Hatsan AT44 Air Rifle Review
Some will argue that airgun power is spelled H-A-T-S-A-N, but do these airguns live up to the billing of being a powerful hunting air rifle. We've had several
community reviews of Hatsan airguns, but in this video Tyler examines the Hatsan AT44 (.177 cal) to see how it handles, shoots and whether or not it lives up to the power Hatsan boasts.
This is a Community Review of the Hatsan AT44 air rifle by Tyler Patner. The author of the following review are in no way affiliated with Airgun Depot. The views expressed below are personal opinion only. Video Transcript
Welcome to Airgun Depot's product spotlight, I'm Tyler Patner and today we are going to be taking a look at the Hatsan AT44-10 in .177 caliber. The AT44 is a very feature laden PCP rifle with a very affordable price tag. The rifle comes with two 10 shot magazines, fill adapters, an instruction manual, some spare o-rings and tools. The manual not only details the features of the gun but takes you step by step for every procedure from loading the magazine to adjusting the trigger. Let's take a look at the action to start. The side lever is smooth and functions quickly for faster follow up shots. It has a tendency to snap back after a certain point, but I found that to be a non issue. The rifle functions like this, pull back on the side lever which cycles the mag and engages the automatic safety. Next, find your target, take the gun off safe and pull the trigger. The magazines hold pellets in place with a large o-ring and function flawlessly. Loading the magazine is quick and easy, simply slide a pellet into an open hole, snug them up with your finger and then slide the mag into the rifle. The magazine is held in place with this gold catch that goes right through the center of the mag. On top of the breech block you will find a very innovative mounting rail. You can use 11mm or weaver mounts on this rail, which is particularly nice if you happen to purchase a scope that comes with weaver mounts. The gun has open sights if you choose not to scope it. Both the front and rear sight are fiber optic and adjustable. If you happen to pick up see thru mounts you can even use the open sights while you have a scope mounted. The synthetic stock is figured very nicely and is quite comfortable to hold. At around 6.5 lbs and just under 40", the AT44 is very maneuverable and light weight. My only complaint about the stock is that it is hollow and feels a bit too "plasticy" for my liking. But, the AT44 is also available in a gorgeous Turkish Walnut stock. On the plus side though, I definitely wouldn't feel bad about taking the Synthetic stock into the woods as it is going to take abuse very well. The gun also has an adjustable butt pad which was really helpful in making the rifle very comfortable to shoot. The air cylinder is removable, which means you can purchase extra cylinders to keep with you on a hunt or a long day of target shooting. To fill the cylinders you can use a pump or a tank. You can fill without removing the cylinder via the fill probe or you can remove the tube entirely and fill it that way. I prefer to leave the cylinder on the gun, so I use the probe and have yet to experience any issues. One of the small features that I was really happy to see Hatsan include is a small plastic fill hole plug that keeps dust and debris out of your air cylinder when you are using the gun. On the front of the air tube you will find the pressure gauge which reads in BAR. The AT44 takes up to a 200 BAR or 3000 psi fill. The manual says that 50 full power shots can be expected off of a fill and claims a velocity of 1070 fps in .177. One thing I should note is that Hatsan tests their rifles with lead pellets, not lightweight alloy, so you can trust that their estimated velocities will be accurate. With 8.4 grain JSB pellets, the AT44 topped out at 1085 fps! That's really screaming. Velocities stayed over 1000 fps for more than 35 shots. To see how much power we could get out of the AT44, I used 10.3 grain JSB Heavies and topped out at 1016 fps. That is a whopping 23.6 FPE and in a .177! I took 50 shots over the chrony and used about 90 BAR total with the best consistency coming between 160 and 140 BAR on shots 20 to 32. I must say, it is nice to see a rifle that actually lives up to and exceeds the manufacturer's claims. Before I get to the accuracy, the trigger needs to be discussed. The AT44 features the Quattro Trigger, which breaks cleanly and pulls smoothly with little adjustment out of the box. Where the trigger falls short though, is pull weight. I suspect that the trigger releases right around 4.5 5 lbs which may be okay for hunting, but for target shooting really needs to be brought down. I found myself being pulled off target when trying to shoot groups with this rifle, which leads us to the accuracy. I shot many different pellets looking for the best and the three that preformed the most consistently for me were the JSB 8.4's, JSB 10.3's and the Crosman Premier Domed 10.5's from the box. For testing, I shot the three pellets at 30 yards in five shot groups. The JSB heavies produced a .79" group, the Premiers produced a .57" group and the JSB Exacts were tightest with a .46" group. Considering the super high velocities the AT44 was spitting out, I was very impressed with the accuracy at 30 yards. But I will say that toning it down would probably produce some tighter and more consistent groupings. Past 30 yards, keeping the groups tight was quite a challenge. For those of you looking to hunt or shoot at longer ranges, I would go with the .22 over the .177. Not only will you get more power out of the larger caliber but I suspect that your accuracy will improve at longer ranges as well. Last but certainly not least is the noise. The AT44 is not shrouded but does feature a threaded muzzle end which has 1/2" UNF threads. Putting these threads to good use may be essential for those of you who plan to shoot in the backyard with neighbors close by. The AT44 is loud. Really LOUD! When you shoot this beast, you better believe folks are going to pay attention and then grab their ear plugs! So overall, the Hatsan AT44 in .177 is going to get a 4 out of 5 from me. Accuracy was a lot better than I expected and definitely good enough for hunting. 5 there! In .22 I suspect it would be even better. Ergonomics gets a 5 as well. The gun is lightweight and very point able, making it a pleasure to shoot in the field or from the bench. Quietness is going to get a 2. No way around it, the gun is very loud. But at least Hatsan threaded the end of the barrel making to possible to quiet the gun down should you choose to do so. Power is also going to get a 5. The AT44 produced big numbers for a .177 and definitely showed that it has what it takes to put small game down for good! The trigger was not bad but I think with a little work Hatsan can produce something even better. (Match grade would be nice!) So that will get a 4. Thanks for joining me for this look at the Hatsan AT44-10 in .177. For more on the Hatsan AT44 and many other fine offerings from Hatsan, be sure to check out www.airgundepot.com. Thanks for watching, and we'll see you at the next one! 
