Hatsan Sortie Semi Auto Airgun field test

Several months ago I came across a short YouTube review of the Hatsan Sortie semi auto pistol that immediately got me excited. As some of you know I have quite the collection of pistols as well as several I frequently hunt with. For me I enjoy pistols for the simple reason of being able to transport and carry them easily into the field. This pistol looked to be a great match for me to use for a project field review. I wrote to Hatsan USA and ultimately got the go ahead to be sent the pistol to be sent out to me for a 4 day adventure in the Mojave desert. I received the Sortie pistol several days before my departure and it was packaged very well. The gun arrived in a very nice hard case and enclosed were 3 magazines, fill probe, extra o’rings and a manual. Hatsan was kind enough to enclose several tins of H&N Sport pellets, some 19gr and 14gr. The first thing I noticed was just how large and very futuristic the pistol looked. Cosmetically the gun is something that needs to grow on you but I was more concerned with its performance and function as a hunting tool. The gun comes equipped with fiber optic front and rear sights that can easily be adjusted or removed. After some debate I decided to mount a dot sight that I felt may add to quick target acquisition. The magazines are very well made from aluminum as well as having thicker plexiglass front covers.

* Above maximum muzzle velocity figures may differ depending on the pellet weight & shape.

Filling the gun to 3000 psi was easy and the 62cc reservoir is small enough that it may even be hand pump friendly. After setting up the gun, sighting it in etc, it got packed into the Jeep for its long drive into the heart of the Mojave desert. I had planned to spend several days hunting Ground Squirrels, Rabbits as well as scouting some new areas for future projects. Marley and I left the house late Friday afternoon and arrived to our camping area to meet my good friend Mike by 8:45pm, wow was it cold. Upon arrival Mike and I immediately set up camp and started a fire to keep us warm as the temperature was rapidly dropping.

The next morning Mike, Marley and I got up fairly late as we were waiting for the sun to come up over the mountains to provide us a little more warmth. We soon headed South away from camp and down to an area known to have supreme Ground Squirrel habitat such as large rock outcroppings, fallen logs and miles of Oak tree pastures. Within a few minutes of hiking I spotted my first target that was sitting just on top of a large boulder at 28 yards. I aimed the dot sight at center mass and made a devastating spine shot that sent the squirrel tumbling down the other side of the rock leaving quite the blood trail.

After doing some more hiking around I spotted several more Ground Squirrels scurrying about, not easy to get in close to a spooked squirrel. From my experience with hunting them is once they get spooked it may take up to 20 minutes for them to come back out again. Mike continued on in a big circle while I stayed put with Marley to sit and wait for movement in the nearby rocks.

I really much enjoyed just being out with my good friend Mike and my dog Marley for several days and getting to do what I love. After what seemed like forever I finally spotted a Ground Squirrel popping it’s head just over the top of a flat rock at 25 yards.

I had to slowly set up my camera as I was trying to document as much as possible on video, this is sometimes very frustrating. Filming can sometimes be out of our control and we find ourselves having to position ourselves in uncomfortable positions to capture the shot. In this case I was having to hold my tripod down with my foot while trying to line up my shot, well it didn’t work out as planned and I pulled the shot hitting about an inch to low. After this I decided to head back down to do some other film work and to take some photographs of the gun.

Hatsan Sortie .22 Semi Auto PCP

After using the pistol I have concluded that front handle is very useful, the ugly thing was really starting to grow on me. I have learned that function over form is one of the most important things in designing a gun. I commend Hatsan for really thinking out of the box as far as design and thoughtfulness in ergonomics. One of the other things that stood out to me through use was how convenient the safety was to use, easily flicked on and off with my index finger. When doing a project field test we sometimes find out things about a gun that you just can’t get from the bench. After heading back around towards camp I spotted another Ground Squirrel high up on a rock at a very far 40 yards.

The shot made a perfect arch right into the Ground Squirrels shoulder sending it flying down off the backside of the large outcropping. This shot was really pushing the limits to what the gun is capable of with a dot sight, this made me realize a pistol scope may be a better choice for really pushing the limit to this pistol. In most of the reviews I have seen they classify this as a plinking type pistol, I really believe the gun was designed with hunting in mind. In the next week or so I plan to mount a pistol scope and take it out again for some Jackrabbit hunting. To note, the gun does have some recoil that in turn makes the muzzle jump a bit. The balance of the gun really aids to the guns accuracy, it does take some practice to get used to shooting it well. The semi auto feature will cycle shots as fast as you can pull the trigger but would be impossible to stay on target in most cases. The semi auto feature is very nice for simply not having to cock the gun after each shot and always being ready to fire. I was taking one shot, pausing, and then taking another giving myself time to recover my target acquisition. The 62cc air reservoir provides more than 25 powerful shots at over 700fps using the 14gr H&N Field Target Trophy’s. The gun is a prime candidate for a good pair of shooting sticks, this may even further aid in making further shots possible. My final thought is that this pistol has a ton of potential beyond just a plinking gun and may just take some patience to learn what works well. Here is the video of my adventure with this gun I hope you can enjoy. If you like what you see and have serious interest in owning one of these very unique Sortie pistols, you can visit Pyramydair.

https://youtu.be/CRZIgTGecAA

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