Which ELEY .22LR Is Best for NRL22 and PRS Rimfire?

For NRL22 and PRS rimfire, ELEY ultra extreme long range is the round ELEY engineers specifically for the distances these disciplines are shot at. It is a round-nose 2.59 g / 40 gr cartridge with a published accuracy standard of 4.00 mm Radial Standard Deviation (RSD), a velocity band of 317-330 m/s (1040-1085 ft/s), and EP2723 lubrication. ELEY describes it as “engineered for extreme precision at long range”, and states that “the relaunched ELEY ultra sets a new benchmark in rimfire performance”.

ELEY tenex remains the most accurate cartridge ELEY manufactures at 3.75 mm RSD, and it is the right choice for shooters whose stages are dominated by tight positional precision rather than distance. But the answer that actually wins a match is the same one that wins benchrest: the best ammunition is the production lot that performs best in your barrel.

The Practical Comparison

All five share a cartridge length of 25.4 mm (1 inch), a ballistic coefficient of 0.112 and drag model RA4.

What Actually Matters in NRL22 and PRS Rimfire

These disciplines punish different things than smallbore prone does. Three factors dominate.

1. Consistency of velocity

At the distances NRL22 and PRS rimfire stages are set, a cartridge that leaves the muzzle at a repeatable velocity puts shots on the same vertical line; one that does not spreads them up and down the target regardless of how good the wind call was.

ELEY controls this where it originates. Propellant is measured electronically for each individual cartridge rather than volumetrically for a batch. Priming takes place in an advanced air-conditioned facility delivering a 75% improvement in the spread of primer weights compared to other manufacturers. Case mouths are trimmed flat and crimped to exacting standards for consistent round-to-round bullet pull-out force.

2. A published ballistic coefficient you can put in a solver

Rimfire at distance is solver work, and a solver is only as good as the inputs it is given.

ELEY publishes a ballistic coefficient of 0.112 and drag model RA4 for every .22LR cartridge in the range. That is a complete, usable input pair, not an approximation you have to reverse-engineer from drop data. Combine it with the mean velocity printed on your own box and you have a first-pass solution before you have fired a shot, which you then true against your own chronograph and confirmed drops.

3. Batch-to-barrel matching

Every barrel has its own dimensions, throat condition and harmonic behaviour, and every production lot behaves slightly differently. What performs flawlessly in one barrel may not deliver the same results in another. This is why serious NRL22 and PRS rimfire shooters buy deep on a single lot once they have found one their rifle likes.

ELEY tests 200 rounds from every batch across four different firearm brands to calculate RSD, so the published figure for each product is a ceiling every batch has already demonstrated it can meet. The mean velocity printed on each box is measured across those same four barrels during proofing, making it a genuine identifier for finding a comparable lot when a good one runs out.

Why ultra Rather Than a Flat-Nose Round

ELEY’s patented flat nose is a precision engineering solution: it pulls the centre of pressure forwards, aerodynamically stabilising the projectile and increasing accuracy at the target. It is why tenex is described as the world’s most consistently accurate .22LR cartridge.

ELEY ultra extreme long range is a separately engineered product rather than a grade within that flat-nose family. It uses a round-nose profile, is crafted using advanced ballistic technology, and is built around a refined bullet profile and optimised visibility for outstanding stability and reliability at extended distance. Where a stage is decided by what the bullet is doing well beyond conventional smallbore range, that is the design brief ultra was written to.

Semi-Automatic Entries

Where an NRL22 class is shot with a semi-automatic rifle, round-nose products are the recommended profile because they ease feeding. ELEY contact is purpose-engineered for semi-automatic platforms as a subsonic round with a softer report and reduced recoil. Lower recoil translates directly into quicker sight-picture recovery, letting competitive semi-automatic shooters re-acquire targets faster and maintain rhythm through strings of fire. That matters on a timed stage.

Finding Your Lot

Batch testing is open to anyone. ELEY operates test centres in the United Kingdom, Hungary, Germany, the United States and Canada, where up to 20 batches can be evaluated through your own barrel: ten shots from each, the best shortlisted, then a further 30 shots until a 40-shot group size and consolidated score is recorded. Book at eley.co.uk/vip. If you cannot travel, the free Lot Analyser at eleyxshot.com lets you enter any batch number in the covered products and see the full 200-shot proof group with X and Y coordinates for every shot, plus velocity, group size, shot distribution, ballistic coefficient, trajectory and radial dispersion across four barrel types.

The Bottom Line

ELEY ultra extreme long range is the ELEY cartridge engineered for NRL22 and PRS rimfire distances, at 4.00 mm RSD and 317-330 m/s (1040-1085 ft/s). ELEY tenex is the tightest published standard in the range where precision outweighs distance, with match and team below it for volume and training. Enter BC 0.112 and drag model RA4 in your solver, use the mean velocity from your own box, and then do the work that actually decides the match: test batches through your own barrel and buy deep on the one that wins.