.177 Wasps

[ChrisH00]

H&N don't suit my old 0.22 barrels. Are you using them in true 0.22 barrels - or in 5.5 mm barrels?

For myself, I don't have a clue what size the barrels are. My 'old' .22 cal airguns are:

Webley Premier
Webley Tempest
Webley Mk III rifle
Original Mod.50 rifle

[MattyBoy]

H&N don't suit my old 0.22 barrels. Are you using them in true 0.22 barrels - or in 5.5 mm barrels?

The original Eley Wasps which Chris has are purple-tin 5.5mm

Hence my reccomendation of H&N FTT

For older BSAs and Webleys from pre 1960s use Original Eley Wasps 5.6mm or Webley Special 5.6mm

For modern pellets in older guns, I also use RWS Superdomes which are excellent value.

Cheers

[MattyBoy]

Oh and BTW

I use H&N FTT in all my USA, European and Japanese .20/.22 airguns

They are great pellets

[Lakey]

Well speaking for me only here, I hadn't realised that there were different kinds of pellets in the old ELEY wasp .177 tins. I knew the newer Bisley wasps were cr*p, but until now, I always thought ELEY on the tin meant ELEY in the tin.

I have to say that I am a little disappointed to learn that that may not be the case.

This forces me to go and check my stocks now

[MattyBoy]

Well speaking for me only here, I hadn't realised that there were different kinds of pellets in the old ELEY wasp .177 tins. I knew the newer Bisley wasps were cr*p, but until now, I always thought ELEY on the tin meant ELEY in the tin.

I have to say that I am a little disappointed to learn that that may not be the case.

This forces me to go and check my stocks now

I agree mate

we are all in shock

[Lakey]

All this upset on a product that went out of production 8 years ago!!

I feel cheated and am going to have to invest in councilling to get over this!!

[MattyBoy]

All this upset on a product that went out of production 8 years ago!!

I feel cheated and am going to have to invest in councilling to get over this!!

Indeed "Ardbeg Therapy" required

[Gambo]

All this upset on a product that went out of production 8 years ago!!

It just goes to show there is still a great demand, and a healthy market for these pellets.

Now if Rothery's (or whoever it is who now owns/operates the equipment) would get their rear end into gear, and and start producing WASP's to EXACTLY the same specification as ELEY used to do, then they would take a massive chunk of the pellet sales, and make a lot of money from it!

As many many people, myself included, lament the loss of the Old Eley Wasp, surely it would make shrewd business sense on their behalf, to supply the very healthy demand for these pellets???

[MattyBoy]

I agree with you entirely Gambo,

4.5, 5.5 or 5.6 Original Eley Wasps were superb and would stand up to any modern pellet IMO. I wish they were still available in all sizes

Not everyone agrees though, so I guess it's personal prefernce:

Either way don't lose sleep over to wasp or not to wasp - the originals themselves would not stand comparison to any of today's better pellets.

ATB

[Gambo]

I would agree to some extent.

Sure, the "Top End" pellets of today would wipe the floor with WASP's..but just think of the stacks of tat pellets available today that just cannot compare to the old ELEY WASP's.

If they were measured on a scale of 1 to 10, with today's very best pellets being a 10, and the worst being a 1.......then I would score the old WASP's about a 7 .......or maybe an 8.

[MattyBoy]

I would agree to some extent.

Sure, the "Top End" pellets of today would wipe the floor with WASP's..but just think of the stacks of tat pellets available today that just cannot compare to the old ELEY WASP's.

If they were measured on a scale of 1 to 10, with today's very best pellets being a 10, and the worst being a 1.......then I would score the old WASP's about a 7 .......or maybe an 8.

Hey Gambo

But would they "wipe the floor" at normal ranges of 10-40 Yards?

I am not sure about wind susceptibility or looping of trajectory or those finer points, but for arguments sake:

If I shoot my tuned HW97K at 11.2 Ft Lb at a 28Yrd target (my Zero point), do you think that there would really be much difference in the tightness of the groups between FTT 5.5*, Eley Wasp 5.5 and JSB Exact 5.5*

Thanks for your feedback

[Lakey]

They were the best pellets for the English pre-WW2 .22 barrels. 5.56mm pellets were and still are the best option for these barrels. Superdomes were a compromise that was reached when everybody realised that they could no longer get the 5.56mm pellets. Superdomes my function better than 5.5mm wasps in modern 1950's + barrels, but they can't hold a candle to 5.56mm wasps in the older prewar barrels. Original wasps had a high Antimony content, making them hard and less prone to deformation in the tin (or pocket). They looked great, and were great!

In conclusion, there are a number of pellets that work OK in the pre-WW2 barrels, but I have yet to find one that works as well as the 5.56mm original Eley Wasps. Also there was a feeling of continuity and history with the wasp brand that gave me a sense of pride when I used them.English Pellets in an English Rifle!!!To me BSA underlever, and Eley wasp was a combination made in heaven. All that history has been wiped away with the dross that are the new Wasp pellets. In many respects it would have been better to have stopped using the Wasp brand altogether, and stop using the familiar tins with the wasp logo. these are totally different pellets and should be in totally different packaging. I think the use of the wasp packaging was a cynical marketing ploy to try and make us think they were the same pellets as before

Rotherys must be aware of the situation. How difficult can it be to redesign/remake the old eley moulds or dies and get these pellets back into production? Perhaps if we all write to John Rothery ltd, we could get something done about this?

Lakey

PS, Please see BTDT's excellent article about Eley Wasps in this months Airgun World

[bangers]

i`ve not read all the posts but did the proper eley wasps .177 come in a red screw top tin?

[Rickenbacker]

i`ve not read all the posts but did the proper eley wasps .177 come in a red screw top tin?

Now see, I wouldn't ask a Q on a thread that I couldn't be bothered to read... Well at least you admit you've not read it... I can't be bothered to answer

[bangers]

Now see, I wouldn't ask a Q on a thread that I couldn't be bothered to read... Well at least you admit you've not read it... I can't be bothered to answer

if you did i could`nt be bothered to read it

HAPPY CHRISTMAS