Range Test: Hatsan .22 caliber Supercharger with Millet Red Dot

RANGE DAY! Just me and Yuri, father and son, punchin' some paper!

Weather: Bright and sunny. Occasional gentle breeze.
Pellet in use: Beeman Crow Magnum .22 Caliber
Today almost didn't happen; the battery in my red dot died! Luckily, the range shop had a spare!

This is what I have in the Hatsan today.

My target: 10m distant.

My Targets.

Yuri's Target: 5m distant. (Hey, he's 6 years old!)

My stance: Standing, arms at full extension, police-style cup-and-saucer grip, using the red dot. Final groupings with the Crow Magnum pellets:

With the red dot, I am now able to notice how badly I shake. I need more arm strength.

The 9 and 10 rings are half-inch rings. I fired 16 shots, 15 of which were in the black, and 7 of those (almost half) were in the center 1.5" area.

Yuri's stance: Most of his were from a seated position, using a bench rest, but for a few of them, he stood up and tried to do what I was doing. Here is his final grouping. He was shooting the Diana P5 Magnum, open (Tru Glo) sights, using .177 caliber RWS Super H-Point pellets:

Not bad for a 6-year old!

By the way, I believe that I have mentioned this before, the black circle (Rings 7-10 + Bull) is 5.25 inches in diameter. Yuri fired 18 shots, and got 15 of those shots in the black.

Does anyone have any pistol groupings they'd like to share, for comparison's sake?

Some Interesting Data

I noticed, while playing around with the calculators on Airguns of Arizona, that there is an advantage to middle weight pellets vs. heavy pellets.

Look at this:

9.3 grain RWS Supermag pellets (.177 caliber)
Ballistic Co-efficient = 0.012
Average muzzle velocity in the Diana P5 Magnum: 450 fps (4.18 FPE)


8.2 grain RWS Meisterkugeln pellets (.177 caliber)
Ballistic Co-efficient = 0.010
Average muzzle velocity in the Diana P5 Magnum: 507 fps (4.68 FPE)


Not only do the lighter pellets provide slightly more power at the muzzle, they retain it better initially as well:


Supermag retained velocity at 10 yards = 406 fps (3.4 FPE)

Supermag retained velocity at 20 yards = 365 fps (2.75 FPE)

Supermag retained velocity at 30 yards = 329 fps (2.24 FPE)



Meisterkugeln retained velocity at 10 yards = 447 fps (3.64 FPE)

Meisterkugeln retained velocity at 20 yards = 395 fps (2.84 FPE)

Meisterkugeln retained velocity at 30 yards = 349 fps (2.22 FPE)


At shorter ranges, the medium weight pellet performs better, but starting at 30 yards (which is long range for a pistol like the P5) the heavy pellet starts to edge out the medium weight pellet. That's because FPE (Foot Pounds of Energy delivered) is a delicate balance between velocity and mass; once the pellets are traveling at roughly the same speed (329 fps vs. 349 fps), the mass of the heavier pellet is going to enable it to deliver a harder punch. The heavy pellet is traveling 20 fps slower at 30 yards, but still hitting harder.

However, at shorter ranges, the medium weight pellet's advantage is that its lighter weight helps it to retain more velocity.

CONCLUSION: Under 30 yards, the medium weight pellet packs more of a punch. At 30 yards plus, the heavy pellet has the edge.

I just thought I would make a note of this. I love examining data like this. It really helps one gain a better understanding of the physics involved in this enjoyable sport.

The Hatsan... UPGRADED

Well folks, I took my Hatsan Supercharger in to the local gunsmith, and had him mount and zero a red dot scope for me. I picked it up today after work, shot it a few times, and ran it over the chrony twice.

With 14.2 Grain RWS Super-H Points, the chronograph registered 498 and 499. So basically, 498.5, but we'll go ahead and round our average back down to 498. I realize that I need a longer shot string, but the gunsmith was on his way out for the day, and I didn't want to keep him any longer than necessary.

But if we say 498 is the consistent average, which I have no reason to doubt, we can safely say that the Hatsan Supercharger is a 7.82 FPE gun. (Let's round up to 8 FPE, because 0.18 is not a significant difference.)

Being an 8 FPE gun means that it will, as a rule of thumb, humanely dispatch any pest weighing 8 lbs. or less; rats, rabbits, squirrels, crows, etc. Thus, this pistol could be used to hunt small game.

I didn't have time to set up actual targets, so I shot at the frames that hold the targets. The frame posts are aluminum (painted black) and they are about 1.5 inches wide. I shot at one that was sitting about 40 yards out, and PINGed it 5 out of 6 times from a standing position, using the police-style cup and saucer hold. This red dot (Millett brand) is wonderful!

I will do more extensive tests later on, but for now, check out these pictures: