Hatsan AT P2

This review is of an airgun which you do not see very often, it is a sub 6ft/lb precharged air pistol that can be turned into a carbine. Very unusual and I have to say particularly awesome. I am a big air pistol fan and this large framed gun instantly reminded me of the rifle derived guns made by manufacture’s such as Air Arms, Falcon, Sportsmatch and Titan. Back in the late 1980’s these were basically rifle actions cut down in size, the power levels altered to suit UK laws and given some type of pistol grip. Many were made as Field Target pistols, unfortunately that side of the sport never really caught on.

Modern Build – Good Design

This gun looks as though it has been based upon one of Hatsan’s multi shot PCP rifles, which is no bad thing. Hatsan for me are one of the most forward thinking airgun firms, not afraid to push the envelope in terms of design and the use very modern materials. The AT-P2 has a synthetic frame which houses the steel action of the compressed air cylinder and alloy breech block. The grips are very target like and include an adjustable palm shelf and very pronounced thumb rest (for right handed shooters only).

The transformation from a pistol to a carbine takes seconds as a rear butt section slots into the back of the pistol’s grip and clicks securely into place with a spring loaded plunger. This rear section also has a few more tricks up its sleeve. The length of pull can be adjusted via a push button ratchet mechanism, there are notches to take extend from 370 to 470mm. The height of the cheek piece can also be changed to suit the shooter, Hatsan provide a large coin like disc to fit the two slot headed adjusting screws.

Sights

In this carbine format the AT-P2 is really only of use if you fit an optical sight of some kind, as the rear open sight ends up too close to the shooter’s eye to be able to use properly.

Fitting of a red dot or telescopic sight is very easy as the breech block can take either 11mm standard airgun sight mounts or Weaver style mounts; that is yet another nice design touch from Hatsan. Fitting a red dot sight allows you to use it instantly as either a pistol or a carbine.

Magazine System and Action

The scope rail length is interrupted by the protruding magazine. Hatsan provide two ten shot rotary magazines. These alloy toothed wheels have an “O” ring around their circumference to hold the pellets in place. The magazine can only fit into the breech block one way and you have to both cock the action and push forward and lock down the magazine bolt in order to fit the magazine into the gun. The magazine bolt is on the right hand side of the breech block forward of the magazine slot, it has a 9mm diameter brass ball on the end of it so it’s easy to operate. 

Getting to the action itself it has a side lever on the left hand side of the breech block, this pulls backwards towards the shooter to cock the hammer spring and rotate the magazine. It cannot be double loaded as once the action is cocked it will not rotate the magazine no matter how many times you pull back the lever.

This pressed steel lever is finished with a plastic end for comfort.  The magazine system works faultlessly and the fact that it cannot be double loaded is a step forward to most other multi-shot airguns; it is still not unknown for owners to keep loading their guns because airguns are so quiet they don’t know if a pellet is coming out of the barrel! A trip to the gunsmiths usually beckons, with a hefty bill after that.

The AT-P2 has an automatic safety catch which comes on when the gun is cocked, this sits in the trigger guard and is a curved steel plate mimicking the curve of the gold coloured trigger blade. The safety is taken off by pushing the catch forward with the trigger finger, it can also be re-set by pulling it backwards. The trigger is very good, it needs to be to get the best out of a pistol, the pull weight was 1.2kg but felt much lighter. It can be adjusted but I left it as factory set.

Air Usage

The gun has a 50cc compressed air cylinder with a pressure gauge on the end to help you keep track of fill status. Hatsan state that the cylinder can be removed for filling but they also have a probe connector incorporated into the end of the cylinder. I prefer the probe system as it is much more convenient. The hole for the probe has a rotating collar which acts as a dust cover.  Turning this around to line up the hole in the collar and the probe hole allows filling to take place, it states a maximum 200 bar filling pressure, but I found a fill to 190 bar gave a consistent power curve. Filling to 190 bar gave 45 shots at approx. 5ft/lb muzzle energy.

Shooting the AT-P2 as a Pistol

The 10.6” barrel has a ½ UNF thread at the muzzle, covered by a steel thread protector. Hatsan also sent a moderator for the AT-P2 and with this fitted the gun was super silent - perfect for back garden plinking, as long as the targets are suitability quiet as well.

The open sights are Hatsan Truglo fibre optic type with an adjustable front post too. The front (red) rod can be moved up and down using an adjuster wheel. The rear sight has two green rods either side of the rear notch. The sight base is some 15.15” long. I really rate the use of fibre optic rods for pistol open sights and the AT-P2 has loads of adjustment to cater for any range.

As a pistol this gun is a handful. I had to use a two handed grip to shoot and I even took the moderator off to bring the weight back a touch. Even so, it shot sub-5mm center to center groups at six yards and moving outside to 10m with open sights it was under 20mm. The adjustable palm shelf helps when shooting the gun as a pistol and it can be adjusted with an Allen key to obtain a snug fit for the hand. The grip is very ergonomic and very match like.

Shooting the AT-P2 as a Carbine

Later I fitted the detachable stock and a red dot sight turning the AT-P2 into its bigger carbine mode.  With the Air Silencer moderator fitted it is really pointable. At a normal rifle range of 25m this sub 6ft/lb gun shoots under 30mm (1.2”) diameter groups with decent pellets. This level of performance is quite remarkable. This gun is like nothing I have ever shot and I loved it. For true pistol fans this is a fantastic gun, the ability to turn it into a carbine means you actually have two guns for the price of one, so the cost really does not seem so expensive at all. GM

LENGTH:
365mm as pistol 460mm pistol with moderator 645mm – 745mm carbine stock 815mm – 915mm carbine and moderator, with stock min-max adjustment