June 12, 2017 0:00

// Pneumatic weapons

Having gathered to shoot and being a beginner, it is not necessary to immediately buy an expensive air rifle. In this article we will get acquainted with the Striker Edge model from the Turkish manufacturer Hatsan. For more than two years since its appearance on our market, it has become a real hit of sales. An important role in this was played by its low price and build quality.

The history of the creation of Hatsan Arms Company

Hatsan Arms Company was founded in 1976 and produced small arms for the Turkish army and police. Already in 1998, the company began exporting its products worldwide (to more than 60 countries). Currently, Hatsan Arms Company is a modern weapons company that produces combat weapons, torpedo tubes, launchers, as well as civilian sports weapons that meet all international standards. And this is despite the fact that the company has only about 400 employees working in the civilian segment (hunting, sports, self-defense weapons) on more than 300 state-of-the-art machines and processing complexes.

In the upper part of the receiver, the cutter has cutouts of the “dovetail” type 11mm. for mounting an optical sight.

Like all manufacturers of air rifles, Hatsan Arms Company keeps up with the times, trying to produce a competitive product, eliminating all the shortcomings inherent in previous models, promptly tracking user reviews. In particular, Hatsan Striker Edge, being the heiress of such models as Hatsan Striker 1000X and Hatsan Striker 1000S, has undergone changes only in the design of the butt, leaving the “iron” unchanged, since the mechanism has proven itself perfectly. The butt in the skeleton form factor has significantly improved the ergonomics of the weapon, as well as operational characteristics in adverse weather conditions. As practice shows, for novice shooters, these factors (low weight, ease of grip, preservation of appearance) are among the most important during operation.

Hatsan Striker Edge is an ergonomic and comfortable rifle

A sophisticated shooter will immediately notice that this rifle is an analogue of the Gamo Hunter 440 from a Spanish manufacturer, which is not at all unusual in the modern business world. This is even a plus for this model and has significantly improved the technical characteristics, since spare parts are functional analogues. In particular, the gas spring from Gamo Hunter 440 is fully suitable for replacing the standard twisted spring, which will reduce the recoil and, accordingly, improve the accuracy of the shot.

The Hatsan Striker Edge butt has a comfortable pistol grip with a grooved surface, which significantly improves the grip of the rifle in the hands, a Monte Carlo cheek for easy aiming and a fairly hard rubber backplate.

There is also a grooved surface on the rifle bed.

We need to talk about the standard sighting device separately. This model is equipped with a sighting bar and a front sight with fiberglass reflective threads, which, for unknown reasons, many famous manufacturers of air rifles cannot boast of. A light fiber is an acrylic fiber (in principle, a fishing line) that has the ability, to one degree or another, to reflect the luminous flux on the walls and not interfere with its passage at a sufficiently long length. The use of reflective flies significantly saves aiming time, while increasing its speed and accuracy.

As practice has shown, optical sights for this model should be selected on a high mount (so that there is no front sight on the optical line), and designed for installation in magnum-class air rifles (it is advisable to give preference to sights with a small diameter of the input lens – up to 40 mm, with a constant multiplicity of approximation). Such models are less susceptible to the destructive effect of the double recoil of a powerful spring-piston rifle and vibration when fired.

A powerful twisted spring installed in this model, as well as a cuff made of a new synthetic material, allows you to develop heavy bullets (0.68 g.), a stable speed of about 270 m/ s. The manufacturer’s stated speed of 305 m / s is indicated most likely for marketing reasons for light bullets (0.51 g). In principle, it is possible to achieve a slightly higher speed using lead-free alloy bullets, but this is already fraught with negative consequences for the rifle mechanism, in particular for the springs and cuffs. In light of this, it must be said about the desirable deconservation of the rifle. The manufacturer did not spare grease and gun oil.

How to eliminate the “diesel effect”?

The deconservation of the rifle immediately after purchase includes:

• removal of excess grease from a cup with a piston and a cuff (pre-sale preparation);
• elimination of oils from the bore. This will reduce the so-called diesel effect at the first shots (spontaneous ignition of vapors of combustible substances as a result of an increase in temperature during compression). Contrary to the existing erroneous opinion, nothing burns in the trunk. Unless it’s burning down. Detonation gorenje occurs in the compressor. Simply put, an explosion. As a result, the pressure on the cuff, piston and spring increases several times (on the spring – up to its failure). A sharp increase in temperature leads to melting of the cuff.

Having correctly carried out the measures for the deconservation of the air rifle, the user will receive a modern, high-quality air rifle that will last for many years.

Alternative

It is worth paying attention to the closest competitors of Hatsan Striker Edge: this is Kral 004 Synthetic Tactical of the Turkish company Kral and Latek Chaika model 14 of the Ukrainian manufacturer

Externally and in terms of characteristics, they are very similar to the model in question, but the Kral 004 Synthetic Tactical has a weight of 2.4 kg, and a trigger mechanism made in a different way, and in the Latek Chaika model 14, instead of a twisted spring, there is a gas one right away.

It is worth noting that, despite the fact which type of spring-piston rifle you will like the most, storage is no less important after operation. It is necessary to store a spring-piston type rifle only in a horizontal position for uniform distribution of lubricant in the area of the spring and piston with a cuff.

Conclusions

The Hatsan Striker Edge air rifle is a very good choice, given the low price and high-quality materials. It is able to compete well in its price range. However, a compromise solution on the butt, designed to improve the characteristics of an air rifle, may turn out to be one of the pitfalls. A thin plastic transition near the pistol grip may be a weak point of this model.