Hatsan escort?

[PotHunter96]

After a budget semi auto for vermin and maybe the odd bit of clays looked at a few different ones stoegers and such, but the one that keeps coming up is hatsan escorts, question is are they any good? Not looking to spend anymore than 3-400 pounds, cheers 

[Gordon R]

Had a 12 and 20 gauge. Both worked well enough. For that sort of money you could get an older Beretta. Better gun, with higher resale value. I have no axe to grind - owned a fair number of different make autos - Remington 1100s - best handling by far.

[bornfree]

For £300/£400 you should get a mint 301 - 303 Beretta 

[lancer425]

I am another remington 1100 fan, they are great handling guns, and i must say the beretts 301 302 and browningb80s are good too. but the escort is a new gun and though perhaps not as well finished as the older guns mentioned here. My old 20ga escort has proved its self reliable and tough over the many thousands of rounds this past 8 years .   Its like this the escorts work well and for the money new are good value, you hear negative stories but that is the same with any model or make. My experience and that of others i know is that they are generaly reliable robust guns.

[Farmboy91]

I always felt that the armsan a612 felt a better made gun and if I was buying new/ budget auto that's what I'd go for. 

You can't go far wrong with an a301/2/3 as mentioned, my A303 would cycle everything from 24g upwards, used to chuck all sorts through it Inc steel, never missed a beat. 

[PotHunter96]

Cheers fellas I do quite like the look of the marine ones with the nickel finish on it! In my local gun shop they had stoegers and the owner seemed to rate them But I’m not too sure 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

13 minutes ago, PotHunter96 said:

Cheers fellas I do quite like the look of the marine ones with the nickel finish on it! In my local gun shop they had stoegers and the owner seemed to rate them But I’m not too sure 

How surprising that a Gunshop owner rates what he is attempting to sell!

 

There was someone stating that new Hatsan Escorts were available for just £255 at a Gunshop in Huddersfield, cracking value for a new gun with a 3 year guaruntee.

Edited November 9, 2019 by TIGHTCHOKE

[PotHunter96]

11 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

How surprising that a Gunshop owner rates what he is attempting to sell!

 

There was someone stating that new Hatsan Escorts were available for just £255 at a Gunshop in Huddersfield, cracking value for a new gun with a 3 year guaruntee.

Hmmm yes actually I suppose your right 😂 that does sound like a good deal, I know Edgar brothers seem to be the main suppliers of them and there not too far from me in Mac which brings me to another question if anyone knows do they have a shop that you could just buy one from or are they just a wholesaler? 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Just now, PotHunter96 said:

Hmmm yes actually I suppose your right 😂 that does sound like a good deal, I know Edgar brothers seem to be the main suppliers of them and there not too far from me in Mac which brings me to another question if anyone knows do they have a shop that you could just buy one from or are they just a wholesaler? 

Edgar Brothers are the only importers, they only usually deal with the trade so perhaps it would be worth ringing the Huddersfield gunshops first.

[figgy]

For the price and warranty, you really can't go wrong. Yes older guns are well made and hold value. 

New synthetic, chuck it around use it as a tool and after three years if bust buy another.

[PotHunter96]

Ahh I see, will do  

[lancer425]

Not worth messing around , may as well drive the 60 miles up to hudersfield and buy one from there, you get it there and then.

[sportsbob]

I would give the Hatsan a miss if i were you the reliability with them improves with more expensive cartridges which kind of defeats the object of buying a cheap gun .  My first Hatsan was a late mk1 and it was a bit fussy on cartridges the next was a camo mk 2 and that was no better but by far the worst was the mk3. The Armsan A612 was much better than any of the Escorts but the Franchi Affinity is definitely the best. Be carefull with some of the older second hand guns on the market especially the Remington 1100s because they are now starting to ware out and parts need replacing of a regular basis.

[PotHunter96]

I did toy with the idea of a pump as they seem a lot simpler and obviously you cycle them yourself but a friend told me there too slow to use but I suppose it depends on the person shooting 

[steve_b_wales]

1 hour ago, sportsbob said:

I would give the Hatsan a miss if i were you the reliability with them improves with more expensive cartridges which kind of defeats the object of buying a cheap gun .  My first Hatsan was a late mk1 and it was a bit fussy on cartridges the next was a camo mk 2 and that was no better but by far the worst was the mk3. The Armsan A612 was much better than any of the Escorts but the Franchi Affinity is definitely the best. Be carefull with some of the older second hand guns on the market especially the Remington 1100s because they are now starting to ware out and parts need replacing of a regular basis.

My FAC version cycles any make of cartridge, as long as they are the correct length.

 

[sportsbob]

8 hours ago, steve_b_wales said:

My FAC version cycles any make of cartridge, as long as they are the correct length.

 

Hi Steve i'm Shure there are some good one's out there but the three I have personally owned ( one from new) have been less than good. If it costs you an extra £20 - £30 per thousand to feed them then the money is better spent on a better gun with a lower depreciation. Given most people buy them for clay's then cheap cartridge's seem to be the order of the day so it can easily add up at the end of the year.  The a612 was fed hull supfast for a year and a half and never missed a beat and the Affinity has had three  hiccups in two years but they have all been 65mm cartridge's. 

[sam triple]

only issue ive had with my Hatsan is it doesn't like 65mm cartridges when loaded with 3 (it jammed while trying to cycle ) 2 are fine or ok with 70mm , cycles 32,28 gramme with no issues got some 24gramme im tempted to try in it

[impala59]

The auto loader issue comes up frequently on this site and opinion is divided as much as our government! 

In my view the compromise you make will come down to budget, fit, aesthetics, use, and mates opinions, not necessarily in that order!

for what it’s worth, I like the older Remingtons, 1100 and 1187, but have owned a Hatsan 2nd generation and had no issues with it. Cartridge choice is always likely to affect some guns more than others but I buy for price and have no problems. 

Good luck with your choice