Does anyone know what happened to the dies, tooling, etc, that was used to make the original Eley Wasp pellets ? the Wasps available now are rubbish compared to those of old.
Paul.
"But we have our own dream and our own task. We are with Europe, but not of it. We are linked, but not comprised. We are interested and associated, but not absorbed."
Winston Churchill 1930
Not called wasps anymore the are called Wokes.
Good standard pellet i always used.
The original tooling might have been used for the new ones but they are not set up properly, using the wrong mix or something.
I found Defiant Vintage to be very good.
I also heard that story when quality issues with the post Eley Wasps first came about. Whilst the earliest Rothery made Wasps still resembled Eley's pellets up to a point, this has not been the case for some time now as the modern version is of far lower quality than those made during the 1980s. Today, the only connection to the old Wasps are the tin labels.
I wonder if the old dies were seen as used and knackered, so new ones were obtained instead. A real shame if this was the case.
Mind you, I've found quality German pellets such as FTT and Hobby work very well in most barrels, even the wider 5.6mm ones, so whilst the Wasp was once the benchmark I used when evaluating pellets, this is no longer the case.
John M
The wasp was the bench mark for all testing back in the 1980-90. I believe the mould wore out. I am sure with modern technology and original pellets such moulds can be remade exactly to original spec.
I had also heard that the older equipment was compromised in transit to the new owners, John, but your explanation sounds most plausible and I also agree with your observation over the fact that many modern pellets do, indeed, perform well in the larger ".22" barrels.
THE BOINGER BASH AT QUIGLEY HOLLOW. MAKING GREAT MEMORIES SINCE 15th JUNE, 2013.
NEXT EVENT :- May 2025.........BOING!!
John Darling JD (1946-2004) was my inspiration to be the best i can and enjoy the sport i love. R.I.P
A dedicated HW80 Fanatic and owner since 1986 to present.
Newer non-Eley Wasps are nowhere near as bad as many would have you believe, especially in 5.6mm format.
I'm convinced that most of this has come from people just repeating what they've heard elsewhere rather than personal experience.
These were 5 shot groups shot with the new Wasps at 25 yards through a .22 Webley Tracker :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/harvey...posted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/harvey...eposted-public
It's all moot now as the factory caught fire some time ago and Bisley said there were no plans to reopen it... so pretty soon even these will be unobtainium.
The new ones don't work in my airsporter. I tried several tins. All were too small on the heads. I've got one old blue tin and a few old purple ones left.
I too have several tins of the original Eley Wasps in 5.6mm and 5.5mm in the mauve tins. These are good in most of my rifles. I recently bought a tin of the "new" one and could not believe how bad they were - amongst the worst pellets I've ever seen.
Believe me, I have tested the post 2002 Wasps on a number of occasions and through a number of barrels. They are not of the same shape and consistency as the original Eley made pellets. Sadly their performance is nowhere near as consistent as the old Wasps in my experience. I was given a tin of modern .177 Wasps a couple of years ago by a gun shop and much of the tin was full of deformed pellets. Those that were 'formed' shot groups like a shotgun, so it is not just the .22s that are of poor quality.
John M