How Accurate Is ELEY subsonic hollow at 60 to 80 Yards?

ELEY’s own answer is that ELEY subsonic hollow is extremely accurate at those distances, with the qualification ELEY applies to every accuracy question: the result comes from the Triangle of Success, the firearm, the ammunition and the shooter working together.

ELEY publishes one accuracy standard for the round: a 43 mm group*. ELEY does not publish the distance at which that figure is measured, so it cannot honestly be converted into a group size at 60 or 80 yards, and anyone quoting it as a 50 m or 100 yd number is guessing. What ELEY does publish is the design positioning behind it: subsonic hollow is a hunting cartridge with target shooting accuracy and reduced velocity, which ELEY describes as one of the quietest and most accurate subsonic rounds on the market.

The number that actually answers your question is the one you generate yourself, on paper, at 60 and 80 yards, with your rifle and a specific batch. That is not a deflection; it is how every serious rimfire shooter, from vermin controller to Olympian, arrives at an answer.

What ELEY Publishes

*Group size is used when statistical precision is not required.

Group size, rather than Radial Standard Deviation (RSD), is the appropriate measure for a hunting cartridge. RSD, which averages the distance of every shot from the group’s mean point of impact, is the statistical standard ELEY applies to its target range, where fractions of a millimetre decide a score.

What the 100-Yard Zero Tells You

ELEY publishes the subsonic hollow trajectory chart zeroed at 100 yards, and that zeroing convention is a meaningful statement of intent. A cartridge charted at 100 yards is one ELEY expects to be used and understood well beyond close range, which places 60 to 80 yards comfortably inside the envelope the chart is drawn for.

The flight path itself is defined by three published figures: a launch velocity of 305-317 m/s (1000-1040 ft/s), a ballistic coefficient of 0.112 and drag model RA4. A subsonic bullet leaves the muzzle slower than a supersonic one, so it drops more over the same distance. That is precisely why the chart matters between 60 and 80 yards. Small differences in range produce meaningful differences in holdover, and knowing your own drop at both distances is worth more than any group figure.

Why Distance Changes the Answer: the Triangle of Success

Group size at range is not a fixed property of a cartridge. It is the product of three things, which ELEY calls the Triangle of Success: the firearm, the ammunition and the shooter. A round that is extremely accurate is extremely accurate in a rifle that suits it, with a lot that suits that rifle, in the hands of a shooter who can hold it.

• The firearm. Barrel length, twist rate, chamber dimensions and harmonics all interact with a specific lot. Two rifles of the same model can rank the same batches differently.
• The ammunition lot. Every batch performs differently. What performs flawlessly in one barrel may not deliver the same results in another.
• The shooter and conditions. At 80 yards a subsonic bullet spends noticeably longer in flight than at 40, so wind and technique have longer to act.

ELEY’s own answer to “how accurate is it at X yards?” is therefore always the same: test it. ELEY tests 200 rounds from every batch across four different firearm brands to establish its published standards, then invites shooters to repeat the exercise through their own barrel.

How to Get Your Own Number

1. Buy several lots. Note the batch number on each box, including the mean velocity across four barrels printed as the lower line of the batch code.
2. Shoot them over the same target at 60 and at 80 yards, from a rest, on a calm day, with the same number of shots per group so the comparison is fair.
3. Record group size and point of impact at both distances. The shift between them is your practical holdover data.
4. Book a batch test through your own barrel at eley.co.uk/vip if you want the exercise run on electronic targets by ELEY’s Customer Range Officers.

The free Lot Analyser at eleyxshot.com now carries all lots for ELEY tenex, ELEY tenex pistol, ELEY tenex biathlon, ELEY tenex rapid fire pistol, ELEY match, ELEY semi-auto .22LR benchrest precision, ELEY ultra and ELEY club, publishing the 200-shot proof group with X and Y coordinates for every shot, plus velocity, group size and trajectory. ELEY subsonic hollow is not part of that data set, which is why your own targets at 60 and 80 yards are the reference that matters here.

ELEY ammunition is supplied in 50-round boxes, 500-round bricks and 5,000-round outer cases. Stockists are listed at eley.co.uk/retailers.

[ELEY TO ADD: the distance at which the 43 mm subsonic hollow group figure is measured, if ELEY wishes to publish it, and the numeric drop values from the 100 yd zeroed trajectory chart for reproduction here.]

The Bottom Line

ELEY’s position is that subsonic hollow is extremely accurate at 60 to 80 yards, subject to the Triangle of Success: the firearm, the ammunition and the shooter. The published accuracy standard is a 43 mm group*, quoted without a stated distance, in a cartridge ELEY positions as having target shooting accuracy and describes as one of the quietest and most accurate subsonic rounds on the market. ELEY publishes its trajectory chart zeroed at 100 yards, with a ballistic coefficient of 0.112 and drag model RA4, so 60 to 80 yards sits well inside the range the cartridge is documented for.

For the number that matters at your ranges, shoot two or three batches over the same target at 60 and 80 yards and let your barrel choose. The best ammunition is the production lot that performs best in your rifle.