turning the mount it around 180 degrees?
Siraniko
Siraniko,
Yes, that often works. And because I used two-piece rings, there are multiple combinations that can be tried.
B.B.
Ok I’ve got an idea let’s have a pumpkin carving contest airgun style. Either the Annie Oakley way no lines freeform shooting or draw it out then shoot out the features. Winner gets ?
Coduece
Pyramyd AIR usually has a contest like that around Halloween.
I know what’s missing, an experiment. So we could tie in a terminal performance simulation. The dreaded tps reports. By stuffing the center with plastic grocery bags could probably collect pellets for some assessment. As large as the community is we might get quite a few different types of pellets to compare. Probably to much variability for meaningful info but still might be fun.
Coduece
Yes that needs done. Along with pushing a pellet down the barrel.
And what are you wanting to find out anyway?
Search ‘taco hold’.
I m always the last to know.
I just haven’t been shooting much the last two weeks and this weekend looks pretty open so I was just looking for something different to do. All that talk about targets the other day got me thinking about it.
I mean the terminal ballistics are interesting and pumpkin seems like a decent medium to see what happens to a pellet upon impact. Like is there any expansion or deformation.
Coduece
Pumpkins are boring to shoot at. Even with a heavy hitting modded .25 Marauder or a .22 rim fire.
Got to have something with a little density inside if you want a reactive target.
Then you can add a pound of Tannerite (sp?) and make a “deconstructed” pumkin pie!
Frank,
A Pound? Seriously, trying to make pumpkin dust 🙂 Can you actually detonate tannerite with an airgun?
I Thought that you needed at least 2000 fps to blow tannerite. Anyway I would like to see the video on that shot.
Mike
Mike
They have low velocity tannerite out for a while now. I do believe it will detonate at air gun velocity’s.
Mike,
Yes, Tannerite can be detonated by airguns. Ton Jones has blown up half a ton of the stuff in his videos. You can see some of them on the AirForce website.
B.B.
B.B.
Thanks that led to some interesting videos.
Frank
And make sure your cook’n slash shoot’n is done in a nice wide open area. That way the pie gets served over a wide area.
And noth’n like roasted pumpkin seeds. 🙂
I was using a pound because I was envisioning a biga** pumkin……so there would be lots for everyone!!
For a normal football helmet sized pumkin……we once used a left over mortar from July 4th.It was a 50grain called a Black Mamba.That was so very cool……first the launch charge pops the top,then the whole pumkin detonated in a huge ball of colorful fire.There were quarter sized pieces of pumkin over 50yds in all directions.The video is on my old laptop’s hard drive……along with lots of New Orleans pre-Katrina memories.I need to look for someone who can retrieve them.We laughed till we cried over that pumkin…..aaah,the good ol’ days. 🙂
Frank
Yes sir.
🙂
FrankBpc
Is your laptop dead? I’m a computer tech and could help you with retrieving your data from the laptop’s hard drive. Even though the laptop may no longer boot, if the hard drive is not defective, the data can be recovered from it. Let me know if you would like to pursue recovering your data.
Geo
Geo,thank you for the offer to help.It’s an old Toshiba from 2007 IIRC.Won’t boot anymore,but I kept it.I’m in Huntsville Alabama AKA The Rocket City……..I figured I could get it done locally,I guess I have been putting it off on the chance the pics are lost for good.I lost much with Katrina,my house stewed in 10ft of water and god knows what else for weeks.If you would email me maybe we could discuss it further.My address is my user name plus @aol.com……all lower case.Thanks!
Frank
I have sent a message to your email address. I am confident we can recover your data from the old hard drive if the drive is still spinning up. I will teach you how to do it yourself. It’s not rocket science and less complicated than learning how to shoot a springer airgun….at least for me 🙂
Geo
Hi again Geo791….can you possibly resend the email?? It was in my spam filter,and I tried twice to open it.When that didn’t work I hit not spam…..only to have all evidence of it vanish!
Frank
Received your latest email that you found it. I’ll be around whenever you decide you are ready to recover you data from the laptop.
Right I wasn’t expecting explosive performance just a different way to perforate the pumpkin. . Annie Oakley did these outline “drawings” with her gun and I always thought it was impressive this seemed like a way to try my hand at it.
I didn’t really intend to highjack your idea…..and I like it a lot.I have a massive amount of plastic shoppin’ bags
built up.Stuffed into a piece of pvc pipe is a great way of catching fired projectiles for inspection,assuming safety protocols of course!!
Was it Lethal Weapon where Riggs shot the smiley face at the range?
I really like the pvc recovery tube idea. Because I have this trail np with the huge barrel shroud of a suppressor on it but it seems to always throw a flyer and I was looking for a way to capture a pellet for inspection. Thanks
Right those plastic bags are tough. I stuff cardboard boxes with them then have up to six sides to shoot out repairing with duct tape as required. they can last a good while and are excellent for bbs.
Holy cheeseballs, B.B.! I know lots of people that would have trouble shooting a group as small as that last one even with a large PCP rifle; let’s not discount your good shooting abilities! =)