Dry Firing with Snap Caps

[enichols]

I was just wondering if it was safe to dry fire a rifle with snap caps? By safe I mean is it less likely that I will break something (ie a bolt head retaining pin like I did last week) by dry firing with snap caps in place?

 

[Sleeping Dog]

What kind of gun did you have trouble with? I dry-fire my centerfire guns with no snap caps and don't run into trouble. I don't dry fire most of the .22LR rimfire guns because I've heard the firing pin hitting the chamber edge can cause problems.

Regards.

 

[enichols]

I broke the bolt head retaining pin on my Savage 110 .30-06. I was told that it had to do with dry firing, which I thought was a bit weird but I was wondering if that was the case whether snap-caps would prevent anything from breaking when dry-firing.

Thanks.
-Nic

 

[AK103K]

I think the idea behind the snap caps is two fold. One is to allow dry firing like you suggested and the other to help with malfunction drills, etc. I seriously doubt that your snap cap caused the pin breakage, it probably would have happened with a live round too. The only problems I've had with snap caps and rifles has been with the red plastic type with the brass base in 308. The rounds must not be the right spec as they get stuck in the chamber and are very hard to remove. This has happened with more than one gun, so I dont think it was just a tight chamber. The 30-06 cap I have is for both 30-06 and the 270. It doesnt have the "bullet" profile, just a shoulder. I've never had trouble with this one. Anymore, I've been using the A-Zoom caps, they seem to last longer and the "primer" doesnt get stuck in the case after using it awhile.

 

[enichols]

Alright,
Thanks for the info. I picked up a couple of .30-06 A-Zoom snap caps just to be on the safe side and to be able to practice dry firing without worry. I appreciate the help.
-Nic