I am a cheap cheap man

[41magsnub]

I want some .30-06 dummy rounds for dry fire drills with my Garand prior to the appleseed shoot I am going to next month. Doing this without dummy rounds is awkward since it is a 2 hand operation to get the bolt closed again without a loaded clip.

The dummy rounds I have been finding online are expensive, the gun show ones are even more expensive.

I have bags upon bags on fired .30-06 brass that I will reload someday. Would I be causing myself any mechanical problems if I crimped down the ends on some of them to make a dummy round so that in the end it looks like a blank cartridge?

 

[teombe]

My guess is that crimping the mouths won't work well at all, and may gouge the chamber if it gets hit just right.

What you will need to make dummy rounds from fired brass (for a semiauto rifle) is a full length resizing die, a new bullet, a seating die, and a single stage press.

Just pony up for the snap caps

 

[Thernlund]

They might not feed right.

Just deprime them, put a piece of pencil eraser in the primers place, seat a bullet in the case, and paint the round a weird color to identify it as a dummy. Walaa. Instant dummy round.


-T.

 

[Ian]

Yeah, just load a projectile, and replace the primer with an eraser. Though I would drill holes in the case rather than just paint it. Paint can wear off, and holes are a really unmistakable dummy cartridge indicator.

I made a handful of 8mm dummies just this way.

If you have a cartridge collector's show nearby, you could also likely find some cheap dummy rounds there.

 

[wanderinwalker]

Are you a lefty or a righty? Because if you're a righty, you should have no problem closing the bolt on an M-1 with one hand. Just depress the follower with your thumb while holding the charging handle with the heel of your hand. When it clicks, let it go forward and rock your hand, lifting your thumb safely clear.

Also, you only have to pull the bolt back about half-way to reset the hammer. It shouldn't come back far enough to engage the hold-open.

Good luck and hope this helps!

 

[41magsnub]

Wander.. that is a really really really good point. Screw the dummy rounds.

 

[1KPerDay]

Yep, I was just going to say I dry fire my garands all the time with empty chambers and no clips... just pull back the op rod an inch or so to reset the hammer.

 

[missoulaz28]

41magsnub where are you going to an appleseed at, i missed the one by Bozeman in may.

 

[Avenger29]

Spring for A-zoom snap caps. These are high quality dummy rounds...

 

[jkingrph]

My M-1 will feed empties as good as loaded rounds or dummies.

 

[Pilgrim]

Dry fire device.

 

[41magsnub]

41magsnub where are you going to an appleseed at, i missed the one by Bozeman in may.

Threeforks Sept 13/14

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/130294715

 

[Gunsby_Blazen]

I thought of doing something like that once, and I found that crimping the ends will most likely damage the bore. You don’t want sharp metal edges scraping around in there.
I would advice not to do it.
Sorry I do not have any advice on what you should do, but I can tell you that is a bad idea and an example of what you should not do.
Good luck with your problem there.
There has to be an inexpensive solution to this...

 

[41magsnub]

There has to be an inexpensive solution to this...

Yep, Wander nailed it. Just don't open the action all the way, only do it enough to reset the trigger but without going back enough to engage the hold open. No need for dummy rounds at all. It's not like I am doing malfunction drills or something, just prone trigger practice.