Hatsan Hatsen Flash QE .22 accuracy issues

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Trendal

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Dec 24, 2024
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New here and new to PCP but not new to guns at all. Having an accuracy problem with a PCP.

I bought my son a Hatsen Flash QE in .22 and can't seem to make it shoot well. I purchased a number of different brands of pellets initially. Sighted it in with the included scope (Cabela's purchase) and I thought it was doing well. I could consistently hit a popcan at 40+ yards.

He shot it a bunch over the next 6 months but I noticed he stopped shooting it and asked why. He wasn't hitting anything. I believe the scope may have got bumped and so I took the opportunity to buy a nicer scope, Athlon 3-9x40 .22 rimfire scope, and put it on. I pumped the gun up to 200 bar and got it sited in, at 15 yards I was grouping around a 1/2 inch so I went out to 40 yards. Couldn't keep it on an 8.5x11 even. After running the air down without finding anything I pumped it back up to 200 bar, moved the target back to 15 yards and put maybe 5 rounds through 1/2" again.

I thought maybe I was just losing it at 40 yards for some reason so I put the target back out there and same thing. A dozen shots, several of them completely missing the paper. I moved it back to 15 yards and it was off the same amount.

I cannot remember the pellet weights, but I was shooting Crosman mid weight for all of that. I found 10 pellets that were lighter and shot them, with <200 bar and it did not help.

I am waiting for a JSB Diable Exact 18.13 gr and some Haendler & Natermann 21.14 gr pellets to ship so I can try those out.

The only thing I have found that is stable and I'm not 100% convinced on this yet, is it seems the first half dozen shots off of a full 200 bar charge seem to be accurate. Then it goes crazy. But I wouldn't die on that hill, not enough data collected.

The problem presenting has followed through 2 scopes with different mounting completely, and several pellet weights and brands. I cleaned the barrel but it was almost spotless before so no change there.

Any suggestions would be great. I really enjoy the PCP tech, got an electric pump that my son can run (no more heart attacks when I get off work hand pumping that sucker). And I really like that it's more safe than a powder burner for shooting around the yard. We only have one neighbor in PCP range but quite a few in .17 HMR range.
 
PXL_20241224_072623737~2.jpg


This is the current setup. I used some picatinny risers and then a standard weaver scope mount
 
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Trendal said:
New here and new to PCP but not new to guns at all. Having an accuracy problem with a PCP.

I bought my son a Hatsen Flash QE in .22 and can't seem to make it shoot well. I purchased a number of different brands of pellets initially. Sighted it in with the included scope (Cabela's purchase) and I thought it was doing well. I could consistently hit a popcan at 40+ yards.

He shot it a bunch over the next 6 months but I noticed he stopped shooting it and asked why. He wasn't hitting anything. I believe the scope may have got bumped and so I took the opportunity to buy a nicer scope, Athlon 3-9x40 .22 rimfire scope, and put it on. I pumped the gun up to 200 bar and got it sited in, at 15 yards I was grouping around a 1/2 inch so I went out to 40 yards. Couldn't keep it on an 8.5x11 even. After running the air down without finding anything I pumped it back up to 200 bar, moved the target back to 15 yards and put maybe 5 rounds through 1/2" again.

I thought maybe I was just losing it at 40 yards for some reason so I put the target back out there and same thing. A dozen shots, several of them completely missing the paper. I moved it back to 15 yards and it was off the same amount.

I cannot remember the pellet weights, but I was shooting Crosman mid weight for all of that. I found 10 pellets that were lighter and shot them, with <200 bar and it did not help.

I am waiting for a JSB Diable Exact 18.13 gr and some Haendler & Natermann 21.14 gr pellets to ship so I can try those out.

The only thing I have found that is stable and I'm not 100% convinced on this yet, is it seems the first half dozen shots off of a full 200 bar charge seem to be accurate. Then it goes crazy. But I wouldn't die on that hill, not enough data collected.

The problem presenting has followed through 2 scopes with different mounting completely, and several pellet weights and brands. I cleaned the barrel but it was almost spotless before so no change there.

Any suggestions would be great. I really enjoy the PCP tech, got an electric pump that my son can run (no more heart attacks when I get off work hand pumping that sucker). And I really like that it's more safe than a powder burner for shooting around the yard. We only have one neighbor in PCP range but quite a few in .17 HMR range.
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I suggest getting a chrony to see what your pellet speeds are looking like. Also, take the barrel and shroud off. Take the shroud off and see if the baffles are damaged, maybe ask your son if he ever double or triple fed the gun. The baffles inside are made of plastic so if the pellets hit them they can stick out can cause deflection. 15yds aint far and 1/2" at 15yds is bad compared to how well they can shoot even out to 50yds. If all that is fine, feed a pellet through the barrel to see if it's loose. Sometimes you loose ij the barrel lottery and you get an oversized barrel from hatsan. I've only ever bought .177s frok them but I've gotten 4.535 sized barrels where nothing I fed it would group. I had to send an rma request to them and they'd send me another barrel.
 
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The 22s usually shoot good from hatsan. I agree with @JaceSpace1369 to remove the shroud and check for damage. I would check to see if the barrel has come loose at the set screws, and would go ahead and clean it while the shroud is off. There is an o-ring at the breech end inside the barrel. Be careful not to damage or dislodge it while cleaning.

If the baffles are toast, you can get better working ones off ebay for cheap. Just search hatsan flash baffle stack, something will come up.
 
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A chrony will likely be necessary for figuring out an unregulated gun which I believe this is.
For example IIRC my Flashpup was tuned to shoot at about 25fpe between 150-110 bar for three mags with about 25 fps spread which was all I needed for that use case.
The Dr above is a voice to listen to.
 
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JaceSpace1369 said:
I suggest getting a chrony to see what your pellet speeds are looking like. Also, take the barrel and shroud off. Take the shroud off and see if the baffles are damaged, maybe ask your son if he ever double or triple fed the gun. The baffles inside are made of plastic so if the pellets hit them they can stick out can cause deflection. 15yds aint far and 1/2" at 15yds is bad compared to how well they can shoot even out to 50yds. If all that is fine, feed a pellet through the barrel to see if it's loose. Sometimes you loose ij the barrel lottery and you get an oversized barrel from hatsan. I've only ever bought .177s frok them but I've gotten 4.535 sized barrels where nothing I fed it would group. I had to send an rma request to them and they'd send me another barrel.
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This right here. Do as he suggests.

I have the same gun but in .25. I’ve not shot it past 50yrds. But I can get 1/2in groups at 50.

I hate the stock. Wish I had spent 50.00 extra for the wood stock.

IMG_0323.jpeg
 
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BABz58 said:
This right here. Do as he suggests.

I have the same gun but in .25. I’ve not shot it past 50yrds. But I can get 1/2in groups at 50.

I hate the stock. Wish I had spent 50.00 extra for the wood stock.

View attachment 523789
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I loved the wooden stock on my flashwood, at the time I didn't know Hatsan replaced barrels. I ended up selling it cause all it would shoot was the seneca 16gr and I hate opening those tins.
Dr. Kralenstein said:
The 22s usually shoot good from hatsan. I agree with @JaceSpace1369 to remove the shroud and check for damage. I would check to see if the barrel has come loose at the set screws, and would go ahead and clean it while the shroud is off. There is an o-ring at the breech end inside the barrel. Be careful not to damage or dislodge it while cleaning.

If the baffles are toast, you can get better working ones off ebay for cheap. Just search hatsan flash baffle stack, something will come up.
Click to expand...
There was a gentleman that used to sell the 13 section single baffle but he hasn't been on ebay for a while. He can order replacement ones through hatsanusa as well. Good to know the .22 are better.
 
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I have a flash pup I bought to mess with and let bounce around in my jeep. Never was accurate out of the box. Looked like they carved the crown with a pocket knife. Tell you what though, dang thing throws some heat! 990 fps with 14gn pellets. 18gn jsbs still right around 900. Slowing it down and a little crown work got it shooting better but still nothing to brag about.
 
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I have the same problem with my MA2. After about 4000 pellets and tons of different tunes/tear downs, I believe it has to be the barrel band. Shooting primarily at 50-100y. From the first half to second half of the tank it could drift 2". It'll hold a tight group and shoot great groups when zeroed in the higher end of tank pressure. From a full tank to on the reg, I have it shooting 10fps ES. I've had a lot of frustration with it, but we learn a lot along the way. I removed my original band and im only using a 3d printed pic mount/barrel band farther back, that's just tight enough to not move, and it's helped some. The primary solution for me is to buy a better gun honestly. I've eliminated every other variable I can other than a quality barrel.
 
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Thanks for all the input, did expect this much for a new guy.

I am shooting it without the baffles in because I wanted to see if that was causing an issue. No difference in or out.
I know the gun as been double fed at times. It was a frustration to me at the beginning because he could never remember if he had cocked it or not so he'd put another round in. After helping him realize it was something that needed careful monitoring that went away.

When the gun was brand new I only had a hand pump and it wouldn't air up. I took it clear apart to see if it was something I could fix. Eventually I just pumped it like a woodpecker on speed and managed to get past the zero pressure sealing issue. I'll check the barrel screws. Make sure they are not loose.

I don't have a chrony but may have a friend with one. I'll look into that. I'm out of time for the moment, I'll re-read the posts later.

Thanks again.
 
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Trendal said:
Thanks for all the input, did expect this much for a new guy.

I am shooting it without the baffles in because I wanted to see if that was causing an issue. No difference in or out.
I know the gun as been double fed at times. It was a frustration to me at the beginning because he could never remember if he had cocked it or not so he'd put another round in. After helping him realize it was something that needed careful monitoring that went away.

When the gun was brand new I only had a hand pump and it wouldn't air up. I took it clear apart to see if it was something I could fix. Eventually I just pumped it like a woodpecker on speed and managed to get past the zero pressure sealing issue. I'll check the barrel screws. Make sure they are not loose.

I don't have a chrony but may have a friend with one. I'll look into that. I'm out of time for the moment, I'll re-read the posts later.

Thanks again.
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Make sure you cock it when filling from zero. Might help
 
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JaceSpace1369 said:
I loved the wooden stock on my flashwood, at the time I didn't know Hatsan replaced barrels. I ended up selling it cause all it would shoot was the seneca 16gr and I hate opening those tins.

There was a gentleman that used to sell the 13 section single baffle but he hasn't been on ebay for a while. He can order replacement ones through hatsanusa as well. Good to know the .22 are better.
Click to expand...
Those seneca tins are a complete PITA to open.

I've had 22 and a couple 25 hatsans. All were accurate and decently powerful. The 22 flashpup was doing 42 fpe with minor work.

I had a 177 barrel kit for the 25 cal hydra I had, and it was completely inaccurate.
 
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Trendal said:
General consensus is this gun should shoot outside of weird stuff like losing the barrel lottery? I.E. I don't need to toss it and spend 2x or 3x to get a good shooter.
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You said it shot good for awhile until left alone with your son. Me thinks your son did something to it. Or the barrel needs to be scrubbed well.
 
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Dr. Kralenstein said:
Those seneca tins are a complete PITA to open.

I've had 22 and a couple 25 hatsans. All were accurate and decently powerful. The 22 flashpup was doing 42 fpe with minor work.

I had a 177 barrel kit for the 25 cal hydra I had, and it was completely inaccurate.
Click to expand...
I had 2 at44 .177 one long the other a QE. The long barrel version I was able to get 35fpe for about 10 shots. The QE I believe the most I got was 29fpe and it never failed me.I ended up selling my at44 QE and the long barrel to @RabbitofCaerbannog
 
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JaceSpace1369 said:
I had 2 at44 .177 one long the other a QE. The long barrel version I was able to get 35fpe for about 10 shots. The QE I believe the most I got was 29fpe and it never failed me.I ended up selling my at44 QE and the long barrel to @RabbitofCaerbannog
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If you need a barrel I can spare one. I'm happy with the shorter barrel. Fills all my needs. Tested both and they both shoot very well. AEA 13.7s, JTS 10.34s, monsters, and Zan 13gr. JSB ko 10s
 
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If you are able to pull the barrel try pushing some pellets through and check for damage. Also take a look at the crown.

I had a flash .177 and accuracy and as awful. Found a large burr on the transfer port inside the barrel from when it was drilled. If you fine one use a small jewelers file to clean it up. Can also do the old tried and true crown clean up with a brass screw and a drill with some valve lapping compound or even tooth paste if that’s all you got.

After cleaning mine up the rifle was a little laser beam.
 
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