Thread: Brand new Hatsan shotgun exploded in my face

Seeking advice regarding a faulty shotgun that blew up in my face and a gun dealer who is acting cagey.
I bought this new Hatsan Escort Magnum semi-auto shotgun from a dealer in October to take it on a goose hunt. It was really cheap ($700 or so)but I looked it up online and the reviews were quite positive so I bought it.
Long story short, after I had fired about a dozen shots or so, I pulled the trigger on a goose and the shell exploded in my face!
Looks like the gun did not fully close the bolt and fired the shell regardless. It slammed back the bolt and the shell exploded out of the ejection port, a few inches from my face. I sustained some permanent hearing damage and tinnitus but luckily no other injuries.
The ammo was a 2 3/4" 32g #2 steel round, shot through an improved cylinder choke, the barrel was definitely not obstructed.
The bolt lugs and abutments appear intact, the bolt is locked in the open position and something must have bent or broken because it cannot be released anymore.
The firearms dealer has been acting really cagey since, they didn't respond to half of my messages and only with several weeks of delay after repeated calls/visits/messages.
They refuse to put me in contact with the Hatsan NZ representative who I wanted to talk to and want me to hand the damaged gun to them.
I'm reluctant to let go of the major piece of evidence so I have a few questions:

1. Has anyone heard of similar issues with these shotguns?
2. Can anyone provide me with contact details for the Hatsan representative for NZ?
3. Does anyone know an independent armorer who could do an assessment of the gun that would hold up in court if needed?

Thanks so much!

@gundoc agree DO NOT give gun back to dealer directly untill you have contacted importer etc...good idea to have it inspected BUT...MAKE SURE you are in contact with importer and they agree to this...chances are they will replace immediately and will want to get to bottom of issue as well...be a right fustercluck if more go boooom opening weekend.
hopefully you will recover,the ringing ears isnt fun.

This is a really serious topic for the first post on the forum.. Welcome

Take it to the best independent gunsmith you can find and get a full
written assessment and go from there.

October was a while ago.
Can you fill in the blanks from then till now?

Originally Posted by Pengy

October was a while ago.
Can you fill in the blanks from then till now?

Not that long if they are anything like some companies I've dealt with taking several weeks to reply to each email/call etc .

Originally Posted by Pengy

October was a while ago.
Can you fill in the blanks from then till now?

Doctor's appointments and (hearing) damage assessments first, then the whole ACC process (they declined eventually because the overall hearing loss is less than 6%). Emails were left unanswered, several follow up phone calls and even visits to the shop were met with the promise that they would be in touch and put me in contact with the importer - nothing happened. Last week they finally sent an email that the wholesaler insists on having the process handled by the dealer. It may well be just bad customer service and I struggle to see how the dealer could be at fault for the gun firing out of battery but it sure smells fishy.

now kotuku had one where he hadnt seated the barrel right after camo tapeing it that frightened the shit out of 3 of us .
snap a 20 gauge diamond righthanded semi blew up in mine.
apparently a notch wasnst machined right??
blew across my face and took out my right ear got as high as 9.9%loss but that aint ten.
acc been running an americaised get out of paying hearing scam for years cos theyd be up for multi millions if they had to pay out on industrial hearing loss alone.
they will pay for your hearing aids tho and batteries.
take lots of pictures and get a report from a gunsmith which the agent can reimburse you for

Similar thing happened to a friend about 12 years ago with a brand new Escort 3.5" magnum. We tried out his new gun a few weeks before opening, only fired a few rounds before turning into a single shot. Noticed a few shells had damage to the heads. Took back to H&F, owner angry and unpleasant about it but took it to get "fixed" My mate really wanted a refund- no go. Got the gun back just before the big day, opening morning, 1st shot, big bang and ripped the head off the shell. Using 2-3/3" lead from memory. Very pissed off he was!. Anyway went back to the retailer on Monday and he offered to get it looked at again! We had very carefully examined the gun and found that yes, it could be fired in an unlocked state. He would not accept this as possible. Using printed pages from the CGA, I pointed out that he had already had a chance to remedy the problem and failed and because it was a safety matter, my friend was now within his rights to demand an immediate refund. The retailer wrote him a check with much bitterness and mumbled cursing. Nasty bloke.
Since there is probably no way to sue anyone about it, a full refund would be your best outcome. Push for that using the stipulations under the CGA. There were a lot more problems with the earlier escort shotguns than was let on, I remember seeing around 200 receivers sold on Trademe for scrap metal after being replaced under warranty. Escorts are just sluts we used to say.

Originally Posted by gsp follower

they will pay for your hearing aids tho and batteries.

I got nothing from ACC towards my hearing aid or batteries. Not a cent of assistance at all.

Originally Posted by Mintie

I got nothing from ACC towards my hearing aid or batteries. Not a cent of assistance at all.

all i can say not knowing your circumstanes is get specialist referal and get them to write a report detailing your hearing loss and the cause.i dont think theres a time that you cant appeal thier mistakes
but get specialist advice and report as soon as your accident allows.
tell gp its acc and you want specialist referals as soon as possible after any accident.
if your dealing with that eon pack of c..ts good luck to you that private acc pack of bastards are the mob that if you lost a body part they,d still make you wait three months untill they had written proof.
they work for the meatworks talleys etc enough said.
but i beat those pricks with a scathing top orthapedic surgeons letter report a lawyer seeking costs and a mention of le fair go. the bastards caved in 3 days

Escorts are just sluts we used to say.

now now kotuku i didnt say that but i wish id thought of it

I brought one 2nd hand but it was the older model of the same shotgun. that had been used for 3gun by someone starting. And i put atleast 1000 rounds through it myself. Zero problems what so ever. Mostly lead and a small amount of steel shot. Even slugs and buckshot too.

Not sure how similar mechanically but looks similar.
No manufacturer would intentionally sell bad designs and like any mass produced product you will get failures. Just a shame it wasnt picked up in the factory and that it was so catastrophic.

But really dissapointed the shop that sold it is being cagey. As they are only agents and they should want to get to the bottom of it too.

Not the first time I've seen a Hatsan/Escort shotgun trashed by and out of battery

Originally Posted by Beavis

Not the first time I've seen a Hatsan/Escort shotgun trashed by and out of battery

Could you elaborate on that?
Thanks!

rio isnt remington hypersonic........