Project Gamo Expo-26

Kiwi, do you know how old it is?

Walk quietly, but carry a big stick.

Well this is my $110 "bargain" recently acquired via Trademe. Being the age it is I was kind of hoping it might be a better quality instrument than the current batch, but oh no, it's just as junky as the rest! This thing may shoot OK, I didn't bother trying the iron sights with my rubbish eyesight. I pushed on and stripped it down.

The moulded plastic breech block and barrel hinge were bad enough, but the plastic spring guide inside definitely confirmed its pedigree. However, it's a project so lets see what we can do with it. There's virtually no chance that cylinder mounted scope is going to work with the flexi-breech and I'm not that keen to make a new one out of steel, so a red-dot on the rear sight mount it will be.

The piston is similar to the Air Chief but a bit better made. It could do with a new seal - anyone got one lying around they'd like to move on?

The wooden stock is nice (marked but still nicer than the AC plastic job) and the trigger mechanism is a bit more sophisticated than I'm used to. There is some rust spots on the top of the cylinder but won't affect its performance.

The spring is toast so I have a new one coming from my mates at AliExpress. I'll have to shorten it a bit, but that's part of the challenge. I've made up a new spring guide from some junk steel and a piece of stainless tube I had lying around, along with a locating washer for the seal end. The guide is quite a bit longer and will be a hell of a lot stronger than the pathetic plastic swizzle stick the factory put in there LOL

FX Wildcat MK111 BT Sniper .25
Walther Reign M2 .22
Evanix AR6 .22
FX Dreamline Classic .22
Cometa Fenix 400 .177
Weihrauch HW50 .177
Air Chief Junior .177 ($100 Challenge)

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KiwiTR6 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 03 Nov 2022 Location: Stratford Status: Offline Posts: 227	Post Options Post Reply Quote KiwiTR6 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 26 Sep 2023 at 8:46am
	I'm not sure of the age although I'd guess 70's or 80's. Someone more knowledgeable may let us know.
	FX Wildcat MK111 BT Sniper .25 Walther Reign M2 .22 Evanix AR6 .22 FX Dreamline Classic .22 Cometa Fenix 400 .177 Weihrauch HW50 .177 Air Chief Junior .177 ($100 Challenge)

RangerPete Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 18 Apr 2023 Location: Cambridge. Status: Offline Posts: 542	Post Options Post Reply Quote RangerPete Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 26 Sep 2023 at 7:12am
	Kiwi, do you know how old it is?
	Walk quietly, but carry a big stick.

kruzaroad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 02 Jul 2022 Location: Hastings 4 now Status: Offline Posts: 1719	Post Options Post Reply Quote kruzaroad Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 25 Sep 2023 at 10:11pm
	It's a healthy addiction. Requires thought and skill. I hope you wrote to gamo and thanked them for thier poor quality, a boon for the practically afflicted. Should be a good project.

KiwiTR6 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 03 Nov 2022 Location: Stratford Status: Offline Posts: 227	Post Options Post Reply Quote KiwiTR6 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 25 Sep 2023 at 9:00pm
	Well this is my $110 "bargain" recently acquired via Trademe. Being the age it is I was kind of hoping it might be a better quality instrument than the current batch, but oh no, it's just as junky as the rest! This thing may shoot OK, I didn't bother trying the iron sights with my rubbish eyesight. I pushed on and stripped it down. The moulded plastic breech block and barrel hinge were bad enough, but the plastic spring guide inside definitely confirmed its pedigree. However, it's a project so lets see what we can do with it. There's virtually no chance that cylinder mounted scope is going to work with the flexi-breech and I'm not that keen to make a new one out of steel, so a red-dot on the rear sight mount it will be. The piston is similar to the Air Chief but a bit better made. It could do with a new seal - anyone got one lying around they'd like to move on? The wooden stock is nice (marked but still nicer than the AC plastic job) and the trigger mechanism is a bit more sophisticated than I'm used to. There is some rust spots on the top of the cylinder but won't affect its performance. The spring is toast so I have a new one coming from my mates at AliExpress. I'll have to shorten it a bit, but that's part of the challenge. I've made up a new spring guide from some junk steel and a piece of stainless tube I had lying around, along with a locating washer for the seal end. The guide is quite a bit longer and will be a hell of a lot stronger than the pathetic plastic swizzle stick the factory put in there
	FX Wildcat MK111 BT Sniper .25 Walther Reign M2 .22 Evanix AR6 .22 FX Dreamline Classic .22 Cometa Fenix 400 .177 Weihrauch HW50 .177 Air Chief Junior .177 ($100 Challenge)