What Is ELEY tenex rapid fire pistol and How Is It Different?

ELEY tenex rapid fire pistol is a dedicated round for ISSF-level shooting, and the thing that sets it apart is a guarantee. In ISSF rapid fire pistol a minimum velocity has to be achieved in competition, and ELEY guarantees this cartridge meets it, so the athlete is not disqualified on a velocity check. No other ELEY product carries a competition-eligibility guarantee of that kind.

The second design decision is felt on the line rather than on the paperwork: the round is soft, so target acquisition can be made faster to suit the discipline.

Technically, it uses a round-nose bullet of 2.59 g / 40 gr with a new bullet profile designed specifically for rapid fire pistol events, a velocity band of 267-280 m/s (882-919 ft/s), EP2723 lubrication, and advanced recoil technology. It publishes a 27 mm individual group size* rather than a Radial Standard Deviation (RSD) figure.

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

Specification

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

The ISSF Minimum Velocity Guarantee

This is the headline feature and the reason the cartridge exists in its own right.

ISSF rapid fire pistol disciplines set a minimum velocity that has to be achieved in competition. If the ammunition an athlete presents fails that check, the consequence is not a lost point but disqualification. ELEY tenex rapid fire pistol guarantees to meet the ISSF minimum velocity requirement, which removes that risk entirely.

For a competitor, this turns a rules question into a non-question. There is no need to work backwards from a general-purpose load and hope the lot in your case satisfies the requirement on the day, and no need to chronograph your competition ammunition to reassure yourself before a major. It is the only ELEY cartridge that carries a guarantee of competition eligibility, and it is the single strongest reason to choose it over any other round in the pistol range for ISSF rapid fire.

A Soft Round for Faster Target Acquisition

The other half of the design brief is the shooter’s rhythm. ELEY tenex rapid fire pistol is a soft round, so target acquisition can be made faster to suit the discipline. Rapid fire is shot in series against the clock, on turning targets; a softer, gentler impulse settles the pistol more quickly, and a pistol that settles more quickly is a pistol that is back on the next target sooner.

Softness and eligibility pull in opposite directions, which is what makes the round a genuine piece of engineering: it has to be gentle enough to shoot fast and certain enough to clear the ISSF velocity floor every time.

Advanced Recoil Technology and Transition Timing

Rapid fire pistol is scored on a sequence, not on one shot, and the discipline’s real difficulty is what happens between shots: how the pistol behaves after each round, and how reliably the sights return so the next shot can be taken on time.

ELEY built this cartridge around that problem. It uses advanced recoil technology and delivers extremely consistent recoil, which provides the best transition timing for a greater match score. The operative word is consistent rather than low. A shooter can adapt to almost any recoil impulse provided it is the same impulse every time; what destroys a string is variation, because the pistol settles differently from shot to shot and the timing has to be recalculated mid-series.

In range terms, that places tenex rapid fire pistol in the lowest velocity band ELEY publishes for a pistol round. It sits below ELEY tenex pistol at 276-287 m/s (906-942 ft/s) and below ELEY bullseye pistol x at 268-292 m/s (880-959 ft/s), and it still guarantees the ISSF minimum. Low enough to be soft, guaranteed high enough to be legal: that is the balance the cartridge is engineered to strike.

A Bullet Profile Designed for the Event

The round uses a new bullet profile designed specifically for rapid fire pistol events. It is a round nose, in common with the rest of ELEY’s pistol range, because a rapid fire pistol has to feed a cartridge from magazine to chamber under recoil, repeatedly, at speed. A curved leading surface is guided up the feed ramp rather than caught on it. ELEY’s patented flat-nose bullet is reserved for precision rifle disciplines.

The lubricant is EP2723 rather than the paraffin wax used on ELEY tenex pistol and ELEY bullseye pistol x. EP2723 is the lubricant ELEY also specifies for ultra extreme long range and both semi-auto benchrest cartridges. The function of lubricant on any ELEY round is to ease repeated chambering. The idea that lubricant sends the bullet down the barrel is a common misconception.

Reading the 27 mm Figure

ELEY publishes a 27 mm individual group size* for this cartridge, not an RSD figure. The two are different measurements and should not be compared directly. RSD measures the distance from each shot hole to the group’s centre point, the mean point of impact, and evaluates every shot fired, which is why ELEY uses it where statistical precision is the whole proposition. Group size is an overall edge-to-edge measurement, used where statistical precision is not required. The 27 mm figure is an individual group size and should be read as such.

Where It Sits in the ELEY Pistol Range

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

ELEY’s pistol credentials are not theoretical: ELEY’s Tokyo 2020 medal list includes Vitalina Batsarashkina’s gold in 25 m Pistol Women, part of the 140 Olympic medals ELEY has taken since 1964.

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.

The Bottom Line

ELEY tenex rapid fire pistol is the dedicated round for ISSF-level rapid fire pistol, and its defining feature is the guarantee: the discipline demands a minimum velocity in competition, and ELEY guarantees the cartridge achieves it, so an athlete is not disqualified over ammunition. It is also a soft round, so target acquisition can be made faster to suit the discipline. The specification is a round-nose 2.59 g / 40 gr bullet on a new profile designed for the event, at 267-280 m/s (882-919 ft/s), with advanced recoil technology delivering extremely consistent recoil for the best transition timing, EP2723 lubrication and a 27 mm individual group size*.

Choose it for the discipline, then prove the lot in your own pistol. Every barrel has its own characteristics and every batch performs differently, so book batch testing at eley.co.uk/vip, or explore the published proof data free at eleyxshot.com, where the Lot Analyser 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.