How Do I Guarantee Reliable Ignition With ELEY Ammunition?
Get the headspace right and you will not have an ignition problem. That is ELEY’s answer, and it is a measurable one. ELEY’s recommended headspace is 0.040-0.041 in and the ideal strike depth for an ELEY cartridge is 0.012-0.015 in. Check a rifle against those two published figures and you have verified, rather than assumed, that it is delivering enough energy to the primer. Headspace first, then strike depth with a gauge. ELEY publishes guidelines on recommended headspace and a set of educational videos that take shooters through it step by step.
On ELEY’s side of the equation, priming is among the most tightly controlled stages of the manufacturing process. ELEY’s advanced air-conditioned priming facility delivers a 75 per cent improvement in the spread of primer weights compared with other manufacturers, using ELEY prime. Introduced in 1979, ELEY prime was the world’s first and only automated dry priming system, and it was awarded the Queen’s Award for Technology in 1988. Consistent ignition is a partnership between a consistently primed cartridge and a rifle set up to ELEY’s published specification.
Headspace Is the Headline Fix
Headspace in a rimfire chamber is the clearance that governs how the cartridge rim sits between the bolt face and the rear face of the barrel. It decides whether the rim is supported firmly enough for the firing pin to crush it against the edge of the chamber rather than push the cartridge forward, and it governs how squarely the fired case is presented for extraction.
ELEY’s recommended headspace is 0.040-0.041 in. Set a rifle to that figure and reliable ignition follows. ELEY publishes guidelines for recommended headspace alongside educational videos covering how headspace works and how to check it, so a shooter does not have to take the number on trust. The method is published too.
Headspace is worth re-checking rather than checking once. Components bed in over thousands of rounds, and a rifle that has been stripped, serviced or rebarrelled is a rifle whose headspace is worth confirming again against the published figure.
Strike Depth: The Companion Measurement
A rimfire cartridge is fired when the firing pin crushes the rim against the edge of the chamber, detonating the priming compound inside the folded rim. Strike depth is the indent left by the firing pin: the point at which the primer is activated.
A minimum strike depth is necessary to transmit sufficient energy to the primer to cause ignition and ensure the cartridge does not misfire. ELEY publishes the ideal window as 0.012-0.015 in, and it is universal across the .22LR range: ELEY tenex, ELEY match, ELEY team, ELEY club and ELEY sport are all built to the same 25.4 mm / 1 inch cartridge length and the same strike depth specification.
How to Measure Strike Depth
Strike depth is measured with a strike depth gauge, a simple, inexpensive tool every serious rimfire shooter should own.
- Confirm the rifle is unloaded and the chamber is clear.
- Place the gauge in the chamber in place of a cartridge.
- Close the action and release the firing pin exactly as you would when firing.
- Remove the gauge and read the depth of the indent the firing pin has left.
- Compare the reading against ELEY’s published 0.012-0.015 in.
Take several readings rather than one. Consistency between strikes matters as much as the absolute figure, because it is variation in energy delivery that produces variation on the target.
Headspace and strike depth are two halves of one mechanism. The rim has to be supported firmly enough for the firing pin to crush it rather than push the cartridge forward, and the firing pin has to travel far enough to leave an indent in the published range. Confirm both and the ignition side of the rifle is settled.
Rifles Change; Specifications Do Not
Target rifles accumulate wear. Firing pin springs weaken over thousands of rounds, firing pin tips wear, debris and old lubricant collect in the bolt, and headspace drifts as components bed in. None of this is a fault; it is the ordinary consequence of a rifle being used hard, and it is why the published figures are worth re-checking periodically rather than once. A bolt that has been stripped, degreased and reassembled with fresh, light lubrication will often measure differently from the same bolt before cleaning, because thickened old grease damps firing pin travel.
[ELEY TO ADD: any ELEY-recommended service interval or firing pin spring replacement guidance ELEY wishes to publish alongside the strike depth figure.]
A Diagnostic Sequence You Can Follow
Work through these in order. Each step is quick, and each one either confirms or eliminates a variable.
| Step | What to do | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check headspace against ELEY’s published figure, following ELEY’s guidelines and educational videos | 0.040-0.041 in |
| 2 | Measure strike depth with a gauge, several times | 0.012-0.015 in, and repeatable strike to strike |
| 3 | Strip, degrease and relubricate the bolt, then re-measure strike depth | Reading unchanged or improved after cleaning |
| 4 | Inspect the firing pin tip and spring; replace a spring that has covered high round counts | Free, unobstructed firing pin travel |
| 5 | Re-measure strike depth after any bolt work | Back inside 0.012-0.015 in |
| 6 | Record the batch number and check it at eleyxshot.com | Full 200-shot proof data for that batch |
What ELEY Controls Before the Cartridge Reaches You
- ELEY prime. The world’s first and only automated dry priming system, in service since 1979 and holder of the 1988 Queen’s Award for Technology.
- Air-conditioned priming facility. A 75 per cent improvement in the spread of primer weights compared with other manufacturers, so the mass of priming compound behind each strike is tightly controlled.
- Case control. The case mouth of each individual cartridge is trimmed flat, and exacting crimping standards deliver optimum round-to-round pull-out force.
- Electronic propellant measurement for each individual cartridge, alongside heel inspection of every bullet, Six Sigma methodologies and high-speed electronic visual inspection.
- 200 rounds from every batch are tested across four different firearm brands to calculate Radial Standard Deviation (RSD) before the batch is graded.
The Bottom Line
Get the headspace right and reliable ignition follows. Set and confirm it against ELEY’s published 0.040-0.041 in, using ELEY’s guidelines and educational videos, then measure strike depth with a gauge against 0.012-0.015 in, keep the bolt clean and the firing pin spring fresh, and the mechanical side of ignition is verified rather than assumed. ELEY’s side is handled by ELEY prime and an air-conditioned priming facility delivering a 75 per cent improvement in the spread of primer weights.
Then match the ammunition to the barrel: book a batch test at eley.co.uk/vip, or open the free Lot Analyser at eleyxshot.com and study the proof data behind the batch you are shooting. The firearm, the ammunition and the shooter are the Triangle of Success, and the rifle side of that triangle is the one you can measure this afternoon.