Review: $226 Hatfield Semi Auto Shotgun

Friday

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$226 plus tax at Wal Mart.

Purchase experience-
Wal Mart. I knew what I was getting into so I was prepared.
I bought this in 20 gauge primarily for Grandma and the young-uns to use when we have shotgun days. Simple, easy..look through sights, safety off, pull trigger.
If they drop it in the mud, it's not my Winchester.





Out of the box-
I hadta put the barrel on it. Wah! Life is too hard.
Dirty as hell. Just handling it gets your hands all black oily, let alone when you tear it down. Needs a thorough cleaning, ok, not a big deal I do that anyway.
Exterior of the gun is fine. Fit is not Benelli-like but it's acceptable. Walnut wood, black satin chrome. It's actually pretty decent at this price point. +1
The interior/mechanics is rough-ish. I can tell this one will need 100 rounds. I've cycled it 20 times or so and it's already getting better. The trigger, somewhat vague but not terrible, will most likely get better to a degree.

Fit and feel-
Seems to handle and point ok. Balanced enough and all that. Controls are accessible without much confusion. Has a traditional-type hold and cheekweld. Front FO sight is a nice touch.
The reach to the trigger seems a tad long if you have smaller hands. You can choke up on the grip and that helps so I think that will be workable.
The butt pad is thin-ish and kinda hard. That may have to be changed.
The forend is nice though. Long enough that I can reach out for stability but shorter arms can grab back at the receiver.

Accessories-
Plug that limits capacity from 5 to 3.
Chokes, IC/M/Full
Book.
1 year warranty.
That's it. No case, no lock.

Today is clean it day and run at least a box through it and see how it patterns. Dunno about that shooting part cause it's a rainy day but I'll get it ready at least.
Reviews are all over the place with these. They've made improvements since the first models, but it seems you either get a good one or a bad one, no in-between. Submitting purchase/warranty info to the manufacture is a must here I would venture.
Initially, for the money it appears to be ok. We'll see how it works though. Verdict still out on performance.
 
I wish they even sold guns at my Walmart, considering it's close enough to walk there.
 
Nice review Friday. Very well thought out. Keep us updated on performance.
 
Trigger pull weight on a shotgun intended for shooting flying targets/birds is a moot point. If you're squeezing the trigger you're gonna miss anyway. The trigger should be "slapped" when shooting at a moving target.
 
Ok I was able to get out back today and run it.
Hmm. Where do I start...
Range cart, gun, ammo. Check.
I took 2 boxes/50 rounds.




First shot-


Alright, not particularly unusual for a new semi auto.

Second shot-


Summarily, for the first 50 rounds it failed to eject. It went from just hanging up to not even trying. After about 25 rounds it started to eject the shells, but then it failed to pick up the next round. After cycling the slide, it would load fine and fire, but basically I was firing a single shot.
I went through those 50 rounds fairly quick, even with the issues. So I ran back to the house and got 50 more. In retrospect, I just bought a 100 round value pack of the federals, and I should have bought several different kinds for testing.

And then, somewhat miraculously, at rounds 65-70...the gun started to work. It fired, ejected, and fed the next round. From rounds 65-100, I had no problems but for one more failure to eject and one failure to feed. The gun was working good.



After 100 rounds, blow-by is noticeable from the gas port located halfway up the forend.


Ok so how'd it do placing and grouping shot at point of aim?
Talk about love & hate. I loved this part. Grouping and point of aim was pretty much spot on.

You'll have to adjust to my highly scientific method of tracing around a clay pigeon and putting an X in it.
20 feet-


40 feet-


60 feet-


When the gun worked, it worked good. Recoil is mild, and the butt pad was ok, for me at least. It uses some kind of gas-assisted inertia system that's supposed to reduce recoil. I can't say 100% about that, but you can hear a very audible shproing spring sound during cycling. There's a big spring in there and you can hear it.

The gun handles good and is easy to use. It's not heavy, the POA was good out of the box, and the controls all functioned well.

Notable notables-
-I only used the modified choke. After 50 rounds the choke backed out 1.5 turns. I re-snugged it and after 100 rounds it's still snug.
-The barrel end cap wanted to loosen for the first few dozen rounds. Not falling off, but I needed to re-snug it a few times. After 100 rounds it seems to be holding.
-Listed capacity (minus plug) is 4 + 1. I was able to load 5 + 1 without any adverse effect.
-Twice during the 100 rounds, as I was loading the tube, it would just throw a round from the tube onto the loading cradle. Yes I was jamming them in all the way, and my hand was absent of the tube area when it did this. Something else I noticed with loading, if you pushed the shells deep in the tube with your finger, you could get them to hang up 1/2" deeper than they should be. I'm highly suspect of this being the problem with the initial failure to eject and feed. 'Bad magazine' as they say in pistol-land. Perhaps there was a burr or some issue with the loading tube that may now be clearing.

I knew for 240 bucks after tax that I was not gonna get a Citori. But if I can get this thing to run 95% or better, it'll be a good gun for Grandma and the kids. They'll do well with it and it's easy to use.

Next step is to procure several different kinds of ammo and see what happens. It's chambered for 3" magnums, and I'll get some to test, but it will never see mag's during regular use.
Maybe my earlier estimate of 100 rounds was shy. This one may take 200 before I get it to run smoother.

Sorry for my drawn-out blather. But what's to review with a $2000 shotgun? "Works great/end"
Hopefully if someone else wants to go cheap with one of these they'll know a-bit more about what they're getting into. Maybe somewhere out in internetland someone will come across this and join up.
Then we can promptly assimilate them. :cool:
 
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Tagged for interest.
Nice review.
 
Good details, nice job on part 2! Thanks for keeping us updated.
 
So i bought the 12g model the other day. Once I broke it down and reassembled it. Within the first 75 round's was smooth as butter. I did run the first 50 high brass then probably 75 low brass. Like was said for 225 it is a really good buy.
 
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Alright I tried out 3 more ammo's today.
Different load of Federal, Winchester high brass and Winchester Super X...common off the shelf stuff.
The gun functioned fine. No problems.
The barrel nut still wanted to loosen. Might try a dab of blue locktite.
 
Thanks for the review. That is actually not a bad looking shotgun for that price point.
 
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Thanks for the review and updates. As somewhat of a rule of thumb for new semi-autos, cycle a couple boxes of heavy, high velocity loads through it. It will help with the break-in process. I've used Kent's FastLead Upland shells with great success. They're 2-3/4 in, 1-1/4 shot weight with a velocity of 1350fps. 50-75 rds of these and your new semi will be ready to cycle lighter loads reliably.
 
So in other words....it ran like crap right after you cleaned it...then ran fine once it got dirty.....interesting.

I did notice it has the SAS initials on the receiver...I just ordered and should receive a DDI SAS semiauto so I have to wonder if it is the same manufacturer. Difference is mine uses mags and looks totally different..but it may be a case of one manufacturer selling to different distributors.

https://smga.com/p-126379-ddi-sas12-imported-semi-auto-12ga-shotgun-24-new-old-stock.aspx
 
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Thanks for the write up. It's always great to see reviews of the less expensive models. We can't all spend 2,000 for a shotgun or any gun for that matter.
 
So i bought the 12g model the other day. Once I broke it down and reassembled it. Within the first 75 round's was smooth as butter. I did run the first 50 high brass then probably 75 low brass. Like was said for 225 it is a really good buy.
@LeeMajors

Are they priory chokes? Found a similar Turkish shotgun made by Torun Model 305 here in Astan. Fixing the broken forearm, missing chokes and charging handle.

CD
 
Here's the muzzle end that measures .784". Choke threads are at muzzle. CDNN has some similar chokes for $5 each.
IMG_8557 12 ga .784 to threads.jpg

Disassembled gun
IMG_8552.jpg

CD
 
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So what chokes does it use? Saw a 28ga locally. Thinking about giving it a try.
 
You said "After 100 rounds, blow-by is noticeable from the gas port located halfway up the forend."
Did you remove the ring meant for heavy loads? If not, too much gas goes out the exhaust ports and not enough through the gas ports which cycles the action.

"The Hatfield comes with two gas check rings that can be easily switched by simply removing the fore-end and barrel, then sliding them on or off the magazine tube. One is for heavier loads; it allows more gas to bleed from the shell without directing it into the gas ports. The standard ring features two metal O-rings that provide a tighter seal so that more gas is directed into the ports, thereby working the action even with light loads."
by American Rifleman Staff - Thursday, March 22, 2018
 
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I had no problems but for one more failure to eject and one failure to feed.
When the gun worked, it worked good
I knew for 240 bucks after tax that I was not gonna get a Citori. But if I can get this thing to run 95% or better, it'll be a good gun for Grandma and the kids.
That was exactly what we needed to hear. Thanks!
So in other words....it ran like crap right after you cleaned it...then ran fine once it got dirty.....interesting.
This was a well thought out report, no doubt. BUT...…...
doesn't matter what ya pay for it, as long as it goes boom when ya need it too
Just How inexpensive does the platform have to be to cover it Not doing this^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
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