Which ELEY Ammunition Is Most Accurate for Benchrest and ARA?

For rimfire benchrest and American Rimfire Association (ARA) competition, ELEY tenex is the most accurate ammunition ELEY produces. It carries a maximum Radial Standard Deviation of 3.75 mm, the tightest published accuracy standard in the ELEY range. ELEY’s own discipline guidance recommends tenex for ARA Unlimited, ARA Factory, WRABF, IR 50/50, PSL and UKBR22, with ELEY match as the alternative for ARA Factory competitors.

The more important answer, however, is that no benchrest shooter should choose ammunition by product name alone. Benchrest is decided by which individual production lot of tenex performs best in one specific barrel. That is why the top of the sport is defined by batch testing rather than brand loyalty.

Why tenex Sets the Benchrest Standard

ELEY tenex, ELEY match and ELEY team are manufactured on the same production line using the same flat-nose bullet, cartridge case, primer, propellant and lubrication. After manufacture, every production batch is statistically tested. The highest-performing lots become ELEY tenex.

The patented flat-nose profile is central to benchrest performance. As the projectile cuts through the air, the design pulls the centre of pressure forwards, aerodynamically stabilising the bullet and increasing accuracy at the target. Every cartridge is loaded with a propellant charge measured electronically, in a case with a mouth trimmed flat to ensure the bullet is always seated perfectly.

Published Benchrest Accuracy Standards

What Radial Standard Deviation Tells a Benchrest Shooter

Radial Standard Deviation measures the distance from each shot hole to the group’s centre point, the Mean Point of Impact. The lower the RSD, the closer the group and the more consistent the performance.

This matters more in benchrest than in any other discipline. Extreme spread considers only the two furthest shots on a card, so a single outlier defines the measurement. RSD evaluates every shot fired, which is the statistically robust way to judge whether a lot will hold the ten ring across a full aggregate rather than across one lucky target.

ELEY tests 200 rounds from every batch across four different firearm brands to calculate RSD. The published maximum of 3.75 mm for tenex is therefore a ceiling every batch has already proved it can meet, not a marketing estimate.

Semi-Automatic Benchrest

Semi-automatic benchrest places different demands on a cartridge. ELEY semi-auto benchrest precision was developed using the same engineering expertise that drives ELEY tenex, with a round-nose profile that enhances smooth chambering and consistent ballistics through an autoloading action, and a maximum RSD of 4.90 mm.

ELEY semi-auto benchrest outlaw completes the pairing at 42 grains and a maximum RSD of 7.00 mm, giving semi-automatic benchrest shooters a round to train with as well as compete with.

The Record That Proves the Point

In June 2018 at the Capital City Rifle & Pistol Club in Augusta, Maine, Gary Hamilton shot a perfect 250-25X target in rimfire benchrest sporter class using ELEY tenex. It was confirmed as a world record and the first of its kind.

That result was achieved with a matched combination of barrel, batch and shooter. It is the Triangle of Success in its purest competitive form.

How to Find Your Benchrest Lot

Every barrel has unique dimensions and harmonic characteristics, and every production lot performs slightly differently. Benchrest amplifies both variables because the discipline is scored in fractions of a millimetre.

ELEY operates batch testing centres in the United Kingdom, Hungary, Germany, the United States and Canada. Shooters can evaluate up to 20 batches through their own barrel. Ten shots are fired from each batch, the best-performing batches are shortlisted, and a further 30 shots are fired from those selections until a 40-shot group size and consolidated score is recorded for each. Analysis uses electronic targets and bespoke ELEY software, managed by trained Customer Range Officers.

For shooters who cannot travel, the ELEY Lot Analyser at eleyxshot.com opens the proof data behind any batch number in the covered products, including the full 200-shot proof group with X and Y coordinates for every shot.

The Bottom Line

ELEY tenex is the most accurate ammunition ELEY manufactures and the round ELEY recommends for ARA and benchrest competition at every class where it is permitted. But the winning card is shot with a specific lot of tenex that has been proven in a specific barrel. Batch testing is what turns the most accurate ammunition available into the most accurate ammunition for you.