Homemade snap caps

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herrwalther

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I have the need to get some snap caps for some upcoming firearm projects I want to get done. Store bought are ridiculously expensive for what they are, so I plan to make my own. I want to make 3-5 inert snap caps for most of the calibers I have on hand. First will be 5.56

Easy enough process to know. Pull the bullet on a round. Knock out the primer. Put the round back on. The questions are, for those who have made their own:

1) What do you replace the primer with? I am thinking of filling the primer pocket with glue or epoxy. Something soft for the firing pin to hit against.

2) I have a universal depriming die on my press setup. What is a good way to reset the bullet on the empty case without a dedicated die?

3) If/How do you mark the case to show it is inert? I am thinking of a bright red color to make it stand apart from live ammo. But would want something more permanent than using a marker that can rub off over time.
 
Some have filled the primer pocket with silicone. This is usually frowned upon.

Some, if they know enough about guns to be working on them should also know whether it is safe or not to dry fire them, will just dry fire them if appropriate.

For me, the benefits of buying them outweigh the costs of making a few that give dubious results, may require more upkeep and or replacement. A few of the ones I have bought have lasted for thousands of firings. I still practice with my 38 snub with the firing pin on the hammer. Same set of caps for more than ten years now.
 
herrwalther said:
I have the need to get some snap caps for some upcoming firearm projects I want to get done. Store bought are ridiculously expensive for what they are, so I plan to make my own. I want to make 3-5 inert snap caps for most of the calibers I have on hand. First will be 5.56

Easy enough process to know. Pull the bullet on a round. Knock out the primer. Put the round back on. The questions are, for those who have made their own:

1) What do you replace the primer with? I am thinking of filling the primer pocket with glue or epoxy. Something soft for the firing pin to hit against.

2) I have a universal depriming die on my press setup. What is a good way to reset the bullet on the empty case without a dedicated die?

3) If/How do you mark the case to show it is inert? I am thinking of a bright red color to make it stand apart from live ammo. But would want something more permanent than using a marker that can rub off over time.
Click to expand...
I use bathtub silicone sealer in the Primer Pocket. I drill 2 holes in the brass to indicate it is a "Snap Cap" Sorry I have dedicated dies.
 
Squeeze the bullet in with a vise. Nobody cares if the nose is mangled, unless you are testing feeding. If that is the case, you could have a problem.

Maybe try some nylon rods the same diameter as the hole? Do you have a lathe? Turn them down so they are a tight fit and shove them in.
 
PWC said:
Why?
Click to expand...
One reason is silicone is much softer than a standard primer or a commercial snap cap so it would just mimic a typical dry fire with such a soft material essentially giving no resistance to the firing pin.

My personal opinion is that it doesn’t really matter but the gunsmith inside me would never recommend a silicone filled primer pocket home brew snap cap to any customer. I live by the latter advice even though I believe the former.
 
On my dummy rounds ( Snap caps ) I drill a few holes through both sides of the case, to make them stand out ! I have used eraser material, silicone, some semi hard, but flexible material, in the prime hole. The " home brew stuff will need to be replaced more often that the store bought, but what the heck. All part of the fun of reloading :)
 
I have used hot glue, pencil erasers cut with a plug cutter, and PL7 Construction adhesive which I happened to have an open tube of. The longest lasting was the pencil erasers as I use dummy cartridges to test the actions before ever putting live ammo into it. I generally use the commercial snap caps if available but since Azoom was bought out, they have dropped a number of the slower selling cartridges from their lineup like the Krag. There are some folks that sell the stuff on Amazon or Ebay using 3D printers to make the cartridges out of plastic for things like the Arisaka, etc.

I also use dummy cartridges for setting up and checking reloading dies for things like OAL. Aluminum or Steel cases are good for that if you have them because these are generally no reloadable.
 
George P said:
rubber pencil eraser glued in
For .22LR revolvers, yellow #4 wall anchors work
Click to expand...
............... That's also my method....The wall anchors are great for 22lr.. For centerfire, cut down the pencil eraser to fit the primer pocket and a little super glue and you're good. Most of mine have a hole drilled through the cartridge case for good measure. Here's a 7x57 dummy round / snap cap. IMG_8931.JPG IMG_8933.JPG
 
never tried this, but just an idea on materials. if you prime the pocket with rubber cement - then mix up a little wood flour or fine sawdust into some rubber cement and make a little ball out of it and press it into the pocket - you should end up with a sort of rubbery rebound material that should last, but would be somewhat solid for the firing pin to strike against. might work with common silicone marine sealant as well, just an idea.
 
@herrwalter, Straight walled cases such as 45ACP are easy. Drill a couple of holes in your case to designate "dummy". Find a spring close to case ID, turn a nail shaped copper or brass "primer" anvil on the lathe or file to fit in a drill press, drill out primer hole and seat bullet compressing spring against your "primer" and you're done.
48954463731_d91e1b4e6b_n.jpg 48954391621_30d3ee445e_n.jpg
Common snap caps cheaper than your time, but odd calibers are another story.

Speaking of the 45 ACP, we used to amuse ourselves on rainy days or when ranges were not available for AMU practice with a piece of paper, wooden pencil and our 1911's. Draw small target on paper, hang on wall, drop sharpened wooden pencil down bore of the 1911 (pointy end forward :D) and "shoot" groups on the "target" to see who could get the tightest group. More fun than dry firing. ;)

Regards,
hps
 
film495 said:
never tried this, but just an idea on materials. if you prime the pocket with rubber cement - then mix up a little wood flour or fine sawdust into some rubber cement and make a little ball out of it and press it into the pocket - you should end up with a sort of rubbery rebound material that should last, but would be somewhat solid for the firing pin to strike against. might work with common silicone marine sealant as well, just an idea.
Click to expand...

Never thought of rubber cement. Good idea.
 
Some good thoughts on here that I hadn't thought of. One thing I will be changing, might as well get dedicated dies for each caliber I will be working with. Just easier to set things up for a snap cap project. And load live rounds for shooting later. Already dumped the investment into base equipment years ago, might as well get the dies and components too.
 
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