Snap Caps

[cal pappas]

Lots of good information here. I use them in all of my hammerless doubles--nitro or black powder. Spring loaded ones are superior. Others are crap. Those would include a plastic pellet in the primer pocket, a piece of pencil eraser, or even a drop from a hot glue gun. One thing NEVER leavet hem in a rifle when you go to the airport. TSA won't know what they are and the place will go into a panic or lockdown. While I never had the caps in a rifle, years ago I had a set in the gun case with other hunt gear (sling, ash bottle, loops, etc.) and it was almost impossible to tell TSA they were not ammunition.
Cal

 

[pc3]

Pierre from Chapuis sent an another member an email saying they don’t reccomend snap caps for their rifles, infact they may cause damage. He states there rifles are totally fine to dry fire.

I purchased some azoom caps for my 9.3 but in the basis of that email I don’t think I’ll use them

 

[Tanks]

There is a difference between snap caps like Azoom that one buys from Amazon and the ones specifically manufactured for double rifles.

 

[Rare Breed]

What are people's views on the use of snap caps in double rifles?

Does any one use them (two pairs) for practicing / rehearsing firing/reloading?

(Apologies if this has been covered before.)

I absolutely use them to get the feel of both my triggers ensuring I “call the shot” meaning as I squeeze each trigger I do not flinch and my red dot remains on the target I put on my wall. I recommend getting high quality ones…don’t go cheap after paying five figures for your DRs

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

Why would dry firing double shotguns and rifles be more dangerous to the firearm than dry firing any other firearm?

 

[steve white]

Some older guns, like a German double I once had, have the firing pin as part of the hammer. They can break--I broke one. The gunsmith told me FOR THAT GUN to only fire a shell--not to dry fire any more at all, as he only braised it back on.

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

Some older guns, like a German double I once had, have the firing pin as part of the hammer. They can break--I broke one. The gunsmith told me FOR THAT GUN to only fire a shell--not to dry fire any more at all, as he only braised it back on.

So this is mostly a concern with old guns? Something like a Citori or Silver Pigeon wouldn’t necessarily need snap caps?

 

[ChooChoo404]

Red Leg please explain why not an issue with a K-gun. I avoided pulling triggers on a Classic 5 until I scored some caps on ebay. Now all I need is a friend in Germany to hook me up with some quality big bore dummies so I can get better reloading practice.

Watch those A-Zooms! Out of the half dozen aluminums I pump through a 375 bolt one lost the plastic primer insert, maybe 1-8” thick, no spring nothing. The rest are taking a set where the firing pin hits. Cant be good.

 

[pc3]

The email from Chapuis states snap caps are potentially damaging….so an azoom with a silicon button, vs a primer vs nothing (which he says is harmless) maybe he meant the old method of putting a hard block against the strikers ??

By default if the silicon nub in an azoom was harmful so would a primer also not be good, yet nothing is ok….kind of doesn’t make sense.

Also the Azoom silicon button wears out….leaving nothing which isn’t harmful ???

 

[steve white]

So this is mostly a concern with old guns? Something like a Citori or Silver Pigeon wouldn’t necessarily need snap caps?

More a question of design than age.

 

[gcbailey]

What are people's views on the use of snap caps in double rifles?

Does any one use them (two pairs) for practicing / rehearsing firing/reloading?

(Apologies if this has been covered before.)

I have some for rifles and shotguns. I agree with @Red Leg that they should be of high quality. Since mine are shorter than actual live ammo, I don't use them for reload practice, but to not leave my guns cocked when I put them away for storage. For practice, I loaded two dummy rounds minus the powder and primers to get used to pulling them to of a cartridge belt and dropping them in the chamber.

 

[rookhawk]

What are people's views on the use of snap caps in double rifles?

Does any one use them (two pairs) for practicing / rehearsing firing/reloading?

(Apologies if this has been covered before.)

I use them to rest the strikers when the gun is assembled, but you must be very careful to test them with a towel wrapped around your gunstock. Many snap caps are so heavy, or the ejectors so weak, that they cause stock damage in an ejector rifle.

The better, traditional way to rest the internal hammers is to use a striker block. It looks like a bar of soap, but made out of horn. You hold it to the firing pin holes firmly, pull the triggers, and it smashes a small hole in the block. Thus, your double rifle isn't resting cocked for decades, but by using the striker block you didn't potentially crack the firing pins in a disassembled dry-fire scenario.

 

[pc3]

Straight From Chapuis, on this basis I will not use snapcaps in my UGEX, nor will however will I dry fire unnecessarily, only prior to storage. I will store assembled I think.


Thanks for the message



I confirm: do not use snap caps on our guns. Chapuis double rifles/shotguns use a rebounding firing-pin/striker system. Repeated impacts against a hard snap cap (especially metal or very stiff plastic types) can stress or deform the rebounding mechanism and the striker tip over time.



Dry-firing is acceptable for your Chapuis



I hope it helps



Thanks



Pierre

 

[RLP]

I would not think of pulling the trigger on one of my doubles without a quality snap cap. When my wife was practicing for her PH shooting, she practiced with dummy rounds, we tried the plastic dummy rounds they were not satisfactory. She ended up using hand assembled using a bit of sand instead of powder, melted lead in place of the primer with bullets painted black to identify practice rds. After the testing was over they were disposed of so that there would be no chance of them mixed with hunting rounds.

genius

 

[coreydb]

I use them in my rifles as well as my side by side shotguns I use them to refamiliarize myself with trigger pull and cycling with my rifles. You can tell roughness, snagging, whatever, by dry fire drills.

 

[steve white]

The ones I use have a plastic "primer" which is spring loaded, as opposed to the ones which are just plastic and fixed. You can also make then yourself...

Please elaborate on making them yourself....

BTW, to release spring tension on a bolt action, wouldn't it be just as well to pull the trigger while closing the bolt?

 

[Buckums]

Thoughts on Trader Keith snap caps for use on double rifles?
I have a newer 89B and a 20 year old Chapuis. I love the idea of practicing firing, ejecting, and reloading but the last thing I want to do is harm the firing pins. So from prior posts it sounds like it is a no-no for Chapuis. What about Trader Keith snap caps in a newer Heym?

 

[SaintPanzer]

Please elaborate on making them yourself....

I haven't made ones with springs, mostly because I don't have the machine tools to come up with a good method yet. On the list of projects.

What I have done is:

1. Prepare the brass. If I'm going to make a dummy/snap cap, I want to be able to identify it by touch and sound, in the dark. So what I do is drill small (say 3/32 inch) holes in various locations on the case. Yes, you'll need to countersink, sand, polish to make sure you won't scratch a chamber, but I can tell by sight and by feel they are dummy rounds.

2. Then I "prime" the case with an old pencil eraser. They are close enough in size to seat, and the rubber will absorb the firing pin strike. I've also tried using RTV and letting it cure, but that never seemed to work out well, and I thought it a bit soft. I'm wondering if a polyurethane might work, but haven't played with that yet. Pencil erasers seem to work, and if they dimple from too much use, they're easy to replace. Be sure to trim so they are flush with the base.

3. I "load" the case with a few BBs. You don't want to pack the case, you want them to be able to rattle around. Now I can identify the dummy/snap cap by sight (the holes), feel (you can feel the holes) and sound (just shake it... you'll see).

4. Seat a bullet to proper overall length. You don't need a fancy bullet for this, simple cup and core will do.



I thought I had a photo here somewhere, but can't find it. I'll have to dig them out and take more photos.

 

[coreydb]

I use them with my SxS shotguns, to practice smoothly loading and reloading. Really helps with the fumbling.

 

[SaintPanzer]

Was looking all over for one of my Mannlicher ones... and realized it's where it belongs, in the chamber of the rifle where I left it after I used it to release the firing pin for storage. But I came across this one in .30-06, and realized it's a good representation.