Page 2 - Gamo Express EXP20 Reviews

I purchased a couple boxes of these with the airgun "shotgun" to get me started. Figured I'd reload them myself, as previous commenters had mention, after shooting them. It seems easy enough to do as long as you have a card punch that fits to make the top and bottom cards/wads.

The payload here is exceedingly small. Not just the size of the shot, but the number of pellets. This is probably a limitation of the airgun itself. I'll experiment and find out. However, I would recommend against hunting with these - unless you are talking about very small critters at very close range.

There is definitely no other product out there that can currently replace this. I have tried them all and have fallen very short of the effectiveness of these shot shells.I would not try to reload these as some videos suggest. You lose a lot of power and you run the chance of ricochet right back at you. These are definitely designed to give you the best and most effective use of power from your rifle.

Nothing really

Stock up on these or tell your friends. If there are not much sales on this, there may be a limited time offer on both like some other air shotguns out there.

Really a neat little shot shell.

Package more shells for less cost.

Use spent shells for reloads.

I have only fired 1 shell. It looked like a good pattern. I like that the shells are reloadable.

Wish there was info available on how much shot to use for reloads

Ease of use.

Maybe use wads to load this shell for better pattern? Also, another shot size shell or two? Reloading supply?

These are powerful shot from your gun so be careful.

Worked well for what it is - a No.1 bore air-powered shotgun! Using the XP20 22-cal air shot-shells, the patterns are tight and even up to about 10 yards; starts opening up at 12 yards (5in circle at 5yd and 12in circle at 12yds). I would not go beyond 15 yards for any kind of small vermin or small bird.

Remove pistol-grip extension from the stock and remove rubber-like panels from the stock to make smooth - more like standard shotgun. Add holes in stock to store shot-shells for easy access. Add adjustable choke to control pattern. Make a dedicated 25 cal shotgun or even a 45 cal - 410?

Sorta feels like a very light shotgun, but not quite there yet. With stock improvements it would be closer to a field gun.

Worked well for what it is - a 22 caliber air shotgun-shell! From the Gamo Viper Express 22-cal Shotgun with 20in barrel, the patterns are tight (5in at 5yd and 10in at 10yds) and even up to about 10 yards; starts opening up at 12 yards. Easy to load and OK to unload - no extractor on this model of shotgun. These can be reloaded and works well for light loads.

Remove the flat on the rim and make it a bit stronger, maybe with more or stronger fiber.

If you reload these, make sure the small flat on the rim is against some part of the chamber and somewhat supported or the rim will blow out with extended use or with larger than standard load. I used Kleenex box scraps for over-shot and under-shot cards using a 7/32 steel punch to make 0.22" discs. These worked well, but I will make my own for heavier loads.

Able to reload them with 7 1/2 shot.

put 7 1/2 shot in shell. # 9 is terrible.

Just reload. See my review on the Viper Express NP.

Easy to load. Very effective for close range shooting. Good at Rodent and pesty bird control at close range.

Would make a longer shell to hold more shot. Have different shot variety sizes.

Very easy to load. Good pattern at close distances.

convenience

sell the shot cups so we can reload. They are difficult to find after they are used, but if you can find them you can reuse them. Why make us scrounge when we are gladly willing to pay you for these back seals/shot cups

The shells can be reloaded so don't throw them away like Gamo wants you to do. You can reload with different size shot, even sand or tiny glass beads.

I like the concept of having a shotgun option for airguns.

The ammo quality. I have gone over the other reviews and did not see one which dealt with discovering what is in the factory load. What I found when I dis-assembled one of these was a total lack of quality and a revealed that these are not as advertised. The shotshell contained 20 pellets ranging in size from .059" to .088". (# 9 shot has a nominal diameter of .079"). The actual weight of the shot charge was 9.2 grains. Only 6 of the 20 pellets could be remotely considered as # 9. The average diameter of all 20 pellets was only .069" , and many of those 13 pellets were considerably smaller than that. The point is, the pellets used to make up the shot charge here are apparently not standard quality #9 shot, but a mixture of all sorts of shot with no uniformity at all. The predominance of smaller shot makes the killing power of the charge all the more ineffective at any range beyond 5 yards. The weight variation of the shot charge was also found to be large when I weighed the shotshells.

There is no reason these should be as costly as they are. They seem filled with reject shot of all sorts. I am reloading my hulls with # 8-1/2 shot which weighs out at an actual shot charge of 17.5 grains for 18 pellets. The factory shells with that actual shot charge of 9.2 grains gave a velocity of 814 fps. My reloads were considerably slower at 551 fps but considering the limited range and killing power, I do believe the much heavier payload will be more effective than the factory offering. The factory load showed reasonable shot density at 10 yards for hitting a squirrel sized target at that range, but not enough for any reasonable expectation at killing it. My reloads did just as well in pattern density with the larger and heavier shot of uniform size, but I still have no confidence in reliably killing a squirrel sized target beyond 5 yards.

Sturdy construction, albeit plastic. Reloadable. Quiet in your pocket or pouch - no metallic jingle, as with pellets in tins, metallic cartridges, and so on.

Might be nice if they would come out with a metal version, say of brass. A small reloading kit would be nice.

Reloading these things is a hoot. All you need is some foam sheet (2mm works for me) from your local hobby store (a couple sheets will do a LOT of shells), a handheld paper punch, and shot.

The procedure is as follows:

1. Punch two circles of foam for each shell (one for the base wad, and one for over shot wad).

2. Place the shell base down on a hard surface and insert the base 'wad' into the mouth of the shell and press it down with the eraser end of a pencil, dowel, etc. Make sure that it doesn't escape the other end.

3. Insert the proper number of pellets (see below).

4. Carefully insert the overshot wad on top of the pellets.

5. Optional: Run a bead of nail polish around the mouth of case to ensure the wad stays in place.

Size:Shot Chart

Shot Shot
Size Count
#9 23

#8-1/2 18

#8 13

#7-1/2 12

#7 10

#6 9

They will take out those little Shatterblast targets, too. Range and hold being spot on.

These little shotshells have all functioned as expected and without any failures.

Pricing seems a little high, possibly because of a small volume produced or because of a lack of competition. I would like to see them offered in a selection of shot sizes OR I would like to see the necessary components for reloading the shotshells offered for purchase. This would enable reloading with the proper components rather than using field expedients such as 7/32" plugs cut from flexible materials to retain the shot which do not always function properly when fired

Do a little experimentation for penetration at various ranges BEFORE attempting to hunt or shoot varmints because, depending on what you are after the pattern may be a little too large to ensure an adequate number of hits to ensure a kill.. most animals REQUIRE a goodly number of hits with this small shot before they will go down - one or two pellets isn't enough.

These turn a Gamo "Express" into the only affordable air shotgun on the market. Easy to insert and remove from the breech.

I wish these were available with slightly heavier shot loads. While I'm dreaming, how about an Air Force Talon barrel chambered for shotshells.

You wouldn't think that 17 grains of #9 shot at 725 fps would do much, but these really do pack a punch. Shot goes through both sides of a soda can.

muti shot.

better shells. some explode when fired and makes gun really loud.

too expensive.

Slightly cheaper at Pyramyd than anywhere else I've found. Safe. Convenient to use. Very effective at close range. Lots of fun to shoot such a small caliber "shotgun"!

For those into reloading the parting line OPPOSITE the small flat on the rear flange tends to separate on about 30% of spent shells rendering them unfit for reloading. Too, I have to wondered how much pressure (power) may be lost during the actual shot when this happens?

Lots of fun to shoot. Very effective but you must remember that these are very specialized shells. They are for close-range use only. They seem to pattern very effectively up to about 45'.

They have the #9 shot instead of the #71/2 that were in some shells

Make the casings reloadable

Likes. . . .shotgun/shell concept in an air rifle, ease of use, close range(5-10-15-20 feet) accuracy & knock down power, clean shotshells, decent packaging.

More shotshells for the $$ paid.

The shotshells will be used 99.9% in the Gamo Viper Express NP Shotgun from PA for my primary shooting purposes. Shotgun capabilities is why I purchased this rifle. Other rifles will be used for single shot .22 & .177. For purposes intended, these shotshells perform as expected, considering there is nothing else available in which to compare. Cost per box of 25 may prohibit extensive use so I plan to use wisely for close range pest control. All in all. . .excellent concept and will purchase more as needed. PA packs & ships in a secure and expeditious manner.

I like the novelty of having an air shot gun. I have owned one since the first release by Gamo. It is amazingly accurate and hard hitting with the pellet adapter in spite of it being a smooth bore. The shot shells are fun to use.

The beef that I have (and most everyone else) is the price of the shot shells. I purchased several boxes of them when the gun went out of production in order to have a supply. I do reload them utilizing a .25" hole punch available at craft stores (paper punches don't work - they're too big). I use 2mm hobby foam for the rear/driving wad and parchment paper for the front. I load a few more shot than the standard load in the shot shells. I wish Gamo would make driving cups and some kind of front wad available. At least the rear cups. It is fun to reload and I would like to try different shot sizes.

It's a great air gun and is fun to experiment with. Just wish Gamo would get on the ball and offer shot shell components for those of us who reload.

The idea and the function!

less expensive, quality control

Two of the shells, out of the 4 boxes I got, had the back plastic, that holds the shot in, twisted letting it out. First time I've had this problem, the boxes are sealed so it's a factory defect. I've patterned them out to 20 yards and I was getting two of the sand sized shot IN a two liter soda bottle filled with water. There were spots where other shot bounced off. So that tells me 20 yards maximum range for just wounding a bird, like a dove, that's airborn (which I have not attempted nor plan to). These are more effective for killing rats or other pests smaller than a rabbit at 10 yards and closer. Velocity/knockdown power just isn't there for ethical/distance hunting. I use them to train newbies on shotgunning in the backyard without the loud bang. Throwing water bottles and cans up in the air. For that, it works perfectly.