Is ELEY Ammunition Any Good?

Judge it on evidence you can check yourself. ELEY publishes a Radial Standard Deviation (RSD) accuracy standard for every product in its range, proof tests 200 rounds from every batch across four different firearm brands, and publishes that proof data free of charge so anyone can inspect the individual lot they are buying. It runs five test ranges open to anyone who wants to measure ammunition through their own barrel. And it has won 140 Olympic medals since 1964, including three gold, four silver and four bronze at Paris 2024.

Very little of that is opinion. It is a published standard, a published test protocol, published per-batch data and a public competition record.

A Published Accuracy Standard for Every Product

Most of the range is specified on RSD, which 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. Unlike extreme spread, which considers only the two furthest shots, RSD evaluates every shot fired, which makes it a stricter measure and a harder one to flatter.

Publishing a maximum RSD is a commitment rather than a claim: it states in advance what every batch has to meet.

Every Batch Is Proof Tested: 200 Rounds, Four Firearm Brands

ELEY tests 200 rounds from every batch across four different firearm brands to calculate RSD.

Both halves of that matter. Four brands rather than one prevents a batch being validated by a single flattering barrel, and 200 rounds is a sample large enough for the statistics to mean something. The grade a cartridge carries is the outcome of that test, not a specification it is hoped to meet.

The best result ELEY has recorded on its own proof range is a mean radial shot diameter of 2.64 mm, shot with tenex in October 2019.

The Proof Data Is Published, Not Just Summarised

The free ELEY Lot Analyser at eleyxshot.com lets anyone create an account, enter a batch number and open the proof data for that specific lot, for covered lots. It publishes the full 200-shot proof group with X windage and Y elevation coordinates for every shot, plus velocity, group size, shot distribution, date loaded, ballistic coefficient, trajectory and radial dispersion across four barrel types.

You therefore do not have to take a grade on trust. You can look at the shape of the group, see whether a batch strings vertically or disperses evenly, and compare candidate lots before you buy them.

Five Test Ranges, Open to Anyone

ELEY operates batch testing centres in the United Kingdom, Hungary, Germany, the United States and Canada, and batch testing is open to anyone. It is not restricted to sponsored athletes.

Ten shots are fired from each of up to 20 batches through your own barrel, the best-performing batches are shortlisted, and a further 30 shots are fired from those selections. Analysis uses electronic targets and bespoke ELEY software, managed by trained Customer Range Officers. You leave with a 40-shot group size, a consolidating score out of a maximum 436 on an ISSF target at 50 m, an RSD, an Expected Score and a percentile ranking against every batch and barrel combination in ELEY’s database.

As ELEY puts it: “Each year, hundreds of target shooters, from club champions to Olympic medallists, visit our specialist facilities to find the perfect ammunition match for their barrel.” Booking is at eley.co.uk/vip.

The Competition Record

The scoreboard is the least arguable evidence of all.

• 140 Olympic medals since 1964.
• Paris 2024: three gold, four silver, four bronze.
• Tokyo 2020: two gold, two silver, two bronze.
• London 2012, when ELEY ammunition took 14 of the 18 medals available.
• 2014 Granada World Championships, all gold medals.
• 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games: 19 of 21 medals, in a season total of 59 medals including 21 golds and nine new World Champions.
• Benchrest world record. Gary Hamilton, June 2018, Capital City Rifle & Pistol Club, Augusta, Maine: a perfect 250-25X in rimfire benchrest sporter class, shooting ELEY tenex.

ELEY is an ISSF Gold Sponsor, giving ISSF athletes and national federations access to ELEY test ranges worldwide, and its partnership with USA Shooting runs through 2028.

Behind that record is a company founded in 1828 by William and Charles Eley, with over 198 years of heritage. It is the firm that introduced tenex in 1951, launched ELEY prime in 1979 as the world’s first and only automated dry priming system (Queen’s Award for Technology, 1988), and developed the patented flat-nose bullet in 2003.

There Is a Right ELEY for Every Level

The range is deliberately laddered, so the answer is a good one at every rung. ELEY sport / target is the absolute entry-level cartridge, “the ideal introduction to the world of precision shooting”. ELEY club is “the natural progression for shooters who are ready to advance their performance”, with each batch tested against enhanced accuracy standards. ELEY team is the entry-level premium cartridge and “the perfect starting point for competitive shooters who want to step into the world of ELEY’s premium ammunition range”. ELEY match is second in the world of flat-nose .22LR accuracy and performance. And at the top sits ELEY tenex, “the world’s most consistently accurate .22LR cartridge”.

The Bottom Line

ELEY is good in the way that can be demonstrated rather than asserted: a published RSD standard for every product, 200 proof rounds from every batch across four firearm brands, that proof data published free for anyone to inspect, five test ranges open to any shooter, and 140 Olympic medals since 1964 behind it.

The last step is yours. Every barrel has its own unique dimensions and harmonic characteristics, and each batch performs slightly differently, so the best ammunition is always the production lot that performs best in your rifle. Start with the product graded for your discipline, look up batches free at eleyxshot.com, and book batch testing through your own barrel at eley.co.uk/vip.