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Eley Subsonic Rimfire Loads

Eley Subsonic Rimfire Loads

22 subsonics have always been similar in the past; below the speed of sound and offered as a hollow point for pest control. These days, there is a need for subs or quieter ammunition that includes target shooting too. Reliability is the issue with semi-auto mechanism, Winchester use a 42-grain bullet and RWS use a semi specific round to give more inertia on firing, causing the bolt to operate more briskly and reliably.

Great british

Eley has a great range of ammunition and their Action is a round-nosed lead bullet, designed for reliable use at a subsonic level in semi-autos. For those that still want a hollow point subsonic, then Eley’s new subsonic hollow is now slightly lighter at 38-grains and not 40.

Most 22 Long Rifle barrels use 1 in 16” twist rifling, ideal for stabilising 40-grain or lighter bullets. The number of rifling lands will make a difference to performance, due to frictional changes in its path, as will depth of the lands/grooves. Here’s what I found in a variety of rifles and in ballistic putty and over the chronograph.

Eley subsonic hollow £11.70 per 100

Their old subsonic xtra has been my sub of choice for years, as it was always consistent and accurate. Eley have now changed the format of the bullet design slightly, by reducing the weight to 38-grains. This is interesting, as Winchester offer an increased weight version of their subsonic Max to 42-grains. Both are designed to get the maximum performance and weight is just one issue, bullet BC, tip and lead/ antimony content all play a part in terminal ballistics.

Eley list their new 38-grain hollow as 1040 fps which equates to 96 ft/lbs energy, which is dependent not only on barrel length but chamber dimension, i.e. Match or Sporter and also the condition of the rifle’s bore. When I pulled ten bullets, the average weight was 37-grains.

You also have a lighter lubricant on the bullet to ensure prefect functioning in all rifle mechanisms, including semi-automatics. Being a lighter lube, essential to any lead bulleted ammunition, it also means that changes in temperature does not affect performance as would the old type waxbased compositions that used to solidify.

Eley action round nose £8.10 per 100

This is designed to give subsonic velocities that function in semi-automatic and other action-types reliability and accurately. Eley state that it’s a 40-grain bullet of round nose design and has a velocity of 1090 fps and 106 ft/lbs energy.

It uses a 40-grain, round-nosed bullet design that has a beeswax/tallow lubricant for reliable feeding through a magazine and when chambering. That’s an interesting weight, as other manufacturers increased to 42-grains. When each bullet was taken out from the case and weighed, an average of ten actually weighed 41.6 grains, that explains it! It is still subsonic for low noise and less recoil but has a velocity increase over their subsonic hollow of 50 fps. Being a round-nose, it will not expand, so primarily target round, but does have hunting uses where safe to do so. Both new designs are slightly shorter than older 40-grain bullets and the diameter is now 0.224 and not 0.225”.

Field test

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It’s important to note that Eley’s ballistics are dependent on the actual Ballistic Coefficient of the bullet. From their published data and velocity at the muzzle and 100 yards, the BCs for each type are 0.125 for the hollow and 0.126 for the action. That is also dependent on barometric conditions like sea level, temperature, pressure and humidity and how far the chronograph readings are apart and from the muzzle, as velocities are usually taken at 15 foot from the rifle’s barrel. That aside, for the purposes of this article, the BCs are near as damn it and no rabbit is going to know the difference anyway!

Subsonic velocities and noise levels i.e. breaking the sound barrier are governed by temperature, pressure from external sources and from the length and condition of you rifles barrel. What is quiet on a winter’s day may not be so on a hot summers evening!

Results

It always amazes me how efficient and deadly a 22 rimfire can be when the propellant weight is only one grain of powder. Both bullets feel well made and are spotless, with no tarnish to the cases. You also notice the finer/thinner lube used that also contributes both to reliable functioning and improved and more consistent internal ballistics due to barrel friction.

The bullet weights did differ from the advertised, which is common and explains the good performance of the action in the semi-auto, as that extra 1.6 grains does help with an inertia type bolt system. Eley have published velocities and energy figures based on their advertised bullet weights, so I worked out the true Ballistic Coefficients from both rounds by setting up a chronograph at 15 foot from the muzzle and then at 100 yards and apply the data via the excellent Deben BRC 2 Calculator.

I also shot both through a short Sako 22 LR and then a long-barrelled target gun, to show the difference in velocities. Short 22 barrels often are faster, as 1 grain of powder burns within the first few inches and then any addition barrel just serves to retard velocity due to friction, a longer barrel handles better though. The results show that indeed the Remington 40X slowed the bullets down by 20-30 fps velocity.

Self-loader

Through the semi-auto, I had good reliability and as expected the velocity dropped a little, as more inertia/power is needed to operate the bolt system. It made both rounds very subsonic, whereas the Sako’s short barrel and using the action ammo, some showed a super-sonic crack. In the ballistic media, the hollows performed admirably. They penetrated a total of 5.75” and after 0.5” started to expand, to form a 0.95” diameter wound channel, with a volume of 36.8 mls and a retained bullet eight of 34.1-grains, the top portion separated.

The action, by comparison, being a round nose solid, slipped through the entire ballistic media at 8.5” and only had a 0.3” wound channel for the whole distance and a volume of 22.1 mls. Right there, it shows you the importance of an expanding bullet for game, less penetration and maximum energy transfer, 36.8mls to 22.1mls, that’s half as much again and more on the expansion from the hollow point.

Conclusion

No real surprises really, yet another two great rounds from Eley. Other than a few weight differences to the bullets (most manufacturers are like that) and is why you need to weigh or test your ammo in your gun and not rely on ‘average data’. The new subsonic hollow really performed well down-range, with excellent expansion and energy transfer. The action, as expected, was reliable in the semi-auto and failed to expand due to its solid form. Eley are quite expensive, but I have found them accurate and consistent rounds that justify the price. I will be testing further brands of 22 rimfire ammo and then a big accuracy test of all at differing ranges.

 

Contacts

Eley 0121 313 4567 Eley ammunition
Clarks 01788 579651
Chronograph, scales ammo
Deben 01394 387762
Hawke scopes, BRC 2 Ballistics program

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