My Ataman Ultra Compact arrived!

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Don't want to sound negative, but a couple of years ago, the Atamans entered the market in NL with a big bang, but almost all guns in the smaller calibres were suffering from bad accuracy.
They never seem to get the issues solved, and they slowly disappeared. You don't hear many stories of them anymore.... Good luck, I hope the issues have been solved by now.
 
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"weatherby"Don't want to sound negative, but a couple of years ago, the Atamans entered the market in NL with a big bang, but almost all guns in the smaller calibres were suffering from bad accuracy.
They never seem to get the issues solved, and they slowly disappeared. You don't hear many stories of them anymore.... Good luck, I hope the issues have been solved by now.
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I'm sure they can be accurate. When you've got a good barrel with a consistent air supply, I'm fairly sure most other things can be fixed. 

I don' know anything about what happened with the Dutch release but I do know that the specs now are not the same. The action is different for a start and, if they did in fact have a failed release due to accuracy issues, I am sure they wouldn't want to make the same mistake in a market like America. America has 10x the sales potential of anywhere else - it's the one they'd want to get right.

I'm hopeful that PA will make it right and that it's not a widespread set of issues. 

I'm only reporting on the issues because, when I won the Ataman, I promised a review. My preference would be to give one on a good example and not an isolated defective one. We'll find out what the real story is soon enough but, with this gun, I can promise you all that it is at least worth holding our judgment until we find out. If the issues are limited then it will be a winner. 

For now, we can think of it as part of the review and a useful insight. All air rifle brands have some defective ones. How the issues are dealt with is part of the overall brand experience. If issues are fixed quickly and painlessly then you tend to forget all about them. It's when people are left to deal with it on their own, or they are forced for hound some tech department for weeks or months to find out what's happening with their $1500 air gun that they tend to hold a grudge. 
 
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"AZBOBCAT"Piss poor quality control especially for an airgun in that price range. You should not have to fix a 1k plus rifle you should not have to fix a 500 dollar rifle. The machining is something that I would expect on parts outsourced to China with no tolerance specs....here ya go here are your parts..
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Well... They do share a border so they're neighboring countries. It's not surprising if they have a few things in common. 

There aren't that many air gun companies that are different in this respect. They all seem to have their share of issues. I've been particularly unlucky recently though. It's been a depressing air gun week. 

PA sent me a return shipping label so they intend to take care of it. I'm just hoping that the replacement is better. I'm having such terrible luck that it's making it hard for me to feel optimistic. I'm going to take my Cricket out tomorrow to cheer myself up. 
 
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Hello:

I´m also a recent Ataman Ultra owner and I share some of the related issues. Now it seems to be O.K. but several mods were needed to improve the original performance. No opinion regarding the magazine, it was returned because it had a very small crack in one of the pellet loading holes so, no test done.
I think that the ultra concept is great for the ones that need portability and don't like/want bullpups. In my opinion this carbine should be shooting between 18 to 22 ft.lbf (24-30j). In my case that implied reducing the regulator pressure and hammer spring length (one ring removed) from the, out of the box, configuration. The metal parts quality seems very good and I like the folding stock, it´s not common plastic but a material similar to my peli gun case. My wood stock is symmetric but I agree that it should be larger.

ATB,

Shooterpt
 
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"shooterpt"Hello:

I´m also a recent Ataman Ultra owner and I share some of the related issues. Now it seems to be O.K. but several mods were needed to improve the original performance. No opinion regarding the magazine, it was returned because it had a very small crack in one of the pellet loading holes so, no test done.
I think that the ultra concept is great for the ones that need portability and don't like/want bullpups. In my opinion this carbine should be shooting between 18 to 22 ft.lbf (24-30j). In my case that implied reducing the regulator pressure and hammer spring length (one ring removed) from the, out of the box, configuration. The metal parts quality seems very good and I like the folding stock, it´s not common plastic but a material similar to my peli gun case. My wood stock is symmetric but I agree that it should be larger.

ATB,

Shooterpt
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Thanks for that. That makes me feel a little better. Mine has gone back to PA so it's good to know they aren't all like that. I was thinking that I could pay someone to fix the rest of the issues if I had to but there was no way to fix the stock except make a new one...

The folding stock actually unscrews so it can be easily replaced with a real AR one. The sizing of the buffer tube looks to be the same as the airsoft M4 stocks so you would want to buy a whole new AR folding stock adapter, buffer tube and stock to replace it. 

I was thinking of booking some time with Ernest when I get mine back to get it tuned for an acceptable shot count. In his YouTube clip, he mentioned being able to get 30 shots per fill. That sounds more like it (although still not great). 

The air tube is a similar size to the Mutant Shorty and the barrel length is not far off so this should be a pretty good indication of what is possible in terms of shot count, power and noise control. I can't rely on too many 300bar fills. Once I've used my tanks a few times, 200-250 bar fills will be more common. 



 
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"shooterpt"Air supply is also a problem to me! I prefer to shoot more with less power, illegal to hunt with airguns here in Portugal.
Today I made 42 shots from 175 to 95 bar(regulated pressure), JSB exact, 19,2 Ft.lb. I believe that's a good shot count for a 130cc cylinder!
Zebra, just a question, was your shroud tube glued?

ATB
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I'm not sure. I tried unscrewing it to see if it could be adjusted to help with the clipping but I couldn't get it to move. It was just stuck and I didn't want to try forcing it. I only tried with my hand though. It might have come off with a wrench or something. 

It would surprise if they glued the shroud in place without even checking if it was aligned but stranger things have happened.... I can tell you that, with mine, it looked like the shroud tube was cut at an angle so it wasn't parallel to the barrel. I put a cleaning rod through to check and it was forced over to the left. It should have never left the factory.

 
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I just heard from PA that my replacement Ataman is going out tomorrow. 

They told me that they are taking up the issues with Ataman directly to give them feedback / instruction. When their techs went over the one I returned, they found some additional issues that I hadn't even noticed yet. 

When he explained the approach they were taking to fix any quality issues, it sounded quite impressive. It sounds like they weren't going to let Ataman get away with much. If they do all the things he said then it would be great as they are one of only 2 or 3 retailers with the clout and leverage to force a manufacturer to do things differently. Obviously there is a component that is out of PA's control but it sounds like they are doing the right things to me. 

I have my chrony set up and waiting to review it (assuming that the replacement is as promised). 
 
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"glengiles"sounds like you're getting well taken care of which is great!
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It does sound like it. I can't recall any store ever having a staff meeting to discuss a faulty product I returned before. I take it as a positive sign that they responded with "you're right, we'll fix it" and not that "well nobody else has complained" attitude. Sometimes you just want to hear that it's not lost on them that a high end product should have good quality control. 

I believe they will do what they are able to rectify any teething issues with the product. There is obviously an element that is out of their hands though and it will be up to Ataman to make the most of their opportunity with PA. I just want my Ultra Compact to arrive without any issues so I can go shoot it already. 

I've started working on a new stock design for mine. I have some ideas that I think will improve it. I ordered an original Uzi folding stock for one. I like the basic concept but side folding stocks are bulky and make it tip over when you put it on a flat surface. You can't rest it on the other side because all the weight would be on the side lever. The Uzi under-folding stock will deliver the same benefits with less bulk. Plus, the real Uzi metal stock is probably more rigid with less travel than the plastic one on the Ataman. 

I also have an AR grip compatible trigger frame with trigger guard. This will provide a metal surface for the screw holes and allow me to choose my own grip (and who doesn't like choosing their own!) I found a quad-rail hand guard that fits for the front to complete the tacti-cool look. I am also planning to replicate the Mutant shroud in carbon fiber to tame it's bark. It's going to be epic (I think). 

If none of my stock plans work out, I'm going to turn it into a mini bullpup like my shorty. 


 
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"glengiles"A mini bullpup sounds awesome. The shorter the gun, the bigger the fun.
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That's so true. When I got my first bullpup, my enjoyment of pcp guns went up considerably. It didn't make my arms hurt when I shot it off-hand all afternoon and I could aim it out the window without worrying about someone spotting 20" of barrel protruding from my house. 

Then I got the Mutant Shorty and that was even more fun to use. Being able to put it in a backpack and take it for some discrete shooting in the woods was awesome. 

Given how light the Ataman Ultra Compact is already, it will be handgun light as a BP. I wouldn't mind having a going at putting one in a real Uzi receiver though. That sub-machine gun design makes more sense for a PCP gun to me than traditional handgun designs. With the telescoping bolt mechanism removed, there might be space for the air tube as it's so small on the Ultra Compact.



 
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The replacement Ataman Ultra Compact arrived. First thing I did was pick it up to look at the end of the shroud and I see a scratch from pellet clipping:





This is my fault for saying that it sounded like PA was going to make an effort to improve the QC. I totally jinxed it. I think I'm going to pay to get it fixed somewhere else when I get a chance. There is no point in getting another replacement if they all have the same issues. For now it is going into storage until I find out how much it will cost to fix. 

In addition to the clipping issue, the one I sent back had issues with the stock uniformity, loose pellet holes in the mag and discoloration on the metalwork. This one had those issues too btw.

I am thinking that the appropriate fixes would be:

- Getting a new shroud made to solve the clipping problem (the one it comes with is not particularly effective anyway so no great loss in discarding it)
-Trying tighter O-rings in the mag
- Getting a new stock made (or more specifically, a grip frame as the folding stock is separate)





 
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I too had these marks on the inside of my end cap. I then shot groups at 30 yards and 50 yards that were good in my opinion. I then compared the orifice size with that of my Colibri. The hummingbird has an even smaller hole for the pellet to exit than the M2. 
I would assume as you did that clipping is the cause, but I was putting shots within a 1/4" point of aim out a window 25 yards away, shot after shot.

The only thing foul with mine was the magazine wouldn't index pellets unless I Lubed the breach O-ring to a sloppy appearance. The magazine pellet jamming issue was the root cause for me to send mine back. I am waiting for it to get fixed or replaced as I want it back! 

The sidelever is so butter smooth easy that an impression has settled over me. The trigger is sweet. I am going to possibly tune it down to say 20 or 22 fpe and maybe the noise will go down and the shot count will go up.
 
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