Yes. Old ELEY tenex is still worth shooting, and stored at room temperature it will outlast you. Every batch met the published standard when it was proofed, a maximum Radial Standard Deviation (RSD) of 3.75 mm measured over 200 rounds fired across four different firearm brands. That is a ceiling the batch proved it could meet, not an estimate, and it does not expire.

There is one thing to weigh against it. ELEY improves RSD year on year, so current production represents the current standard rather than the standard of the year your box was loaded. And barrels change over time too: a lot that suited a bore three seasons ago is not guaranteed to suit the same bore today. Both point to the same practical step: re-test the old batch in your rifle, alongside current stock, before you commit to it on a card.

Start With the Batch Code

The box tells you how old it is. In the format 10 26-04 244 over 1045:

That last figure is useful in itself: it is the velocity the batch actually recorded at proof, giving you a factory reference to measure a stored batch against.

Look the Batch Up

The batch’s full proof record is published and free to read: all lots of ELEY tenex are on the Lot Analyser. Create an account at eleyxshot.com, enter the batch number, and it opens the 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.

For a competition shooter deciding whether to bring an older batch out of the cupboard, the batch’s own performance record, shot by shot, is the strongest starting point available.

Then Prove It in Your Barrel

Proof data tells you what the batch did across ELEY’s four proof barrels. It cannot tell you what it will do in yours, and at tenex level that gap is the whole game. Every barrel has its own unique characteristics and each batch performs differently; what performs flawlessly in one barrel may not deliver the same results in another.

Re-testing is straightforward:

1. Keep the batch in its enhanced packaging, at room temperature, until you test it. ELEY tenex uses a beeswax-tallow blend that is softer, thicker and stickier, and it will pick up lint and debris from a pocket or an open tin.
2. Fire fouling shots after cleaning so barrel condition has settled before any group counts.
3. Shoot enough rounds to be statistically honest with yourself. One good group is not evidence.
4. Compare against the batch’s proof data and your current competition lot, not against memory.

For the definitive version, book a batch test at eley.co.uk/vip: up to 20 batches through your own barrel, 10 shots from each, the best performers shortlisted, then a further 30 shots from those selections until a 40-shot group size and consolidated score is recorded for each, on electronic targets managed by trained Customer Range Officers. Bring the stored batch alongside current stock and let the targets settle it.

Storage Is Not the Limiting Factor

Age itself is not what to worry about. ELEY .22LR stored at room temperature will outlast you; it degrades only if it has been kept at extreme high or low temperatures. So if the box has lived in a house rather than a loft or a car boot, treat the ammunition as sound and judge it on the target.

The Bottom Line

Old ELEY tenex is still ELEY tenex. It was proofed to 3.75 mm RSD across 200 rounds and four firearm brands before it was ever boxed, that standard was met on the day, and room-temperature storage keeps it that way.

Check the year in the batch code, pull the proof data from the free Lot Analyser at eleyxshot.com, then shoot it against current stock through your own rifle before using it in competition. ELEY improves RSD year on year, so today’s production is today’s standard. Even so, the best ammunition is still the production lot that performs best in your rifle, and the only way to know which lot that is today is to test today.