This is about a gun I could, and could not, shoot.
I bought my Apache, including two tubes of labelled Apache .25 caliber shot and the bb barrel insert, at a garage sale. To my amazement the gun both pumped and held air. I could chamber and fire bb's with ease and reasonable accuracy, but I could not chamber the Apache ball. These guns have a reputation for fragile bolt handles and I was afraid to use significant force.
At a sale at a local sporting goods store I found a partial bag of #4 shot, with is supposed to be proper ammo for this gun - still no luck; the balls would not enter the barrel. Examination of both groups of balls showed them to be barely spherical. Clearly, they were sold direct from the shot tower.
In a flash of insight I searched the internet for swaged #4 shot and paid as much as I had for the gun for a bag. Success. The swaged balls are round and enter the barrel with only a slight push.
Got to be the scope