ELEY WASP ... what is the story?

[Powderfinger]

I talked about this with someone who runs Eley, recently. He said that the pellets business had no longer seemed economical and they decided to sell that side of things off in order to concentrate on their rimfire ammo. It seems a shame that you can no longer buy pukka Wasps.

[firestarterUK]

shame about the old eley wasp pellet. yes back in the 60's 70's these pellets were about the best you could get. just opening the tin was an experience. they were just sooooo shiney, they looked as if they were made from silver, highly polished and a very distinctive smell. bsa used them and re brand3d as pylarms, again no difference an excelent pellet and if at the time you bought a new bsa rifle such as a Meteor, you would have also got a small tube of 100 pylarms..

what a shame they have gone.

[verybigmike]

I picked up a box containing 12 tins of the Eley Wasps in .22 at auction recently. As always the collectors section educates me as I had not realised the change in ownership.

I have just checked the box and hurrah, they are original Eleys and yes they are shiney when you open the tins.

another piece of my youth gone! im getting old - i'll be collecting old BSAs next

[Amac]

I well remember the first tin of pellets I ever bought in the distant past. They were the Eley Wasp in .177 red tin. Must be forty years ago now. Shame they are now gone as I wouldnt mind buying a tin for reasons of nostalgia if nothing else.

[jjjjjj]

As every one has said the new wasp are no good at all and thats me being polite, i have even tried puting them in a pellet sizer and then fireing threw the chrono the results were terrible allsorts of ft lbs and feet per second.
Lucky i have 5 tins of the old ones and two tins of bsa pylarms and only use them in my airsporter mk2 i have had for 30 years still shoots nice and smooth and groups very well.
i have tried rws superdomes in the old girl as people recomend on here but they just dont group at all.
just wish the wasp can be made as they used to.
JJJJJJ

[edbear2]

I well remember the first tin of pellets I ever bought in the distant past. They were the Eley Wasp in .177 red tin. Must be forty years ago now. Shame they are now gone as I wouldnt mind buying a tin for reasons of nostalgia if nothing else.

That's what started me off collecting tins.......I was mooching through a box of old cigarette/toffee tins in a brick-a-brack shop, and at the bottom were two old pellet tins.......and I was 12 again for a few seconds when I saw the lids


JJJJJJ.......Have you tried H+N ftt in 5.54 size?.......they work really well in my .22 prewar BSA underlevers! .......

[Sam99]

What a great thread!!
It’s taken me back a few years, as well.
It was BSA Pylarms for me; I didn’t know they were re-branded Wasp’s??

Nostalgia. Not what it used to be ………

[junglie]

I talked to a gunshop owner recently about this & he told me they're now made in poland or somewhere like that & yes they are rubbish, about on par with milbro caledonians or bulldogs. Someone recently posted a pic of the old pellets & my memory was'nt wrong! They were as good as rws & h&n finish, sadly missed.

[edbear2]

I well remember the first tin of pellets I ever bought in the distant past. They were the Eley Wasp in .177 red tin. Must be forty years ago now. Shame they are now gone as I wouldnt mind buying a tin for reasons of nostalgia if nothing else.

These below are not for sale, but old wasp and other tins regularly turn up on fleabay if you wanted to get one....many people collect them either just for the sake of it, or to go with say, an old webley or BSA pistol/rifle if they are lucky enough to have the original box/carton...

It might be worth looking also at T J McAvoys website, they were selling off old tins a while back

These may be the ones you remember?.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3122848...15689/sizes/l/

BSA pylarms.(the earlier .22 tin is one of my favorites)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3122848...7607964699940/

Allsorts here;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3122848...7607964699940/

Told you it was a slippery slope.....one old Webley, and Wasp tin started all this off

[Rob M]

Milbro Caledonians aren't that bad, and Bulldogs are much better than they used to be as well, Milbro Select go well in some of my older British airguns as well and are a lot like Wasps in shape, though not quite as consistent.

[I. J.]

Unfortunately if it doesnt say ELEY on the tin, it wont be ELEY in the tin. Modern tins - where it just says Wasp on the lid , are still available in 5.6mm and 5.5mm in the same coloured tins as before, however the pellets are totally different.
ATB
Lakey

Yep Edbear and Lakey, you're spot on. I see exactly what you mean. The ad that I copied and pasted wasn't off fleabay, so there are a number of outlets effectively 'ripping' customers off by advertising 'Eley Wasps' and supplying the customers with 'Wasps', ATB Eric

Spot the difference.

HTH
Ian

[T 20]

Spot the difference.

HTH
Ian

The new Wasp has thinner legs and smaller spots on its arse.

Is there a prize Ian ?



All the best Mick

[Typhoochimp]

I bought three tins of these in .177 off here for £13 a few weeks ago - I'd read somewhere that the old 'Made in England' ones were OK whilst the more recent Foreign one were a bit duff. I remembered the Wasps from 47 years ago and used them in a BSA Airsporter. I haven't used any of these yet but I'll keep the screw lid tins when I have! Here's some nice photos of the ones I bought.
[http://www.fidelisfirearms.com/image...r/EleyWasp.jpg

[william g b]

does anybody remember beatall pellets,they was the best in our cadet majors sixty odd years ago.

[I. J.]

The new Wasp has thinner legs and smaller spots on its arse.
Is there a prize Ian ?
All the best Mick

Bee hive yourself Mick.

I got mugged by a swarm of bees the other day. All they nicked was my Nectar card.

ATB
Ian