Abstract The determination of material properties under high-speed loading has been a challenge for many years. Structural vibrations, or system ringing, in a conventional tensile testing machine deteriorate the quality of the force measurement, which prevents the precise determination of stress-strain curves and the corresponding mechanical properties. In this work, a new sample geometry and a corresponding measurement method are presented and analyzed. This new method allowed for the determination of oscillation-free, true stress-strain curves at high strain rates. Because a new minor plastic deformation area exists in the new Generation III sample, a quasi-movable bearing condition for the sample fixation is created. The forces acting on the sample deformed the cross section and created a displacement in this minor plastic deformation area. In this way, the elastic ringing effect was reduced significantly. This new method could also be applied to the quasi-static test and strain rates ranging from 10−4 to 103/s. Moreover, the filtering or similar manipulation of the results is no longer needed. The validity of the new method was proven by testing two steels with different strain-hardening behaviors.