No.8 failure to fire

[LondonEnfield]

Weak or clogged striker spring, as detailed above, or a buildup of wax and other fouling around the chamber/rear of barrel area. It's a well known problem with the No.8 rifle. Clean the breech area thoroughly of all wax and fouling and give it another go. Unscrew the bolt head (watch you don't lose the striker and its return spring) and rinse it in petrol to dissolve any built up crud.

It could be the problem we found on the cadet range once, which was an entire batch of Eley Standard delivered without any primer in the rim...!

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[vintage hunter]

Obviously the bolt assembly is the first place to look, but does anyone have a similar experience, and what was the remedy?

an entire batch of Eley Standard delivered without any primer in the rim...!

If you don't find any problems with the bolt assembly rotate the round a bit so the FP doesn't strike the same spot and see if they go. Works for me about 90% of the time. Misfires caused by gaps in the priming mix or none at all seem to happen with annoying regularity in some lots of .22LR ammo. Seems quality has really taken a nose dive in the last 10 or so years.

[mrclark303]

It could be the problem we found on the cadet range once, which was an entire batch of Eley Standard delivered without any primer in the rim...!

Yep, first thing to try, different ammo, it might be as simple as that ... we all know what .22lr can be like sometimes. The worst I ever used was Remington Thunderbolt, I swear it was loaded with black powder, just terrible stuff!

[Sentryduty]

Remington Thunderbolt, I swear it was loaded with black powder,

I agree, inconsistent ignition, wax coated projectiles that gum up the action, and the residue is excessive.