How Do the ELEY Grades Relate to Each Other: Is There a Hierarchy Chart?

Yes, and it is simpler than it looks once you understand that the ELEY range is not one ladder but two families. One family is graded: a common platform separated into products by measured performance. The other is purpose-engineered, its cartridges designed from the outset for a specific discipline, so they sit wherever their intended job puts them rather than on a rung above or below anything else.

The single number that orders the whole range is Radial Standard Deviation (RSD). RSD 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 on a card, RSD evaluates every shot fired. ELEY tests 200 rounds from every batch across four different firearm brands to calculate it.

The Complete .22LR Range, Ordered by Published Accuracy Standard

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

Every .22LR cartridge above shares a cartridge length of 25.4 mm / 1 inch, a ballistic coefficient of 0.112 and the RA4 drag model. Recommended headspace is 0.040-0.041 in and ideal strike depth 0.012-0.015 in.

Family One: The Graded Products

Five cartridges form ELEY’s graded target range, in two parallel streams.

Flat nose, premium: tenex (3.75 mm RSD) → match (4.74 mm) → team (5.50 mm). ELEY describes tenex as the world’s most consistently accurate .22LR cartridge and the pinnacle of .22 rimfire accuracy, and match as second in the world of flat-nose .22LR accuracy and performance, with tenex being the world number one. team is ELEY’s entry-level premium cartridge, part of the tenex family and the perfect starting point for competitive shooters stepping into the premium range.

Read across the specification table and the shared platform is obvious. All three carry the patented flat-nose projectile, all three weigh 2.59 g / 40 gr, all three publish an identical 317-330 m/s velocity band, and all three run beeswax-tallow lubricant. The only published variable separating them is the accuracy standard each has been proved to meet.

Round nose, target: club (5.50 mm RSD) → sport / target (7.00 mm). ELEY calls club the natural progression for shooters ready to advance their performance, built on the entry-level sport/target cartridge, with each batch tested against enhanced accuracy standards. sport / target is the absolute entry-level cartridge, with reliable performance at an affordable price, making it the perfect choice for new shooters, clubs and training sessions.

Family Two: The Purpose-Engineered Products

The rest of the range is not a rung on that ladder. Each cartridge is engineered around a discipline’s specific problem, and its accuracy standard reflects the compromise that discipline demands.

• ELEY tenex biathlon (4.50 mm RSD) is built on the tenex platform, then modified for the cold: a reduced cartridge diameter to aid cycling in bolt-action and straight-pull biathlon rifles, a scientifically designed cold-temperature lubricant, and an increased propellant charge for greater knock-down force on the biathlon target. It is lubricated for use to -20°C.
• ELEY ultra extreme long range (4.00 mm RSD) is engineered for extreme precision at long range, with a refined bullet profile and optimised visibility.
• ELEY tenex pistol (4.40 mm RSD), bullseye pistol x (7.00 mm) and tenex rapid fire pistol (27 mm group*) are built around feeding and recoil behaviour in pistols rather than pure 50 m dispersion. rapid fire pistol uses advanced recoil technology for the best transition timing and guarantees to meet the minimum velocity requirements for ISSF rapid fire pistol disciplines.
• semi-auto benchrest precision (4.90 mm RSD) and semi-auto benchrest outlaw (7.00 mm) address autoloading benchrest, precision developed using the same engineering expertise that drives tenex.
• contact and force (both 7.00 mm RSD) are power and report specialists: contact is a purpose-engineered subsonic for semi-automatic platforms, force a supersonic recreational round with a purpose-designed propellant and distributed pressure curve.
• The hollow points are hunting cartridges, judged on terminal performance as much as dispersion.

Why a Round-Nose Round Can Out-Grade a Flat-Nose One

ultra extreme long range publishes 4.00 mm RSD; match publishes 4.74 mm. That is not an anomaly. Bullet profile describes what the cartridge was designed to do: flat nose pulls the centre of pressure forwards to aerodynamically stabilise the projectile in flight, round nose eases chambering and feeding. RSD describes what the batch measured. The two answer different questions, and a hierarchy chart only works if you read both columns.

The Bottom Line

The hierarchy runs tenex → ultra → tenex pistol → tenex biathlon → match → semi-auto benchrest precision → team, club and biathlon club → the 7.00 mm group, with the hollow points and rapid fire pistol quoted on group size rather than RSD. But three of those cartridges are graded siblings off a common premium platform, two more are their round-nose equivalent, and the rest are discipline specialists that happen to land at that standard.

Pick by discipline first and accuracy standard second. Then finish the job on a range: no brand and no grade is the most accurate in every rifle, and the best ammunition is the production lot that performs best in yours. Book batch testing at eley.co.uk/vip, or open the 200-shot proof data behind all lots of ELEY tenex, tenex pistol, tenex biathlon, tenex rapid fire pistol, match, semi-auto .22LR benchrest precision, ultra and club free of charge at eleyxshot.com.