.30 Hatsan Carnivore 135

I still have these one my wish list. My Hatsan 125 sniper in .25cal is still one of my favorites and is very accurate out to 60m. My rifle after 50-100 shots the breech was soooo sloppy, the movement was laterally so the groupings were a side to side pattern, i shimmed the side of the breech with some shim steel and re tightened it all up and that sorted that. The only other issue is the vortex gas piston in mine lost its air (vortex are high pressure air not nitrogen apparently) still waiting on replacement parts with no signs on the horizon of it coming anytime soon.......! I should just refurb it myself (you can adjust the pressure in the ram with a pcp probe and hand pump. 

Purchased for fun but found it can deal to pests and earn its keep.

750 pellets through with no issues. ($32 per 150)

Interesting that the actual barrel is only 11 inches in length but it shoots superbly.

Adjustable cheek piece is a winner, wish these were included on more rifles.

adjustable cheek riser

adjustable shoulder pad

trigger firm but crisp and repeatable

metal finish

sights

really heavy to cock

had to send back for replacement.

nah its a looker

Test Results

The rifle has both dovetail and picatinny rails, I used both rails without any movement or slippage but the recoil lends itself towards picatinny fittings.

50 shot test of 10 pellet groups from 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 yards were great with very little pellet drop.

One of the best 25 yard bench rest groups I have obtained which was a real surprise.

Hits with real force at 40 yards but holdover changes quickly so mil-dots are useful for longer ranges.

Seen here with a Stealth 4-14x44 30mm ($200) surprisingly accurate.

Fitted with a Stealth Red Dot ($80) and it starts to reveal true potential.

Warranty

Liked it out of the box and initial accuracy using the sights seems good, but I grew suspicious and on investigation the barrel pivot cannot have been fitted correctly so barrel was "drooped" and with effort I could physically move it when latched for firing. It was returned and immediately replaced with a good unit. Disappointing that it made it out of the factory.

Scopes - Definitely requires a purpose built air rated scope.

Stealth 4-14x44 - failed, nice to use fast acquisition.

NS AirKing 2-7x32AO - failed, accurate and very usable for targets and plinking.

NS 3-9x40 so far so good but early days, not so backyard friendly as the AirKing.

Target - this was the day one standing shots taken which I thought showed some promise.