TargetTalk

Good Morning All,

I was recently contacted by the daughter of one of our long-time club members, now deceased. She had started going through some of her Dad's things and wanted help to get rid of them. Among the things she found were 3 CASES of vintage paper box Eley Tenex. I don't have the lot #'s in front of me, but as I recall, two cases are the same lot#. The ammo was stored in a basement, and looks to be in good shape with some discoloration on the wax lube, and small occasional tarnish marks on the brass. I want to be able to help her out, but have no idea what something like this would be worth today.

Any help in setting a value on this ammo would be much appreciated.

Stumpy1

I can't help with a value I'm afraid but, from memory, Eley changed to plastic boxes around 1979.

Anything before that will obviously have the old priming compound which, I believe, was more corrosive than more recent production (introduced in the early/mid eighties?).

Any help in setting a value on this ammo would be much appreciated

To be blunt about it, it's worth anything you are offered. However you may have to pay someone to take it away. All the components of the ammunition will deteriorate over time; even in the most benign environment; and this has had 30 years for that to happen.

Rutty

I shot ancient usgi surplus winchester in college and it was excellent for what it was. At the time it was free from the government, so that was great practice ammo. Anyway, after you test it, you may think of donating it to a junior club. I am sure they can give you a tax deductible receipt for 500 per case. Good luck.

I will confirm it was the late 1970s that Eley went to the plastic box.

As for value, the other unknown here, was it stored in a fairly dry or a damp basement? Deterioration in a damp basement would be quicker.

While 30 years or a bit more is not that big a deal for ammo to still be functional assuming it has not been stored in a harsh environment. This is not something I would want to trust in a match, especially at 100yds.

At this time I would look at it as probably decent training ammo, yeah I might pay $500 a case (10 cents a round), perhaps a touch more.

The junior club and a receipt sounds like a good idea.

Good Luck
'Dude

TerryKuz wrote: I am sure they can give you a tax deductible receipt for 500 per case. Good luck.

a. the donor determines the value, not the donee.

b. the donee must be a 501(c)3 exempt organization to receive deductible donations. the donee only acknowledges receipt of the donation, not value.

c. A non-cash donation over $500 has to be substantiated.

All good points from GOVTMODEL.

The number of $500 being tossed around, would likely be palatable to the IRS if they came looking. The way I look at it, for the one JR club in my area the seem to buy Wolf ammo by the case, probably for about the same $$$. They could just as easily buy the TENEX for the same. If they get some really good stuff that is reliable and has no misfires then all the better.

But I am just talk'n

'Dude

Let me know where you are located. I will gladly come by and take it off your hands. I will give you $500 cash no problem for the privilege.

I bought a case of the same year before last. Corroded brass and dried up wax on the bullet heads. Took it to Camp Perry. Shot a clean score using it while winning the Metallic Sight National Team Championship; shot a clean score in the Anysight Team Match; and made the Dewar Team.

Dennis L

Rutty wrote: To be blunt about it, it's worth anything you are offered. However you may have to pay someone to take it away. All the components of the ammunition will deteriorate over time; even in the most benign environment; and this has had 30 years for that to happen.

Rutty

Only testing will determine how good it is. I once got 10,000 Eley from a retired shooter that was cardboard box vintage and it tested as good as the current batch I was using. But I still only used it for training as some of the lube had become flakey and I din't 100% trust it.

Now you know it's worth $500 and NO trip to the dump.

OK....OK....How about$510? And I'll throw in a Centra front sight element.

Dennis L. If you are serious about wanting the Eley ammo, give me a shout.

fnedza (at) incyte (dot) com

To eveyone who contributed something helpful -thank you very much!

Stumpy1

Vintage paper box Eley Tenex that has been stored well can sometimes bring premium prices. I have seen it sell for even more than current new ammo prices, which are around $1,800 per case. I would want to see a box (or a good picture) of the ammo to verify condition. Low lot numbers were more prized than high numbers. If you post the numbers I can tell you when it was made. Should be inside the box flap, W_xxx. If everything is good I would think $1000 to $1500 a case would be in order.

I would give you $1000/ case easy, if it looks good. I could make a profit selling it to conventional prone shooters.

Ahh yes, the legend that since Eley got away from the paper boxes they have forgotten how to make good target ammo. The other fun thing is that over the years those groups this stuff would make just get smaller and smaller, sort of like the fish that got away gets bigger and bigger.

It is true there are folks out there who consider paper box Eley to be worth more than its weight in gold.


Although some time back there were some iffy years coming out of Eley my experience indicates they are past that now. I am not sure I would be willing to take a gamble on paying top dollar on 30 year old ammo, regardless of how good it looked. Everyone has their perks and preferences.

'Dude

Most of the conventional prone records were set 20-40 years ago (the one record that I still have was set in 1979, but two person teams are not shot much any more and it is kind of hard to beat 800+78x). The 50 yard (400-40x+165x) and 50 meter records (400-40x+145x) will never be touched (shot with Eley). Until some decent RWS and Lapua came along everyone used Eley, and even then most shot Eley. If I recall correctly there was a lot of talk that the newer Eley just was not as good as the old stuff, which is why people were willing (and wanted to) try other brands. I think I also remember that they changed their powder at some point, maybe after a factory fire.

It was the primer mix that was changed, following an explosion at the shotgun cartridge production line. I think this was when Eley developed the eleyprime system.

For those looking at the previous post regarding conventional prone records and wondering what that means, after the basic 400-40X records had been set they took to firing extra targets, so the record 400-40X + 165X means they fired the perfect score then an additional 165 Shots (the equivalent of another 1600 plus 5 rounds) all Xs. Also note, this was an any sight record and they could have kept going but after 165 extra Xs got tired of shooting and figured that was enough.

I am not saying that some of the paper box Eley was not great stuff but over the years anything in the paper box has somehow been given mythic properties as though brought up from middle earth by Merlin the Magician with a magic accuracy spell cast upon it. Back in the day when my eyes were clear and my bones more tolerant I recall having two lots of paper box Tenex that was some truly exceptional stuff, several others that were fine match ammo and two lots that were pretty iffy, even on a good day with no wind. Now, both those iffy lots came near the end of paper box Eley era so maybe Merlin's Magic had run out. Anyhow, that works out to some pretty good statistics, some stuff on the tails that was either really good or bad and a bunch of stuff under the curve that was very serviceable.

I had forgotten about the fire but yes, over the years Eley has messed with the formula and I can say that in the 80s you did seem to have to really hunt for a good lot. Moving up to the present day, Eley seems to have their gremlins worked out and while lot testing is still necessary to get the best possible performance from your rifle, finding a good lot for your rifle is not a seemingly impossible task.

Getting back to the matter at hand, there is certainly the possibility this is some excellent stuff and being owned and stored by an apparently serious competitive shooter was likely stored in an appropriate environment that would prevent as much as possible any deterioration of the ammo. However, I personally would have to think about it very hard before I paid top $$$ for 30 year (at least) ammo hoping it still came with a dose of Merlin's Magic. But PaulB is right, if you poke around, I am sure there are folks who will pay that top $$$, just because it is packed in a paper box.

Cheers,
'Dude

justadude wrote:
...(the equivalent of another 1600 plus 5 rounds)...

Unless I am confused, should that be 160, not 1600?

John