Best .22 LR Ammo: Why Competitive Shooters Choose Eley

The best .22 LR ammo on the market comes down to consistency, and Eley has built its reputation on exactly that. Eley .22 LR ammunition has backed shooters to more than 125 Olympic medals since Eley Tenex made its Games debut in 1964. That track record isn’t marketing — it comes from a lot-testing process most rimfire makers don’t use, and it’s why serious competitors treat Eley as the benchmark other .22 LR ammo gets measured against.

A Nearly 200-Year History of Precision Rimfire Ammunition

Eley has manufactured ammunition in England since 1828, making it one of the oldest continuously operating ammunition brands in the world. The company built its reputation on rimfire precision long before Olympic shooting existed as a modern sport, and when Eley Tenex debuted at the 1964 Tokyo Games, it quickly became the round elite competitors reached for. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Eley ammunition backed athletes to three gold, four silver, and four bronze medals — a track record few, if any, other .22 LR brands can match.

How Eley’s Lot-Testing System Sets It Apart

Most ammunition brands load a batch and sell it under one label. Eley does something different: every production lot is sample-tested for real-world accuracy before it’s graded and boxed. A lot that shoots exceptionally tight groups gets sold as Tenex. A lot that’s still very good but not quite Tenex-level gets sold as Match, then Team, then Club. The grade on the box reflects what that specific lot actually shoots, not just a recipe or price point. This is also why serious competitors track lot numbers — two boxes of the same grade can still shoot slightly differently if they came from different lots.

Eley Tenex vs. Match vs. Team vs. Club: Picking Your Grade

Tenex is Eley’s highest grade, built for Olympic and World Championship-level shooters chasing the smallest possible group size. Match is graded just below Tenex, aimed at serious international and national competitors. Team steps down again for club and county-level shooting, and Club — a round-nose option — is the most accessible entry point into Eley’s target-grade lineup for developing competitors. If you’re not yet shooting for score, Club or Sport gives you real Eley consistency without paying for Tenex-level grading you won’t fully use yet.

Best Eley Loads for Semi-Automatic Rifles and Pistols

Target-grade Eley ammunition is loaded for the light extraction of bolt-action and single-shot target rifles, so it can be unreliable in a semi-auto action. Eley Force solves that problem — it’s loaded specifically to cycle semi-automatic rifles and pistols reliably. Eley Precision (Semi-Auto Benchrest) aims for more accuracy than Force while still functioning reliably in a semi-auto platform. Either is worth running through a semi-auto rimfire rifle like the Ruger 10/22 or a .22 LR pistol, where standard target ammo often struggles to cycle consistently.

Is Eley the Right Choice for You?

Eley earns its reputation at the accuracy end of the .22 LR market, not the budget end. If you compete, or you want the tightest groups your rifle is capable of shooting, Eley’s statistically graded lots are worth the premium over standard sporting ammo. If you’re plinking, running a suppressed semi-auto, or hunting small game, a Eley High Velocity or Subsonic load still outperforms generic bulk ammo, but you don’t need Tenex-level grading to get there. The right move is matching the grade to what you’re actually doing with it, not defaulting to the most expensive box on the shelf.

Impact Guns stocks the full Eley .22 LR ammo lineup, along with the rest of our .22 LR ammo selection. Shopping for a rifle to pair with it? Check out the Ruger 10/22, one of the most popular semi-auto platforms for Eley Force and Precision loads, or browse our .22 LR pistols.