Shotgun Shells for MGC M1897?

Hi everyone,

I got my hand on an old MGC M1897 a few months ago. It didn't come with shells and I'm not sure

a) how to tell, which version it is (from what I gathered there was a VERY old paper cap version and an old PFC version?)

b) which shells this shotguns uses... I have several different models of airsoft shotgun shells here, that I tested just for cycling, none of them work, they're all too large (either only in diameter or in diameter AND length). I also have Hudson shells for the Mad Max shotgun, they're too large aswell.
I don't have any MGC shells here, unfortunately.

Do "normal" MGC M31 shells fit this?
Are MGC shotgun shells really smaller than Hudson shells and anything on the airsoft market or does the M1897 just use especially weird ones?

Appreciate any help here

Pydracor wrote:

Hi everyone,

I got my hand on an old MGC M1897 a few months ago. It didn't come with shells and I'm not sure

a) how to tell, which version it is (from what I gathered there was a VERY old paper cap version and an old PFC version?)

b) which shells this shotguns uses... I have several different models of airsoft shotgun shells here, that I tested just for cycling, none of them work, they're all too large (either only in diameter or in diameter AND length). I also have Hudson shells for the Mad Max shotgun, they're too large aswell.
I don't have any MGC shells here, unfortunately.

Do "normal" MGC M31 shells fit this?
Are MGC shotgun shells really smaller than Hudson shells and anything on the airsoft market or does the M1897 just use especially weird ones?

Appreciate any help here

Pydracor,

Like you, I picked up my M1897 without shells or instructions. There is a set of instruction available here, https://mp40modelguns.forumotion.net/t698-mgc-m1897-all-metal-shotgun-early-paper-cap-firing. As you will see the shells were meant for circular caps or cut out papers caps. I'm not aware of any changes or upgrades to or for the M1897.

I have both of the shotguns you mentioned. The M-31 shell will fit the M1897 but they will get chewed up by the action of the M1897 as they are plastic. There are/were metal based rounds available for the M31. The M-31 shells are set up for the plugfire caps but you could probably use paper caps in a pinch.

Yes the MGC shells are smaller than the Hudson shells. Pretty sure that is intentional. I have compared the MGC shell to live ammunition and they are almost identical in length and diameter to .410 gauge shotgun shells. You could use blank rounds with a wooden dowel inserted into the sleeve to at least cycle the action. Outside of this forum, evilbay is probably your only option. All the shops I used to go to on Rakuten in Japan seem to have disappeared.

I hope this is of some help.

Best regards,
Warspite

That really helps a lot, thanks a ton for all the information!

Thanks for the link to the instructions. Pretty cool, that it also shows disassembly.

So I will try to find demilled .410 shotgun shells and keep my eyes open for MGC M31 shells. Maybe I'm lucky and find a few metal ones somewhere.

And yes, many sources in Japan for either modelgun or airsoft stuff have vanished and possibilities to ship internationally have drastically dwindled.
Yahoo Japan can't even be accessed from european IPs, we have to use a VPN server to even access yahoo.jp.
Guys I know had their airsoftgun shipment from Japan blocked by japanese customs (!), they did not let the package out of Japan.

Very worrying development...

Pydracor wrote:

That really helps a lot, thanks a ton for all the information!

Thanks for the link to the instructions. Pretty cool, that it also shows disassembly.

So I will try to find demilled .410 shotgun shells and keep my eyes open for MGC M31 shells. Maybe I'm lucky and find a few metal ones somewhere.

And yes, many sources in Japan for either modelgun or airsoft stuff have vanished and possibilities to ship internationally have drastically dwindled.
Yahoo Japan can't even be accessed from european IPs, we have to use a VPN server to even access yahoo.jp.
Guys I know had their airsoftgun shipment from Japan blocked by japanese customs (!), they did not let the package out of Japan.

Very worrying development...

Besides using already fired .410 shells you could use the empty rounds used by reloaders. They have no primer or gunpower so they would be safe in that regard.

Over the last year or so there seems to have been some sort of major shift in Japan. Prices have risen considerably in many hobbys not just ours. Postage has also undergone a huge increase as well. It is as though they want to choke off foreign sales from within Japan.

As for the Customs issue, it could be that the country the items were going to has asked the Japanese government to block any shipments of replica firearms to their country. I have noticed that some counrties have been really clamping down on these items.

There are several online stores in Japan selling airsoft that still have some PFC style guns and there is still evilbay as a source but things are changing and I fear our little hobby will be one of the ones that will feel the effects more than others.