How to Reload Gamo Air Gun Shot Shells
"Airgun" and "shotgun" are two words that you don't usually find in the same sentence. Typically, airguns fire only a single pellet or BB at a time; this is not so with Gamo Precision Airguns' shotgun/air rifle line. The Viper Express and the Shadow Express are two air rifles that have been designed to fire small "shotshells," which as the name might suggest are basically scaled-down versions of birdshot shotgun shells. The only problem with this admittedly cool idea is that the shotshell ammunition is difficult to find in the U.S., and costs a bundle when it is found. Fortunately, Gamo Shotshells can be reloaded, and it's fairly easy to do so.
Things You'll Need
- Toilet paper
- Empty shotshell
- Small stick or similar instrument (must be small enough to fit through the empty shotshell casing)
- No. 9 birdshot shotgun shell
- Bowl
- Exacto knife or similar sharp cutting instrument
Instructions
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1
Cut open your No. 9 shotgun shell to remove the birdshot pellets from it. Do this by inserting the tip of your cutting implement into the tip of the shotgun shell until you hit metal. Then cut a hole all the way around until the tip of the shotgun shell is open.
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2
Pour the birdshot into your bowl. You will be reloading the Gamo Shotshells with the birdshot. A single shell's worth of No. 9 birdshot is enough to fill around 20 shotshells.
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3
Stand your shotshell up on it's back end. Make sure the bottom is on a hard surface like a board or a kitchen table.
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4
Tear off some toilet paper and wad it into a ball. The wadded ball needs to fit snugly inside the shotshell, so make sure you do not tear off too much.
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5
Tamp the wadded ball down into the shotshell with your stick. The toilet paper needs to be wedged in so it won't come up when you pick up the shotshell or load the pellets into it, so make sure it's in there good.
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6
Fill the shotshell with about 20 pellets.
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7
Tear off another piece of toilet paper and tamp it down on top of the pellets in the same way you did the first. You should be able to shake the shotshell without any of the pellets or either piece of toilet paper becoming dislodged. If the toilet paper comes out during the shaking, start over and use a larger piece.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not attempt to cut open the shotgun shell around any open flames. The shell itself is relatively harmless, but remember that it is live ammunition, and should be treated with utmost respect at all times.
It is also possible to purchase bags of No. 9 shot, but often these will only come in bags of 25lbs or more. Depending on how much you plan to use your air shotgun, this may be a suitable alternative to cutting open shotgun shells.
