Air Gun Home :: View topic - as promised. refurbished Walther Talon review beginning

a77ssii · Member

Got it Monday, double boxed UPS, etc, etc. Opened it up and was quite surprised initially about the overall size, the pic is of it above my Stevens 200 in .300 Win Mag. All screws were tight and there was no excess grease (cosmoline) anywhere, just small dabs at contact point. Cleaned up the barrel, took 6 patches to get it clean. No metal shavings just the nasty black cutting oil. I then started the inspection. Rifling was clean cut, nothing weird going on. I love the safety, right at the back of the receiver. Just like my shotguns and .300 so it feels natural. The scope that came with it is surprise, surprise, a POS. Called an Optima 3-9x32, rings are raised dovetail so the iron sights can be utilized also. I tried to put a set of standard Weaver rings on the Picatinny rail and it seems the rail is about .060 undersized so I'll end up trimming down the rings so they clamp solidly sometime in the future. The scope stop is quite nice, steel plate held on with a single phillips screw into the rail see pic. There will be no scope movement with that. I decided to initially zero it without the scope, one of the reasons I got it was because of the fixed iron sights for backup. Cocking force is quite heavy and I'm 5'11 215. The lockup seems alot more solid than that on my Gamo but my Gamo has also seen thousands of rounds so it's well broken in. So went outside, set up my bench in the driveway and put the target up at 30yds. Yes, I can shoot in the yard. The County says as long as the projectile does not leave my property I'm fine. I also shoot .357mag, .45ACP & .45LC in the yard. On to shooting results. I didn't want to use the H&N's or Predators I ordered for break in so I picked up some Daisy target pellets from Wal Mart for $3.00. About 50% of them have dented skirts or some other damage so I'm not really counting the break in shots as to final accuracy. The first 10 down range were in a ragged 3" group, the second 10 dropped to 2" and the third group of 10 were hard to call, somewhere around 1.5"-2". I'm not splitting hairs until it has around 100 rounds through it then I'll migrate to the Crosman Hollow Point's, Predator Ballistic Tips, Predator Big Boys and H&N Hollow Points and I'll start being concerned about groups. When I reach this point I'll add to this thread with target pics at 10yds, 20yds, 30yds, 40yds & 50yds. The final test I'll do since I'm lacking a chrony is compare penetration into wet phone books with each of the 4 pellets at whatever range I find I get the best groups at, hoping for 30+yds. Pics will be posted with each step.

fritz · Silver Status Member

Sounds good.

The girls are pretty.

kanyon · Silver Status Member

Hi nice gun...
Its a older Mod 125 Hatsan
The new one are dam nice
3 way adjustable trigger "gold" & the
SAS system..spring/rubber damping
to mount the stock..

The Hatsan are quit popular over here..

Pete

a77ssii · Member

Kanyon, can you elaborate a bit? What do you mean by older and can you fill me in on Hatsan?

Update on the review.
Got the initial 100rnds through it and started playing with different pellets/groups/yardages. I was getting an extreme spread of 6" in all directions which seemed weird considering I can drop a Chipmunk at 20yds with a POS Daisy Powerline. Started playing with the scope and it is toast. Reticle moves after every shot. I have a 3x-9x CenterPointe that came on a .223 Remington Model Seven that I replaced with a 6-24x50 Tru Glo so I just slapped that one onto it and am getting it back on paper again. I wish I could use my laser bore sighter but the plastic muzzle cap (not a muzzle brake IMO) has too deep of a well in it so I can't reach the barrel with the laser guide rod. So far I have put 120 rounds through it and here's my opinion on it's manners. The trigger is smooth, no hang ups but if your in mid pull and release, the first stage does not reset so when you start the pull again there's about a 1.5lb trigger which surprised me initially, rather then the normal guesstimate of +/- 7lbs pulling through both stages. My 7mm/08 has a 5lb pull and the .223 has a 1.5lb trigger pull so I'm using them as a benchmark. Recoil is moderate, right between a .22LR and a .22Mag. It is LOUD. I ended up putting an ear plug in the right ear, after about 5 rounds the right side was ringing. I should have at least 10yd groups done today, barring another scope failure.

broommaster2000 · Moderator

Yup, that's a Hatsan alright.

Older model meaning that it was probably build two or three years ago or something. So not that old.

Hatsan has been getting a lot better at their job. Finish is pretty darn good for an affordable airgun.

a77ssii · Member

Found their web site and I would love to put some downrange through their tactical shotguns, they look pretty nice but looks can be deceiving. What are your experiences with their products?

Found another wrinkle. I kept getting flyers from the Crosman Premier Hollow Point tin, pulled out the mic and found a variance of .010 in nose diameter. Skirts were all within .003. I divided up a group of pellets with nose diameters of less than .217 and over .219 and the ones .219 or larger gave me a decent groups whereas the ones .217 or under were all over the place. Right now all I can say is this thing is finicky.

fritz · Silver Status Member

I think it's loud because there is still dieseling. My springers are no where near the sound of a .22lr.

Your groups will also get better when you get the hold down right.

a77ssii · Member

The primary issue I have is going from the 1.5lb trigger on my .223 varmint gun to the airgun trigger. I tend to do a long slow squeeze and it kills my groups, I have to remind myself to do a relatively quick even squeeze. The groups have improved greatly since I started sorting pellets and retraining the trigger finger. The 12.65gr H&N Hollowpoints have a tiny nose and standard .22 skirt and group absolutely awful whereas both the Predator Big Boys and Predator Polymags have a consistent .219 nose and .221 skirt and are grouping around 1" now along with the hand sorted Crosman Premiers. Once I consistently get groups rather than patterns I'll post target pics, I'm watching the patterns very slowly start to group so it's a matter of time.

kanyon · Silver Status Member

older possably the wrong term...
they still make that model...but there is a new model/version
basicly a up grade of your one....I don;t think Hatsan
re-brands the newer ones for other companys...
well so far....

I have had a few shots with a new 135 with the quottro trigger
& SAS system...was not to bad...if it was a .22 it would most lightly
be in my gun rack...

trigger pull.....Put a ball point pen spring in...
before you remove the trigger....slide a thin peice of steel/plastic
between the main tube and sear to hold it in place while you remove the trigger then spring....its hidden right at the rear you will see it when the
trigger is out...about 25mm long...

Pete

a77ssii · Member

As of today I've put 220 rounds through it. With the correct pellet I am hitting my 1" steel swinger at 40yds about 7 out of 10 times. I personally won't give it an A+ rating unless it hits that target 10 out of 10 but I think it still needs more break in. I'll keep updating as things change. On a side note the place I bought it from rates the Talon at 900fps and the Falcon at 950fps whereas the manual from Walther states Talon 1000fps and Falcon 900fps. So unless I can get ahold of a chrony I don't know who to believe. I can say my swinging target is taking hell from it, it hits with enough force to swing it up and immediately bounce back down whereas my Gamo will swing it up and it stays like it's supposed to.

a77ssii · Member

Sorry, I haven't updated anything new because I haven't taken it out since my last post. My wife came home for a week (haven't seen her since Dec) then the seals in my front axle started leaking and yesterday we had a mix of rain, hail & snow. Once my truck is done and the weather clears up I'll be back at it again with more updates.

a77ssii · Member

Haven't had time to shoot the airguns, been getting some loads tested for Deer season, truck transmission took a dump, etc, etc. Finally got out today and put about 100rnds through the Walther and here's the final outcome.
First 30 rounds grouped decently, about 2" at 30yds. Then everything went south. Brought it in and started inspection, the scope stop screw had been completely sheared off so the scope was sliding around. Got the remains on the screw out and retapped it 8-32, added more red threadlock and headed back out.
Daisy 14gr target: 3" group at 30yds
Crosman 14gr HP: 3" group at 30 yds
RWS 14gr HP: 3" group at 30 yds
Predator 22gr Big Boy: 4" group at 30yds
Predator 16gr Ballistic Tip: 1" at 30yds
I picked random pellets out and weighed them to see if the advertised weights were accurate. The Daisy & Crosman varied by .5gr, RWS varied by .2 grains and I couldn't measure it on either of the Predators. It was less than .1gr so I guess just like my Gamo Hunter, it likes Predator's also.
All in all I'm happy with it. If any of you opt for one here are my suggestions.
1)Hang weights off your wrists to stretch your arms, the stock is long.
2)Buy about 300-400 cheapo pellets to break it in with and then zero with the Predators.
3)The recoil is quite high so when you mount the scope use RED threadlock on everything. I used blue initially and it didn't hold.
4)Buy a decent scope when you order the gun, put the POS it comes with on your kids Powerline 880.
If anyone has any questions about it ask away and I'll answer as best I can.

fritz · Silver Status Member

Nice to see it's working out well.

At least the Predators suite your uses well.

Cut the stock down?

a77ssii · Member

Considering it. I need to take the butt plate/recoil pad off and see what's going on in the stock since it's synthetic and has that funky pad.