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Reader Survey >Eley Pigeon HV Cartridge Review: A Field-Tested Favourite?
- Last updated: 01/09/2025
It’s always good to have a choice when buying anything, but selecting the right ammunition for a gun can be both time-consuming and expensive. While having plenty of options appeals to me, as it’s something I enjoy, there are times when you just want to grab a gun, some cartridges, and head into the woods or the field for a good day’s shooting.
That’s exactly what Eley Hawk has done with its Pigeon HV (High Velocity) cartridges, which have been deliberately produced in a single shot size, weight, and wad combination. Every component is the result of thorough field testing with pigeon shooting experts and Eley’s ballistic team, resulting in a cartridge designed for fast-flying, twitchy woodies, with impressive knockdown power.
Prices vary, but typically £366 buys you 1,000 rounds.
As I alluded to earlier, Eley Hawk has loaded this cartridge with a single option: 32g of No.6 shot with a fibre wad in a 70mm case. Let’s take a closer look, as I’m a fan of the packaging, which offers a simple yet effective visual representation of the quarry it’s intended for.
The green case is Eley Hawk’s own HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) design, which is fully recyclable and helps reduce any environmental impact. Its vivid green colour stands out clearly, with the load details printed on the shallow, ribbed surface. The usual six-star crimp is cleanly executed to keep out moisture and dirt, while also providing sufficient back pressure to ensure proper powder ignition.
At the other end is a 12mm-high brass head with a well-defined rim, ensuring that the various extractor claws used by different shotgun manufacturers can achieve a firm and reliable grip. The case design is intended to perform reliably in any shotgun configuration, with particular emphasis on semi-automatics, which explains its popularity among shooters who favour this style of gun.
Internally, Eley’s 100% Signature Primer is made from the highest-quality materials to deliver one of the most consistent primers available today, because consistency begins with the primer. Get this right and you’ll achieve clean, sustained, and reliable ignition, allowing the rest of the propulsion cycle to operate smoothly. In addition, Eley’s primers are weather-resistant, ensuring dependable ignition in all conditions, whether hot, cold, wet or freezing.
As for the powder, to achieve high velocity—particularly with a 32g payload of lead shot—Eley uses PSB 2 powder. This is a ‘low-smoke’ smokeless propellant produced by MAXAM, well known among manufacturers and reloaders for its consistency and precision. It has a grey-green colour, is cut into small flakes, and is a single-based propellant made with high-nitrogen-content nitrocellulose. It is designed for high velocities and delivers a consistent burn thanks to the use of the correct additives and stabilisers during manufacture. The result is an advertised velocity of 1,377fps, offering excellent reach for fast-paced, elusive pigeons or crows, while still feeling smooth to shoot. This is especially true in a semi-automatic, though it remains comfortable in a double as well. The low-smoke formulation also allows for quicker second-shot acquisition without your view being obscured.
Continuing the consistency theme, the HV’s fibre wad is also carefully considered. It features a 4mm card powder-sealing wad followed by 16mm of tightly packed fibre in a single section. This ensures a snug fit across a range of barrel dimensions and promotes a consistent powder burn, while also protecting the pellets from damage during initial ignition. This non-disintegrating construction should not be underestimated, as it delivers impressively consistent and tight patterns for a fibre wad.
Finally, the No. 6 shot, when examined, is just as expected: all are bright and shiny, with very few, if any, dented pellets. This level of quality helps to maintain even patterns downrange.
One of the great things about the Eley Pigeon HV cartridge is that it comes in just one weight, pellet size, and wad, so there’s no need to worry about changing between different combinations. It’s particularly well suited to semi-automatic shotguns, so I tested it in a Charles Daly 601 with the ¼ and then the ½ choke fitted, as usual, on the pattern boards. Recoil was very mild, which is ideal for pigeon shooting from a cramped hide, and follow-up shots were a breeze.
Pattern-wise, I have to say that some of these cheaper guns have performed surprisingly well during testing. Today was no exception. With the ¼ choke fitted, we recorded 230 pellet strikes on the board, showing a very uniform distribution, with 103 hits in the inner circle and 127 in the outer. All pellets struck centrally and spread evenly outwards, so any slight variation in pigeon flight or a misjudged swing would still result in enough lethal pellets on target.
Switching to the tighter ½ choke gave us 57 more pellet strikes, bringing the total to 287 hits in the 30” circle, with 121 in the inner area and 166 in the outer. It was another excellent pattern, slightly denser overall, and ideal for longer-range, faster pigeons, crows, or branch-hopping squirrels.
At £366 per 1,000 (guide), these cartridges are reasonably pricey by today’s standards, but you are paying for Eley’s years of expertise. If you’re looking for a fast, hard-hitting pigeon load that patterns very well, then this is the cartridge.
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