Eley Shotshells Range Overview

How will shooting Eley shotshells put more ducks in the maimai?  Let’s back the truck up to 2008, when the keenest hunters at Hunting & Fishing New Zealand pushed for a partnership with Eley Hawke UK.  Eley’s heritage of excellence in shotshell manufacture was one thing, but its success in producing high performing steel shotshells was even more important to us.  Since then, things have only got better with Eley being snapped up by the giant corporate Maxam (munitions), which quickly invested in new state of the art facilities for Eley. 

Eley’s attractive pricing is not because it’s ‘budget’ in terms of quality.  It’s because we enjoy a manufacturer direct relationship, using our buying power to ship in bulk, even landing containers directly into both islands to minimise domestic freight costs.  What this means to our customers is high-performance ammo at economy pricing. 
It’s not just waterfowl hunters who benefit from our Eley relationship, but for those wanting pre-season clay target practice using their duck semi-autos. We’ve worked with Eley to produce a High Velocity version of Olympic Blues, a clay target option that will cycle most game semi-autos.  Game semi-autos are designed for the heavy pressures of field ammo, and some are prone to ‘hang-up’ with weak ammo, a total frustration for a day at the gun club.  The pressure produced by Olympic Blues High Velocity is nearer to that of field ammo.  Now hunters with fussy semi-autos, or competition shooters wanting a faster load, have a great target-ammo option. 

Some background!  Founded by two Eley brothers in 1828, Eley Hawk is a truly iconic brand with an extremely rich heritage.  Proudly reflecting on a legacy almost 200 years in the making, Eley is highly respected worldwide as a manufacturer of the finest game and clay target cartridges.  To prosper for almost two centuries, its obvious Eley has continually embraced innovation.  In fact, Eley often pioneered new shotshell technology.  Founding brother William Eley is described as ‘an inventive genius’, growing the business into one of the world’s largest ammunition manufacturers of the time.  William masterminded a revolutionary percussion cap, but was later tragically killed in a factory explosion while experimenting further. Eley’s market leading legacy is again to the fore in today’s modern era, but this time as a direct result of the Maxam investment.  Notable examples coming out of the new state of the art facilities at Sutton, Coldfield (UK), include eco-friendly options that have a minimal impact on the environment. Other advances are in pure performance, proving Eley is again right up there. 
Which load is best for me???  There’s something for every shooter, here’s a quick overview…. 

Target Shooters – ELEY OLYMPIC BLUES – (12g) 
Available in Low Recoil, High Velocity, and Low Recoil Fibre Wad.      
Waterfowl Hunters – ELEY VIP AND LIGHTNING STEEL.  
Firstly, lets correct something that was wrongly promoted when steel shot was introduced.  It’s pattern that kills, not velocity.  The misleading info posted ‘back in the day’ encouraged a reduced payload (32grm) in order to achieve greater velocities, and to run a large shot size (1’s & 2’s) in the belief this would punch out the penetration needed for a body shot kill.   You could fly a swan through the holes in those patterns, whereas we now understand the exact opposite.  At quite extreme range, even small sized steel pellets (3’s & 4’s) striking gamebirds in the head or neck region can have sufficient penetration for clean kills. 

VIP STEEL – 2 ¾”, 32grm 1240 fps – a light load with an awesome pattern.  Perfect for O/U shotguns, lighter semi’s, and closer range hunting like evening hunts or small dam shooting.  Great value! 
VIP HYPERSPEED STEEL – 2 ¾” 31grm 1640 fps – amazing performance as the name suggests.  I shoot Hyperspeed, front-loading the chamber and first shot out of the magazine, (but with 3” 36grm shells backing up).  Great for twilight hunting when the shooting window is brief and a fast load helps.   
VIP LIGHTNING STEEL – 3” Magnum, 32 (1640 fps) or 36grm (1450fps) – My personal recommendation for all round waterfowling!  Stunning knock down power, clean kill patterns. 
OTHER STEEL – VIP Eco ammo (wads that dissolve), and sub gauge steel. 
LEAD FIELD AMMO – Select from ALPHAMAX 32, 36, 42 and 46grm field ammo.  With shot sizes from #6 to BB’s and Buckshot, you can target rabbits, hares, possums, pigeons, (dry land) ducks, turkeys, geese, even wallabies and deer.  Alternatively VIP GAME achieves perfection for upland game or (field) duck hunting, in 12g or sub gauges.