Eley Action Ammunition Evaluation

Action is the latest ammunition offering from Eley.  Advertised as an all-purpose round, the specifications on this load are identical to Eley Target.  With an advertised velocity of 1090 feet per second, the 40 grain lead round nose bullet leaves the barrel at subsonic velocity for a lower noise shooting experience.  Action is available in single boxes of 50, or the 300 round rec pak which contains six 50 round boxes.  Eley provided a rec pak for this evaluation.

While Action can certainly be used for paper punching, the Action name implies that Eley would like us to use this ammunition for less sedate shooting pastimes.  For me, 22LR action shooting can only mean one thing.  Ringing steel.  I have absolutely no guilt, or remorse, for sending all 300 rounds of Action down range without a single paper target being sacrificed in the process.

I did break out the chronograph to get some velocity data on this load.  Mostly just to check and see if it was subsonic from a 16.5 inch barrel.  Barrels in the 16 to 18 inch range seem to be the most popular for 22LR steel shooting.  My results came out as shown below.  It's definitely subsonic, but I thought the spread between the fastest and slowest rounds was more than I expected.  It really didn't matter though as all of the test shots landed in one thumbprint-sized smudge on the target.

10 Shot Velocity Test
Average Velocity      1046 feet per second
Extreme Spread        54 feet per second
Standard Deviation   16 feet per second

The muzzle velocity and 25-yard accuracy testing rifle and group results.

With the boring stuff out of the way, I set up a couple of cameras and got into action with Eley Action.  If you don't watch the video below, the headline is the ammunition functioned well in the 5 different firearms I used it in.  My only concern with the ammunition is that Eley doesn't spare the bullet lube.  It's more of an oily feeling lube than a sticky wax type of lubrication.  After loading magazines with temperatures in the mid-90s, you will want to wipe off your hands before shooting. 

Direct Link To Video on YouTube

If you watch, or watched, the video.  Don't be put off by my 25 yard pistol results on the small multi-colored 6" steel targets.  I'm afraid I caused my own accuracy problems there when I decided to use 6 different colors of Steel Target Paint from brand new spray cans that had been sitting for 10+ months waiting for a project like this to come along.  The cans are packed with a pound of paint solids and it required several minutes of vigorous shaking to get the six cans ready for spraying.  The targets looked great, but my tired arms did have an impact on my pistol shooting during that video segment.

The Bottom Line
All Eley ammunition is manufactured at their factory in England.  Eley Action ammunition is a premium product and retails at a premium price here in the United States.  Is it worth twice the price of other popular US produced standard velocity target ammunition?  That was a tough question to answer, but Eley recently made their value proposition a whole lot easier to visualize.  https://www.eleyammunition.com is the US website of Eley Ammunition.  On that website you will find a nifty little web app called Eley lot analyzer.

Lot Analyzer allows you to key in your specific lot number of Eley ammunition and see a comprehensive list of quality assurance metrics Eley captured during the testing of your specific lot of ammunition.  The video above has a demonstration of the app.  I'll just add one image I pieced together from two different lot analyzer inquiries below because it really helped me understand how crazy accurate Eley ammunition can be.

A US dime is about .7 inch in diameter.  Fired from factory test barrels, my specific lot of Action ammunition was capable of hitting a dime at 50 meters 99.98% of the time.  Eley Tenex is used by Olympic competitors and a random lot I checked was capable of hitting a dime at 50 meters 100% of the time.  Is Action worth the price?  I say yes when you consider Tenex costs around $20.00 per box of 50 and Action costs about $8.00 per box.  What you are buying is accuracy potential at a greatly discounted price.

Use lot number 3117-30082 if you want to try out the lot analyzer app.

If you are interested in trying Eley Action, you are in luck.  Several new online outlets have started carrying the Eley brand of ammunition.  I've also noticed Eley ammunition on the shelf at some of the larger brick and mortar sporting goods retailers.  If you do try it, leave a comment on this post and let us know what you think.

I wrecked my rec pak, but I'm sure Eley will make more.

Eley High Velocity Hollow LHP 22LR Ammunition Test and Review

Back in January 2016, Eley Ammunition announced three new 22LR products.  For the rimfire competitor, Eley Force and Contact.  For the rimfire hunter, High Velocity Hollow small game hunting ammunition.  At the time, I made a mental note to give High Velocity Hollow a try in the gel to see how it performed as compared to Eley Subsonic Hollow.  I was curious to see the performance differences in the areas of accuracy, velocity and terminal expansion performance.

I recently had the chance to test High Velocity Hollow with some samples provided to me by Eley USA.

Velocity, accuracy, function, and terminal performance testing were all done in a Ruger 10/22 Carbine with 18.5 inch barrel at a distance of 25 yards.  The testing results are documented in the video and data sheet immediately below.  You may need to click on the data sheet image to enlarge it for better visibility.

Direct Link to Video on YouTube

Wrap Up:
As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, I was really curious to see the performance differences between High Velocity Hollow and Subsonic Hollow.  You can refer back to my previous test of Subsonic Hollow HERE.

High Velocity Hollow runs about 200 fps faster than Subsonic Hollow when tested in the same rifle under similar conditions.  Eley publishes a velocity specification of 1250 feet per second for this load which falls in the ballpark of what US consumers expect from high velocity rimfire ammunition.  My velocity measurements came in quite a bit lower so I asked Eley about it.  I learned they establish their velocity in 23 inch test barrels with chronograph screens positioned at the muzzle.  My data was generated with a much shorter 18.5 inch barrel and chronograph screens positioned at 25 yards. Knowing this, it's understandable to see velocities in the 1100 fps range.

In my rifle, accuracy with this load was minute of quarter.  It didn't appear to be as accurate as Subsonic Hollow, but I've changed my accuracy testing from 5 rounds to 10 so it's not a perfect comparison.  At 25 yards, point of impact shift between the two loads was small so switching between the two shouldn't require re-zeroing of sights and optics at this distance.

I found on target terminal performance was the most notable difference between Subsonic and High Velocity Hollow.  As you can see in the image below, the extra velocity really helps the 40 grain soft lead hollow point expand, and still penetrate to a slightly greater depth than Subsonic Hollow.

Functional performance in my rifle was perfect through the testing.  I didn't experience any failures to feed, fire, or extract.

For small game hunting and varmint control, Eley High Velocity Hollow delivers higher velocity and enhanced terminal performance over Subsonic Hollow.  For those that prefer Eley ammunition, this new load is definitely worth a look, and test, in your own rifle.  Eley High Velocity Hollow is currently available at many retailers that stock Eley brand ammunition.

Eley Subsonic Hollow 22LR Ammunition Test and Review

Eley Subsonic Hollow is a low-noise small game hunting round from the good folks over in the UK.  As with all Eley ammunition, it sells at a small premium here in the US with a box of 50 running about $10 to $12 at current retail prices.  For the premium price, you get Eley's legendary accuracy and quality control.  Subsonic Hollow features a 40 grain hollow point bullet that has been lubricated with a firm hydrocarbon compound for reliable function in all types of rifles.

I tested Subsonic Hollow in two different rifles.  Scoped with 18.5 inch barrel for accuracy testing.  For gel testing, I used the Ruger 10/22 and also a rifle with a shorter barrel and suppressor.  

Overall test results were very good through the Ruger 10/22.  Accuracy was outstanding and the ammunition functioned reliably.  Gel test results yielded nicely mushroomed hollow point bullets that had impacted the gel block at approximately 915 feet per second.

With the shorter barrel and suppressor, velocities dropped below 900 feet per second and our recovered test rounds showed deformation with incomplete expansion.  From this limited testing, it appears that a velocity of 900 feet per second is needed for the bullet to fully expand in the gel media we used for testing.

Direct link to video on YouTube

My Thoughts:
The most unique thing to come out of this test was actually hearing the bullet strike the gel for the very first time.  Usually the sound is masked by the report of the rifle, but with the addition of the suppressor and subsonic velocity I could clearly hear the smack as bullet impacted gel.

My personal preference is to hunt small game with an ultra-light rifle with 16.5 inch barrel and iron sights.  I like the challenge of stalking or still hunting vs. taking longer shots with a scoped rifle.  I'll need to do some follow up testing with the additional barrel length and verify 25 yard velocities are above 900 feet per second with the 16.5 inch barrel.  If they are, I would certainly add Subsonic Hollow to my short list of low-noise hunting loads.

Eley Contact Subsonic Semi Auto Ammunition Test

Eley....ammunition supplier of Olympic and World Champions also makes ammunition for the rest of us that hunt, shoot for recreation, and maybe even do a little competition shooting on the weekends.  Contact is one of the most recent Eley products to hit the US market.  This subsonic load was purpose built specifically for reliable function in semi-auto firearms at subsonic velocities.  The ammunition is manufactured by Eley in Birmingham, England and imported by Eley USA.

Contact features a heavier than standard 42 grain round nose bullet that has been coated in a special wax to minimize bullet lube buildup in semi-auto magazines and actions. Contact is a premium priced target load that can currently be found for about 16 cents per round.

For my evaluation, I performed accuracy and velocity testing at 25 yards using a basic Ruger 10/22 rifle with 3-9 power scope.  Gel testing was done at 25 yards with the Ruger 10/22 and also another semi-auto rifle with a short barrel and suppressor.

Direct link to video on YouTube

My Thoughts

Eley Contact hit all the marks I was looking for with accuracy, subsonic velocity in multiple barrel lengths, and 100% reliable function with two different semi-auto rifles. From a practical use perspective, I would consider Contact for small game hunting, varmint, and pest control where deep penetration is desired.  I would also consider using contact for rimfire silhouette competition.

ELEY Expands Ammunition Line for 2016

ELEY continues to dominate the .22LR Olympic market. They celebrated success at the 2012 London Olympics with 14 out of 18 medals won using ELEY Ammunition and 71% of the 2016 Rio Olympic quota spots have been secured using ELEY. Now the company is using their engineering knowledge and sales expertise to enter new market segments.

Over the past year ELEY has expanded their product offerings by introducing two new semi-automatic rounds. ELEY force is a high velocity round recognized by its unique black oxidized case; and ELEY contact is a subsonic round designed specifically to cycle through semi-automatic rifles. Sales of these new offerings have been strong and continue to grow.













ELEY continues to offer ELEY subsonic hollow, which has been found by an independent test to be the most accurate and best performing subsonic hollow point .22LR round compared to the leading competitor’s hollow point rounds. ELEY subsonic hollow is the number one choice for hunter’s that want a quiet, ultra-accurate round for small game.

With the success of ELEY subsonic hollow, ELEY will introduce ELEY high velocity hollow in Q2 of 2016. ELEY high velocity hollow guarantees world class accuracy, penetration and expansion that delivers a lethal blow to any small game. It is the perfect round for the hunter who wants maximum velocity without compromising accuracy.

For more information on ELEY and ELEY ammunition please visit our website, http://www.eleyammunition.com.