Made my own snap caps!

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mugsie

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Don't know if this has been done before, but I'll post it anyways (if so please feel free to delete it).

I took some rifle brass, in this case I used .308 and .260, both have large rifle primer (any brass will work). I deprimed and sized. Then I took a new pencil (you older guys will know what they are - yellow, long thin wooden stick looking kind of thing with graphite in the center), put the wooden end in a drill chuck and using a little sand paper, spun the pencil (remember - the long yellow thingy) and trimmed down the eraser to fit inside the primer pocket. Pushed the eraser into the primer pocket and trimmed it off flush with the cartridge base.

They work perfectly. Firing pin strikes the hard rubber eraser and cushions it perfectly. Wha La - a snap cap. Now I have to go practice......
 
Filling a primer pocket with rubber cement works too.

Now about this wooden "pencil" thing. Does it have a USB charging port? Compatible with Windows Vista? Or maybe a DROID OS?
 
Have done that with shotgun shells as well - just make sure, if you have a bullet in it so really mark it some way so ANYONE will know it is a dummy round
 
A few years ago I did that with .38 special brass. I cut a bit of tread off my truck tire. Trimmed it with a razor blade and as you said...worked great. funny how we gun guys seem to think along the same lines.

Sounds like your eraser probably fit better than mine but I figured the rubber cement filled the gap in my caps. You did good. It's fun to make what you need when you can. Kind of lets you work your brain in a creative way.

Mark
 
I've also seen people do it with a tube of RTV. I think the pencil eraser (or truck tire tread) would last longer, though.
 
Now about this wooden "pencil" thing. Does it have a USB charging port? Compatible with Windows Vista? Or maybe a DROID OS?
Click to expand...

Only works with the Droid (you can use it to tap stuff on the touch screen).
 
Now, as a home improvement buff I would have just used a dab of silicone sealant.

No need for all the fancy stuff, chemically impervious, and soft...
 
Brass expands when fired, you'll often find a fired case won't fit back in the gun, even a blank, it must be resized.
 
Is it possible to just use a spent shell casing as a snap cap?
Click to expand...

Works OK, but you can't check feeding, etc., with no bullet in there. All it does is cushion the blow for a little while until the primer is so thoroughly indented that there's no more cushioning effect.

I just reload 'em normally except for powder and primer, clean out the primer pockets real good, shtoop* some RTV in the pocket and strike it off level. Sometimes some extra crinping or cement (nail polish sorta works) is needed to hold the bullet in place if you're feeding the dummies from a magazine. (Hint: 7.62 X 39 brass cases have such a short neck that they don't hold up well under multiple cycling through the action. I have not done this with steel 7;62 X 39 cases, for obvious reasons.)

I use a magic marker (I prefer green) to mark the case so real ammo can't be mistaken for it. The marker wears off some of the case, but I make sure I get some on the back of the case in the headstamping, around the case mouth, and in the extraction groove --all where the marker won't wear off much

I have also drilled holes in the dummy rounds for ID, but if you're ever tried that, it's kind of a pain in the neck to drill through, deburr, etc, etc. without screwing up the case. Especially with just hand tools. I finally figured that was kind of overkill.

I am really paranoid about using them, though. I make sure all real ammo for the gun is in another room.

Then I make sure all real ammo is in another room

Then I make sure all real ammo is in another room.

Then I make sure all real ammo is in another room.

Get it? That's not overkill.

And when I'm done, I loudly say to myself something like "OK, I'm done with practice now.The ammo will be live from now on."

That's not overkill, either. It kinda re-boots your brain,

For .22 snap caps, I have found that it's convenient to cut away a portion of the (fired) case rim and insert them in the chamber so the extractor doesn't grab it. That way, you can hand-cycle the action for practice. The trouble there, of course, is that you need a rod to push the case out from the muzzle when you're done. And they don't last long under successive firing pin impacts. I've used commercial plastic .22 snap caps, but you have to rotate them after a few snaps, and you still usually need to push them out with a rod after a while, too.

(Incidentally, I think Midway sells a reamer to restore .22 chambers which have been badly dinged up from dry firing.)

There. Everything you ever needed to know about home-made snap caps all in one neat package.:D

Terry, 230RN

* "shtoop" is a highly technical term usually used only by professional gunsmiths.
 
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Thankyou so much for sharing this!

I will have to get some thing similar made. Ive been putting off buying snap caps because some of them are so expensive.Now this sounds affordable!
 
I have used spent 22 lr cases by turning them to a new rim area-- it's a pain but I have never found a snap cap for the 22 lr.
 
I've been reading on sites, that pencil eraser, silicone and a few others don't offer enough resistance for some guns, and not to use it.

What i do is to take a resized case, and drill through the primer pocket, then tapping it for 1/4" x 20. I then screw in a nylon bolt that you can buy several for, for less than a dollar.

Screw the nylon bolt in from the inside, (through the neck) trimming it flush with the bottom of the case. When it gets wore out, screw it in a little more and trim it flush again... If it screws in too easy, add a little silicone to the threads...

Nylon bolts offer enough resistance for even the more expensive or old guns...

DM
 
Hey - I like this. I am just starting to reload (waiting for my press to come in the mail.) I think this might be a good project as well.

Here's a thought - what about using a sharpie marker to identify the snapcaps? Would it cause any trouble if some of it rubs off? The snap caps I do own have their red tinted surface scratched and scraped and I haven't had any trouble.
 
I have used neoprene o-ring material of the approximate dia. as the primer pocket. Glue 'em in flush. They seem to last a long time and, so far, I haven't had a problem with them.
 
I think there is a reason that most commercially produced snap caps have a piece of brass that is lightly spring loaded so that the firing pin will hit the brass.

If I remember from high school physics, in an inelastic collision, MV=MV or mass x velocity of one side equals mass x velocity of the other side. Use algebra to see how increasing mass on one side affects velocity.

If you remember the 5 steel balls desk toy that swung, you could swing one at the four at rest and see one fly off the stack, do it with two and see two fly off.

I doubt anything like an eraser or hotmelt has the durometer to resist a firing pin strike with any significant deceleration.

Just my opinion,

Clutch
 
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=7076934&highlight=#post7076934

I've been reading on sites, that pencil eraser, silicone and a few others don't offer

enough resistance for some guns, and not to use it.
Click to expand...

Opinions (and guns) vary. I figure anything that will cushion the blow is better than nothing.

You just want to avoid that "shock" that occurs with an inelastic collision. See below.

I think there is a reason that most commercially produced snap caps have a piece of

brass that is lightly spring loaded so that the firing pin will hit the brass.
Click to expand...

I respectfully question the "most" part. "Most" of the ones I see readily avaialble in gun shops, ranges, etc. merely have a bit of what-looks-like RTV in the pocket. However, these aren't much good for testing functioning, since they're machined from a light alloy and don't have the same reaction to the forces of feeding, etc.

I'm sure you can design really elaborate systems to decelerate the firing pin (or hammer, etc) strike. And then you advertise the supposed inadequacy of "the other brand" of snap caps. However, in my view, silicone cement is adequate for my guns. So is the OP's method of just using a fired case, but as I mentioned, that's only good for a couple of strikes. I would probably vary my stance on this if I owned really, really expensive guns.

Here's a thought - what about using a sharpie marker to identify the snapcaps?
Click to expand...

"sharpie" = "magic marker," per post 11:

I use a magic marker (I prefer green) to mark the case so real ammo can't be mistaken for it.
Click to expand...

Incidentally, if I recall correctly, the energy involved in most firing pin blows is in the 12-24-ish inch-pound range. Feel free to correct me on that.

Terry, 230RN
 
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awesome thread this is so helpful thank you- you could also do a comparison test, at least push on a snap cap with a nail or something, get a vague idea of how much force it takes. could possibly use a torque wrench and get complicated on it, but anyway good idea to find something of reasonably similar hardness to the snap cap. There are advanced tests that type plastics on a scale of hardness, and tables of results out there as well, and adding a small bit of brass would also not be impossible
 
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