Home made snap-caps?

[josquin]

in case the firing pin pokes through and hits the nail, steel on steel is not good. and really there is no need for a nail inside, just use hot glue or silicone as is.

In my original plan, the idea was for the firing pin to hit the nail, which would be flush with the end of the case (like a primer). But the nail had to be slightly smaller than the primer pocket, and potted in place with silicone seal, which would act as a cushion as well as an adhesive. But I agree that it may be best to avoid any steel-on-steel contact. I'm not sure if silicone seal or hot glue alone has the right balance of hardness/softness and durability, but I haven't tried it so I'll leave that for others to report on.

 

[Spawn-Inc]

In my original plan, the idea was for the firing pin to hit the nail, which would be flush with the end of the case (like a primer). But the nail had to be slightly smaller than the primer pocket, and potted in place with silicone seal, which would act as a cushion as well as an adhesive. But I agree that it may be best to avoid any steel-on-steel contact. I'm not sure if silicone seal or hot glue alone has the right balance of hardness/softness and durability, but I haven't tried it so I'll leave that for others to report on.

from my experience it takes about 50 times for the hot glue to get hit to the point where i will remelt the hot glue and refinish it.

 

[ninepointer]

Not trying to flame this thread, but making snap caps that so closely resemble live ammo is a bad idea. There's a good reason why commercial snap-caps are coloured to be instantly distinguishable from live rounds.

 

[ted_dent]

I just crazy glued some rubber gasket material that you can get at most hardware stores or Canadian Tire into the primer pocket. You can make the proper size gasket plugs for small primer cases by chamfering a 17 Remington case mouth till it's sharp and using the case as a cutter. I forget the diameter for large primer pockets but it's something like 3/16" so any type of leather punch will have the proper diameter cutter on it.

These work great and never seem to wear out.