Eley, Red Box, Pistol, Calfee

Friend Kevin

Friend Kevin:

You and my good friend Tarl Kempley put on quite a show at Perry this year with those killer 6387's. Congratulations my friend.

Kevin, When Eley first came out with their EPS, (flat nose) bullet, they were absolutely better than the product they had produced in the years before, but not because of the (flat nose) bullet, their got real serious with their quality.

My friend, I went to work and got Eley to produce the old round nose bullet, not because it had a round nose, but because that bullet had the proper length driving bands and a good, deep front shoulder to carry wax the entire legnth of the bore and also to clean the bore of combustion bi-products each shot.

Mike Mullins set the ARA world record right off with them......and others were having tremendous success too....

The engineers at Eley then incorportated the good driving bands and deep front shoulder to the old EPS (flat nose) bullet, exactly like the good round nose design.....

This good bullet that now carries wax properly with the good driving bands is the current "killer" flat nose bullet that dominates rimfire shooting today.

Now my friend, Bill Calfee is a funny guy. I ain't never satisfied. I have been doing some experimenting and have discovered some very interesting possibilities.......

Kevin, if you don't mind, I think I'll go ahead and try to improve the EPS Flat Nose bullet, again.

Congratulations again Kevin on that awesome performance at Perry.

Your friend, Bill Calfee
 
thanks for the reply

Bill:

Thanks for the reply!

This year has really been a blessing. I have known Tarl, Reya and their parents from their participation at the Nationals the past few years - they are incredible people. Tarl and Reya are world class shooters, and world class people. I was honored to share the podium with him this year.

Only my opinion here - the initial runs of EPS were outstanding, I had a few cases of a fast lot of that initial run (UGU4297 @ 1075) in the clear boxes with the red inserts. It was just great ammunition. And I would agree, it could have been atributed to the overall quality, not just the bullet redesign.

I think the EPS flat nosed bullet was changed prior to the 2006 season - the lot I used at the Nationals this year was 1006-01159 (#1 machine stuff). I don't think for me personally, that the "new" flat nosed bullet was better than my best lot of the older stuff, but from what I have heard it was generally better across ALL lots.

I tested the round nosed "Semi auto" Tenex extensively prior to the 2005 season and was generally disappointed. None of the (12) lots I tested were even close to what I had come to expect from the flat nosed bullet (but again, that's just my experience, with a fairly small statistical sample).

I had tested countless lots of Tenex throughout the 80's, and purchased a bunch of it - from Tenex, to Tenex Lite and BR Gold. For most of that time period, I settled mainly on Lapua Dominator (then Midas). It was hard to find decent Eley during that time period - which is probably one of the reasons EPS was so memorable when it finally arrived. If you can improve on the bullet design, I think it would be a great thing!

I have to admit that I have been skeptical of a few of your ideas (but would preface this comment by saying I have only a small fraction of your experience, track record or knowledge!). Having chambered my share of rimfire barrels, I could never swallow the whole "6 o'clock offset chamber" idea - or even how to force a reamer to cut one! Additionally, after slugging a few of my best (and worst) barrels, I still would never have been able to tell you which one was best based on this test alone - the only way I know to truly verify performance, is to finish it and shoot it.

You have certainly forced me (and many others I would guess) to question my beliefs, and to look at things differently. I do look forward to your posts, and wish you the very best in the coming year.

Thank you for your kind words, and for all you have done for the sport. It is a pleasure to talk to you, and thanks again for the reply!

kev
 
Now that's what an intelligent "discussion" is supposed to sound like. People can agree to disagree.
 
The round nose is not dead - I've been having good luck this past year with Lapua X-act and Midas with a Benchmark barrel.
Kevin - Had a lot of fun coaching you at Perry!
 
Thanks!

Charlie:

That's how AWESOME of a coach you are..............I thought I was coaching YOU the whole time!?!

I hope you are well, it was an absolute pleasure to shoot next to you this summer!

God bless,

kev
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top