Hatsan 85x-TH rifle

Edgar Brothers have long been associated with the import of the Hatsan brand, a Turkish gun manufacturer with a long history in producing shotguns, and now here in the UK thanks to ‘EB’ they have gone on to also become a well-respected name in the production of air rifles too.

I initially reviewed this rifle about five years ago when it was first launched and it impressed me from the very start, its very striking features even today don’t look dated and, dare I say, some have been ‘adopted’ by other companies in branded air rifles we are seeing released right up to the present time.

The matt black synthetic stock features a high right-hand roll-over cheekpiece and a generous thumbhole, while the substantial, quite lengthy forend has a rounded underside with fluting running along the top to aid grip. Although there’s no checkering or stippling, the thumbhole combined with the fluting offers the shooter a solid hold and high level of rifle control. Nothing spectacular there you may think, but look to the very rear and you’ll find a unique and well-designed butt pad configuration. I say this because between the ventilated grey rubber butt pad and stock is a contoured semi-rigid black ABS spacer; again initially nothing to get too hot and bothered about. However, the rifle comes with three identical ‘extra’ spacers that can be used to extend the reach to pull. This is easily modified by removing the butt pad which is secured to the stock be two recessed screws and simply placing the amount of spacers you require onto the back of the stock before replacing the butt pad.

On the side of the air cylinder the company has etched ‘SaS’ which denotes Shock Absorber System. I presumed this referred to the adjustable butt pads, but I’ve been told that is something to do with dampening vibration in the action. It has been suggested to me that it is the quirky shaped one-piece non articulated cocking linkage, but how it exactly works I’m not quite sure!

Straight from the box with one spacer in place gives a reach to pull of 13½-inches. Adding one spacer at a time increases this by ¼-inch, so you can easily ‘tailor’ the rifle to suit your build or preference. As a matter of interest Hatsan use a similar design on many of their shotguns.

As this is a scope only rifle, I fitted a Walther 3-9x44 Night Pro in high mounts clamped onto the deep cut dovetails and positioned so the rear scope mount was abutted right back to the removable scope mount arrestor ‘strap.’

Smooth Operator

The cocking stroke is smooth but does require a progressive amount of ‘heft’ as you reach the lock back point, whereupon the rifle engages the trigger sears and the rear position trigger safety automatically engages.

Some will like the fact that the rifle has an anti-beartrap so you can’t de-cock the rifle even with the safety off, but its good practice to always keep a hold of the barrel while loading.

The quite lengthy and chunky silencer dominates the front of the 10¾-inch tube and as well as being a very effective multi-baffle ‘mod’ doubles up as a very useful cocking aid.

With the barrel locked back you can clearly see the big wedge shape détente and generously sized breech seal that keeps everything rock solid and air tight when in the closed position.

After thumbing a pellet directly into the breech and swinging the barrel back up you can feel and hear a solid reassuring ‘clunk’ that everything is locked up tight.

To backtrack slightly, besides the stock, the obvious dominating feature of this rifle is the macho looking 7¾-inch long silencer. I expected this to be bonded onto the barrel but the company has sensibly screw cut the muzzle of the barrel with a standard ½-inch UNF thread so if you choose you can remove it and fit a silencer of choice. However, hats off to Hatsan as, due to the unit being not only so effective at reducing muzzle report to a very acceptable level also the fact it’s so styled, I feel it perfectly complements the overall look and handling of the gun.

The nicely curved and ridged blade of the 2-stage adjustable trigger unit may well be ABS and sit in a plastic trigger guard but it doesn’t in the slightest feel flimsy or a feature that ‘could’ let the rifle down. This proved itself time after time in operation as it tripped the sears clean and crisp without a hint of creep. The unit is a very established one known as the ‘Quattro Trigger Unit’ and is an upgraded unit now fitted to most full-power Hatsans as well as being seen on quite a few other brands of air rifle.

The automatic safety is a familiar one we’ve seen on other break barrels, that being once you cock the rifle a catch extends out from the rear of the action. Pushing in obviously takes the safety off and a red dot can be seen on the side indicating it’s in ‘live fire’ mode. Also it can be reset at any time by simply pulling it fully back.

Once you begin to set zero many shooters will be surprised at just how quiet and manageable the firing cycle is. There’s no real discernable internal spring noise on discharge and the muzzle report is reduced to what can only be described as a very low thud. In fact, so quiet was discharge on firing I’d say the sound of the piston arriving at the end of its travel was louder.

With an un-scoped weight of 7.2lbs and the butt system and ‘SaS’ helping quell what little recoil there is, I made some impressive groups at my set zero of 25 yards, best being a ¾-inch hole using Webley Accupells.

Conclusion

The Hatsan 85X-TH once again proved it is practical, handles and balances well, is cosmetically appealing, highly accurate and comes ‘bundled’ with a very efficient silencer to boot. In my opinion all these attributes have helped this very stylish and modern-looking springer not only retain its place in the Hatsan roster of spring driven air rifles but also has enabled it to retain its appeal to many in the UK’s airgun shooting fraternity.