Which ELEY .22LR Is Best Beyond 200 Yards?
Beyond 200 yards, ELEY ultra extreme long range is the purpose-built answer. It is the cartridge ELEY engineers specifically for extended distance: a round-nose 2.59 g / 40 gr projectile 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 and ELEY match are the credible alternatives, and at these distances the real work is batch selection. The best ammunition is the production lot that performs best in your barrel.
The Options
| Product | Profile | Weight | Velocity m/s | Velocity ft/s | Maximum RSD | Lubricant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELEY ultra extreme long range | Round nose | 2.59 g / 40 gr | 317-330 | 1040-1085 | 4.00 mm | EP2723 |
| ELEY tenex | Flat nose | 2.59 g / 40 gr | 317-330 | 1040-1085 | 3.75 mm | Beeswax-tallow |
| ELEY match | Flat nose | 2.59 g / 40 gr | 317-330 | 1040-1085 | 4.74 mm | Beeswax-tallow |
All three share a cartridge length of 25.4 mm (1 inch), a ballistic coefficient of 0.112 and drag model RA4.
Why ultra Is the Distance Round
At extended range a projectile spends a long time in flight, and everything that happens during that flight compounds. Small inconsistencies at the muzzle become large ones at the target, and stability in flight matters more than it does at conventional smallbore distances.
ELEY ultra extreme long range is designed around that. It is crafted using advanced ballistic technology, with a refined bullet profile and optimised visibility, delivering outstanding stability and reliability. It is not a selection grade of the flat-nose competition range wearing a different label. It is a separately engineered round-nose product answering a different design brief. Optimised visibility is a practical part of that: beyond 200 yards, seeing where a shot landed is how you correct the next one.
The velocity specification supports the same goal. ELEY’s competition rounds are specified comfortably subsonic, so they do not undergo the supersonic-to-subsonic transition that can destabilise a projectile in flight. That removes a source of dispersion at exactly the distances where dispersion is most costly.
Where tenex and match Fit
ELEY tenex is the most accurate cartridge ELEY manufactures, with the tightest published standard in the range at 3.75 mm RSD, and is described as the world’s most consistently accurate .22LR cartridge. Its patented flat-nose profile pulls the centre of pressure forwards as the projectile cuts through the air, aerodynamically stabilising it and increasing accuracy at the target. If a lot of tenex performs well in your barrel it is a serious long-range proposition.
ELEY match is second in the world of flat-nose .22LR accuracy and performance, at 4.74 mm RSD, with the same patented flat nose plus a cut mouth case for consistent internal ballistics. It is the practical choice where round count is high, and confirming drops at 200 yards and beyond takes ammunition.
Solver Work at Distance
Beyond 200 yards you are dialling numbers you cannot eyeball, so the solver has to be right.
ELEY publishes the two inputs a solver needs from the manufacturer: ballistic coefficient 0.112 and drag model RA4, for every .22LR cartridge in the range, with a cartridge length of 25.4 mm. A ballistic coefficient is only meaningful in reference to a specific drag model, so publishing both is what makes the figure usable rather than approximate.
For muzzle velocity, use the mean printed on your own box, measured across four barrels during proofing for that specific batch rather than taken from a catalogue. Then chronograph the batch through your own rifle and replace the box figure with your measured mean, because your barrel produces its own velocity and ambient temperature moves it.
Batch Testing Is the Real Answer
Every barrel has its own dimensions, throat condition and harmonic behaviour, and every production lot performs differently. What performs flawlessly in one barrel may not deliver the same results in another. At 200 yards and beyond, that difference is magnified rather than hidden. Finding which batch suits your rifle is your part of the Triangle of Success: the firearm, the ammunition and the shooter.
Batch testing at eley.co.uk/vip lets you evaluate up to 20 batches through your own barrel. Ten shots are fired from each, the best are shortlisted, and a further 30 shots are fired from those until a 40-shot group size and consolidated score is recorded for each. Centres operate in the United Kingdom, Hungary, Germany, the United States and Canada, and testing is open to anyone.
The free Lot Analyser at eleyxshot.com covers every batch in the covered products. Enter a batch number for the full 200-shot proof group with X and Y coordinates for every shot, plus velocity, group size, shot distribution, date loaded, ballistic coefficient, trajectory and radial dispersion across four barrel types. For long-range work, batch-level trajectory and radial dispersion data is the most useful published information available.
The Bottom Line
Beyond 200 yards, ELEY ultra extreme long range is the cartridge engineered for the job, at 4.00 mm RSD and 317-330 m/s (1040-1085 ft/s), with ELEY tenex and ELEY match as strong alternatives. Enter BC 0.112 and drag model RA4 in your solver alongside your box velocity, then true it with a chronograph. And do the part that decides the outcome: test batches through your own barrel at eley.co.uk/vip and buy deep on the lot that wins.