Do Snap Caps Really Work

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  • Last Post 29 January 2023
John Alexander posted this 28 January 2023

Serious dry firing is an important aid in learning to shoot well and in diagnosing problems when you suddenly stop shooting well. From the broken firing pin thread it looks like firing pins really do occasionally break, even in modern guns.  It may be pretty rare but still a concern.

The obvious solution is snap caps which are supposed bring the firing pin to a gradual stop and prevent the sudden tensile stress on the firing pin when otherwise it suddenly hits the end of travel. My question is where can you buy snap caps that will actually do that?

The snap caps I have are of a transparent plastic and you can see the spring that resists the blow. It doesn't take too much heavy thinking know that the spring could be either too weak to slow down the firing pin much before it fetches up suddenly -- or it could be too strong and cause the pin stop suddenly although by putting the tip of the firing pin in compressive stress instead of tensile.  

A snap cap could be made by using a case with a compressible elastic material in the primer pocket. But these could also be too compressible or not enough.

Of course it can be argued that cushioning at all of the firing pin is a step in the right direction -- but how much? 

Is there any known testing on any snap cap that shows that they do their job well?

John

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.22-10-45 posted this 29 January 2023

I turn up Delrin rod for a tight press fit in primer pocket & face off flush to case head.  I don' t use these for dry fire however...only to let firing pin down on hammerless actions...they do need replacing in about a year.

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alphabrass posted this 29 January 2023

My Marlin 15-Y, 1988 vintage .22 LR single shot, broke its firing pin after a few shots.  I bought it used in 1994 so don't know how much it had been fired or dry fired by previous owners.  The firing pin is a flat "sheet metal" part that broke where the width reduced at a fairly sharp corner.  My local gun shop had a replacement part and it has held up fine since then, but I typically don't dry fire .22s.  For function testing I use a spent case to cushion the impact, rotating it so the pin hits an undeformed rim.

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Shopdog posted this 29 January 2023

A piece of hard'ish rubber whittled to a med hard press fit into primer pocket has been the go to here for.... ever.

Dry fire practice is a foundational block in that,it let's you work on form without the distraction of noise/recoil. The more you do it,the better you get. Was reading awhile back about an Olympic free pistol shooter's dry fire routine. Can't quote the ratio but it is almost to the absurd at how much MORE,he dry fires vs live.

Good luck with your project.

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RicinYakima posted this 29 January 2023

When shooting High Power NRA, I made up some dummy rounds with brass brazing rod glued in the primer pockets. Since I shot with an '03 Springfield, I had to load with a five round clip and that took a lot of practice. They lasted maybe 35 strikes, with the '03 with the most momentum of any bolt action rifle, with the knobbed striker. At the end I used little pieces of plastic that only lasted about 10 strikes, but fell out when done and I could easily replace them with another and super glue. FWIW

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John Alexander posted this 29 January 2023

Interesting idea. If it was a big problem factory rifles should have something like that, but I don't think is a common problem.  Lots of people never dry fire of course.  That probably accounts for some of the shooting I see as the local range.

I have been shooting for eighty years and have dry fired a lot, and have yet to break my first firing pin. I would still buy and use a snap cap that had been engineered to actually work. That sounds like the definition of being conservative. 

The instructions for some rifles still say don't dry fire.  It's sort of a funny neglected topic.

John

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 29 January 2023

I wonder if something ( delrin  ... al-u-manium / ) ...could be inserted in front of the cocking piece on a bolt gun  ...enough movement to let the sear break but not move far .. and land easy ...

i got a ton of delrin ...and alumnum ...  if you would like me to cut some buffers ... take out firing pin assy, drop in buffer washer in front of firing pin... but how to get it out after smushing it flat ?

more surface area to last longer ..i actually wore out my sear on my remmy 722 by dry firing for my rifle team practice ... but no harm to the firing pin ... Rem sent me a new sear in the mail for 3$ .. remember those days.... 

ken

 

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