snap caps
- Thread starter dan duf
- Start date
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
youll need to seat a bullet at the tip or it wont feed.
be careful with spent casings that havent been resized as they will definitely get stuck in a rifle that they werent fired in.
you can use urethane (used to install windshields and as a heavy duty caulk) to fill the primer pocket, level it off when filling or cut it flush when its dry. this stuff is not silicone, so try not to get it on your hands
you can leave it a touch higher than the primer pocket for more cushioning of the firing pin. the stuff is very durable so it will last a long time, and you can just redo it when needed.
nothing cushions the firing pin as well as a new snap-cap with a spring loaded brass 'primer' -- however as these are repeatedly fired a deep indent will form in the solid brass 'primer' as the brass flows away from where the pin strikes it, so they are less effective with time. IMO urethane probably works better in the long run. many people dont even use snap caps with centrefires.
you can make cheap shotgun snap-caps the same way: just cut the crimp off of whatever length (fired) shell you want, pop out the spent primer, and fill the entire shell and primer pocket with urethane. theyll have a decent heft to them too, much more than plastic snap caps.
the ejectors on my pumps shred the hell out of aluminum snap-caps so i manufactured a whole mess of these urethane ones and they work fine. the beauty of it is you can make a couple dozen for a couple bucks and practice fast reloading a pump.
be careful with spent casings that havent been resized as they will definitely get stuck in a rifle that they werent fired in.
you can use urethane (used to install windshields and as a heavy duty caulk) to fill the primer pocket, level it off when filling or cut it flush when its dry. this stuff is not silicone, so try not to get it on your hands
you can leave it a touch higher than the primer pocket for more cushioning of the firing pin. the stuff is very durable so it will last a long time, and you can just redo it when needed.
nothing cushions the firing pin as well as a new snap-cap with a spring loaded brass 'primer' -- however as these are repeatedly fired a deep indent will form in the solid brass 'primer' as the brass flows away from where the pin strikes it, so they are less effective with time. IMO urethane probably works better in the long run. many people dont even use snap caps with centrefires.
you can make cheap shotgun snap-caps the same way: just cut the crimp off of whatever length (fired) shell you want, pop out the spent primer, and fill the entire shell and primer pocket with urethane. theyll have a decent heft to them too, much more than plastic snap caps.
the ejectors on my pumps shred the hell out of aluminum snap-caps so i manufactured a whole mess of these urethane ones and they work fine. the beauty of it is you can make a couple dozen for a couple bucks and practice fast reloading a pump.
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
i should also add -- these 'homeade' snap caps will feed/eject in anything since they are based on real cases.
ive owned some brands of snap caps that did not work with certain guns. for example the burgundy aluminum 'A Zoom' snap caps in .308 did not work properly in my Ruger M77 Mark II. i dont remember exactly what it was but i think they werent being ejected properly: the rim/base of the snap cap was not perfectly to .308 spec and the extracted shells were just being dropped by the claw extractor in the action on top of the mag regardless of how forcefully they were ejected.
also since these will be based on real cartridges/shells, be very careful with your live ammo handling before/when practicing with your snap caps. you could drill a hole or something through the body of the casings to make them easier to identify by sight and feel. last thing you would want is a live round to get mixed in with them through careless handling...
ive owned some brands of snap caps that did not work with certain guns. for example the burgundy aluminum 'A Zoom' snap caps in .308 did not work properly in my Ruger M77 Mark II. i dont remember exactly what it was but i think they werent being ejected properly: the rim/base of the snap cap was not perfectly to .308 spec and the extracted shells were just being dropped by the claw extractor in the action on top of the mag regardless of how forcefully they were ejected.
also since these will be based on real cartridges/shells, be very careful with your live ammo handling before/when practicing with your snap caps. you could drill a hole or something through the body of the casings to make them easier to identify by sight and feel. last thing you would want is a live round to get mixed in with them through careless handling...
The burgundy aluminum 'A Zoom' snap caps jammed my 94 30/30 tighter then Mayor Millers ass at a gunshow.
The rims are too soft, and after a few uses the cartridge stop made a groove in the azoom case rim...resulting in a classic under lifter jam.
Good thing I was at my gunsmiths shop looking to buy a Williams sight for it, as this happened right in front of him, and he was nice enough to take it apart and unjam it for me.
Anyone who has had to take one of these rifles apart knows how much this would have sucked out in the woods on a hunting trip while getting ready to go out in the first morning light.
I left both snap caps in his garbage can. IMHO azoom sucks, and I will never waste money on their crap again.
Any homemade ones I have made out of real brass cases have worked a treat.
I also drill a hole through the side of them, for safer identification.
The rims are too soft, and after a few uses the cartridge stop made a groove in the azoom case rim...resulting in a classic under lifter jam.
Good thing I was at my gunsmiths shop looking to buy a Williams sight for it, as this happened right in front of him, and he was nice enough to take it apart and unjam it for me.
Anyone who has had to take one of these rifles apart knows how much this would have sucked out in the woods on a hunting trip while getting ready to go out in the first morning light.
I left both snap caps in his garbage can. IMHO azoom sucks, and I will never waste money on their crap again.
Any homemade ones I have made out of real brass cases have worked a treat.
I also drill a hole through the side of them, for safer identification.
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
yeah, the only A-zooms that have fed properly for me so far are the 12ga. ones.
my pumps eat them alive though, the rims are all chewed to hell because they are too soft. theyre also a little too slick/heavy so they dont eject very nicely. ejecting them with the same amount of force that would send a 12ga shell across the room just makes them kindof 'fall out' of the gun. any less force and they just fall back into the action and dont even eject.
the worst part is that the .308 snap caps i mentioned above were NOT made to .308 case dimensions - i put them beside a .308 case and theyre not even remotely alike around the base of the cartridge/rim. depending on your action they might not eject properly.
i dont understand how a company that makes f$%cking SNAP CAPS for a living cant get the #%@$ing dimensions right. like its so hard? thats basically all they have to do, is machine a fake aluminum round and put a piece of plastic/poly in the primer pocket, and they cant even get that right.
they sure look nice though
