Our full review of the 900x
In a world of PCP rifles costing many hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds, it’s far too easy to dismiss rifles at the other end of the fiscal scale as a waste of time. I’m not saying there aren’t some stinkers out there, and some of them really pong, but there are also some truly great rifles that belie their price. Hatsan’s 900X Breaker, augmented by Edgard Brother’s addition of a moderator, is one of them. It costs just £89.99. Having checked the price on several websites, I had to call Edgar Brothers just to make sure.
The ambidextrous stock is, I assume, beech but is finished in a colour closer to walnut. And it’s a handsome thing – well proportioned with fine chequering on the pistol grip and a ventilated recoil pad that is tastefully finished with black and white spacers. There’s no dimple to accommodate a thumb up grip, not that one is needed as there’s plenty of space both to access the trigger and the pop out safety catch.
Triggers are often an Achille’s heel for budget rifles and whilst the unit on the 900X Breaker isn’t the best, its comparable to that of many more expensive rifles. There are two stages which, by removing the stock, can be adjusted for travel and weight. Most people who buy the rifle won’t be inclined to fiddle and I have to say though that straight out the box the trigger was perfectly acceptable.
Bearing in mind the target customer, there are some excellent safety features. The safety catch is positioned at the back of the action away from the trigger and comes on when the rifle is cocked. It can also be reset if, for whatever reason, you decide against taking the shot and need to make the rifle safe again.
The safety catch also ensures that with the barrel cocked but not returned, it won’t fly up and cause injury should the trigger be pulled accidentally. In addition, an anti-bear mechanism ensures that even if the safety is switched off, the barrel will stay where it is until you decide to lock it back into place.
Most budget rifles come with open sights and the 900X Breaker is no exception. Usually this is because the level of accuracy largely makes it pointless going to the trouble of fitting a scope. And whilst they are perfectly fine – green fibre optics either side of the adjustable rear sight’s notch and a single red fibre at the front – they are a bit of a waste simply because the 900X Breaker is capable of the kind of accuracy you’d want to exploit with a scope.
Another generalism about budget springers that the 900X Breaker contradicts is the cocking action. There’s no graunching or notchiness to the stroke which is pleasantly light. The breech lock up is solid with no movement that I could discern and whilst there’s a bit of a twang, the smoothness of the firing cycle defies the budget price tag as well.
For its field test, I placed a target at 20 metres – a range I felt would be appropriate to most people in the market for the rifle. From a standing, rested position, the 900X Breaker consistently returned sub-one inch groups of seven or eight pellets with a couple of flyers that could easily have been down to me. I’m certain that with a bit more running in, the groups would get smaller and more consistent.
As you might have gathered, I like this rifle, and I think I would even if it cost a couple of hundred pounds more. The only fault I could find, if you can call it that, is that despite advertising claims otherwise, I could just about wring a very consistent 9.8 ft. lbs. out of the 900X Breaker. Of course, that could change with different, heavier pellets.
That kind of output is fine for tin can bashing in the garden and informal target shooting, and whilst I wouldn’t want to use it for hunting rabbits, squirrels and pigeons, I’d be more than happy to use the 900X Breaker to deal with the occasional rat under the shed.