Eley First 28 gram fibrewad

Intended as a general purpose club cartridge, for an all-rounder Eley’s 28 gram First load displays levels of consistency in excess of supposedly superior loads. Likewise, the First’s general availability at most grounds, especially fibrewad only establishments, means buyers can settle to and learn the traits of one particular cartridge. This Eley’s characteristics are more than suitable for shooters of all types and abilities. 

Packed in Eley’s now familiar trademark style carton, this time with a predominantly grey hue and an information panel on the top, the First’s tested were the 7½ fibrewad load although 8’s, 9’s and a smaller 24 gram version is also available. Irrespective of shot or load size, Eley’s First comes in a black plastic Cheddite case over printed in silver, each round exactly 55mm long including the short 8mm brass head. Marked up at 67mm when fired, this means the First is also suitable for use in most 2½” chambered shotguns marked 65mm or 70mm, once again expanding this round’s flexibility.

Closed with a substantial roll and a clearly defined six-point crimp, each First contained a more or less exact 28.55 grams or 376 pieces of well formed shot with no obvious irregularities. Powered by 1.66 grams of Eley’s now familiar green, flat cut propellant, a dense 4mm over powder card separates the charge from what Eley refer to as their unique 18mm ‘Kleena II’ fibre wad. Lighter than usual, the wad itself assists in keeping down felt recoil whilst cutting down considerably on the ‘confetti’ often associated with Eley’s fibre loads. Overall, Eley’s First is a well constructed and well presented cartridge, the overall appearance being one of high quality.

Chronographed through a Marocchi A12 semi-auto at nine feet through ¼ choke, a mean average speed of 1,290fps was recorded over fifteen rounds. More impressively a variation of just +/- 3 fps was highlighted, a singularly impressive variation. Patterned at thirty yards, once again through ¼ choke, 87% of the shot produced a well distributed and notably uniform pattern inside the 29” circle, no obvious concentration of shot to be found.
 
Shot as Eley intended around an average fifty bird sporting layout, recoil was negligible whilst general performance and detonation proved excellent. The First exhibits clean, concise kills at all ranges, the consistency in keeping with the First’s test bed results on the pattern card. Costing around £4-50p per box of twenty-five, if bought in thousands the purchase price should drop by at least a pound. One thing that’s definitely safe to say is that you’d be hard pushed to find another cartridge of the Eley First quality within the sector it was designed for.

PRICE (PER BOX OF 25): £4-50p