Which Ely?

I'm thinking about trying some Ely Match Pistol (Black Box) and I have 3 questions

1) Is the Match Pistol (Black Box) worth the extra money?
2) This stuff is expensive, so does anyone shoot Black Box on the long line and something else on the short line?  
3) For those that shoot Ely - which one?

- Dave
I currently shoot Wolf Match Target.  I like it but I scored a case of CCI-SV so when this case is finished I'm going back to the CCI-SV.

See these tests, they cover Eley extensively:

Test 1
http://hem.bredband.net/nfdt/22lr/index.html
Test 2
http://hem.bredband.net/nfdt/22lr/09/index.html

What shoots nice in one pistol didn't necessarily shoot well in another, in some cases.

Dave -

I have a pardini sp bulleye edition. I use eley tenex at 50 yds because how my shots are tighter than my call and its accuracy. I use CCI SV and or SK std + for short line because of costs. ALL three of the mentioned ammo above will shoot under 1" at 50yds. 

Try buying a 100rds of a couple different high quality ammunition and see what your guns like before you go out and buy a bunch. Suggestions to try: Lapua Center X, SK line in general, Eley Tenex(straight tenex not pistol), Eley Match. I think accuracy and consistency are the biggest reasons to go to a high quality ammo at 50yds.

Garth

My Hammerli 208s likes CCI Pistol Match. It shoots well out of the Ransom Rest, as well as, my hand. As has been said, the only way to find out is to test your pistol.

Somewhere earlier Richard Ashmore explained the manufacturing/labeling process at Eley.. I believe he  has been there... Red box is the ultimate.. but that does not mean that a lot/batch of Black, Brown, etc. box did not come off the same production line..I once bought a case  of brown box from an estate.. Some of the best Eley I ever had...
Acccuracy is the aggregate of ammo-barrel-chamber-leade angle-crown..etc..

You could also send your pistol to lapua or eley and they will test your pistol with batches of ammo, then order a few thousand

I've tested most of the Eley products against CCI Std Vel in both an M41 and a Ruger Target model.  Both guns will hold the X-ring, slightly with CCI Std Vel.  The top of the line Eley will give you one raged hole at 50 yards with the M41. After a lot of 50 yard Ransom Rest testing I settled on Eley Target for the M41 as the most cost effective with the most consistent pattern.  Also, most years I can get a case of Eley Target at Camp Perry.

eley club shoots very well, 7.00 a box it shoots as good as tennex in my 208 and aw93

dronning wrote:I'm thinking about trying some Eley Match Pistol (Black Box) and I have 3 questions

1) Is the Match Pistol (Black Box) worth the extra money?

TENEX is product that came from the TENEX production line and met the QA requirements to be TENEX.  As QA test results got further out of the parameters that define TENEX the labels change colors and the prices go down.  Bert Brookes (former Chief Range Officer of the Eley Customer Range) once disclosed that if orders for Match were outrunning Match production, it happened from time to time that TENEX would get a black label and go out the door as Match, but never the other way around.  

The big "however" is that every batch is unique, as is every barrel.  I batch tested TENEX and was able to purchase three cases of TENEX that shot 0.9 inch groups at 50 meters IN MY PISTOL.  So to me it was worth the money

dronning
2) This stuff is expensive, so does anyone shoot Black Box on the long line and something else on the short line?  

I shoot selected TENEX on the long line and anything that goes "bang" reliably on the short line.

You asked for Eley opinions...
I shoot Eley Club in my Pardini.  It functions perfectly.  So does CCI SV but I can't get enough so I use CCI SV for practice saving a couple dollars per box.

I have a few bricks of Eley TENEX and I quit using it for 50yds.  That stuff is designed for the rifle guys that need accuracy that would put 10 shots in the same hole.  The fractions of an inch difference between it and Eley Club is irrelevant for mere mortal pistol shooters.

There are at least 4 other Pardini SPBE shooters in our league and they ALL use different ammo.  The choice is about not having alibis. I'd be willing to bet that if you swapped their ammo there would be no difference in scores unless the feed/eject function is different.

As with everything on this forum, if anything I say is contradicted by a High Master, please ignore me and listen to the High Master!

The best ammo in the world won't make up for the errors of triggering and holding that 98% of us make.  But yes, you must determine what is reasonably good ammo in your pistol and budget.  And available.

DavidR wrote:eley club shoots very well, 7.00 a box it shoots as good as tennex in my 208 and aw93

Eley Club and Eley Target shoot well out of my Buckmark, too, so I use Club for matches and Target for my local league/practice.  Shot a 100-6x with Eley Target in my league just last week (25 yds, indoor, timed fire... to go with a 95, 98, and 99 on my three previous timed fire targets, so it's consistently good for me when I do my part).

Where do you get Eley Club for $7/box?  Best price I found (I just bought some yesterday, so I've been looking) was $7.49 per box with free shipping from Sportsman's Guide (they advertise it for $7.12, but you have to be a "member", non-member price is $7.49). Selway Armory has it for $7.50. Able's is $7.51 if you buy 10 boxes or more.   Everyplace else I looked that had it in stock was ~$8 or more (Killough, Champion's Choice, Champion Shooters Supply, Cabela's).

Or were you just rounding, to give an approximate price?

(As a bonus, Sportsman's Guide also had the best price I could find on Eley Target, at $59 for a brick of 500 rounds, with free shipping.)

Eley Club seems to be slightly better than CCI SV out of my M41. However in my opinion spending more that $7 a box for .22 ammo in the Expert class(which is where I am) is a waste of money. I shoot the Club for matches and train with CCI.They both function flawlessly. Still no alibis with my used mid 80's M41:)

7.00 was a close price last I bought I paid 7.04 I think but I see it advertised in the 7.00 - 7.99 range at many places. Midway had it several months back for 7.25 I think.