Ale Golem
Member
I know that a lot of people use snap caps in their semi-auto pistols to prevent damage with excessive dry firing but is the same precaution recommended for a revolver?
Snap Caps
- Thread starter Ale Golem
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On my part, yes!
They help prevent the firing pin from battering the hole in the breech face, and mashing the spring in a frame-mounted firing pin assembly. While problems caused by not using snap caps are rare, why take a chance, especially if the revolver might be used as a defensive weapon? Consider them to be good insurance.
They help prevent the firing pin from battering the hole in the breech face, and mashing the spring in a frame-mounted firing pin assembly. While problems caused by not using snap caps are rare, why take a chance, especially if the revolver might be used as a defensive weapon? Consider them to be good insurance.
DaisyCutter
Member
I've never used snap caps.
Sometimes I'll just use spent cases. Sometimes nothing.
Sometimes I'll just use spent cases. Sometimes nothing.
Driftwood Johnson
Member
Howdy
If you are going to use spent cases you might as well use nothing.
A spent primer will conform to the shape of the firing pin after two or three strikes. After that it provides no cushioning for the firing pin at all.
It's kind of like the guy who fell off a tall building and about halfway down was heard to say, 'so far so good'. Just like the guy who fell off the building, it ain't the fall that hurts, it's the short stop at the end. When a hammer slams into the frame of a gun, it comes to an abrupt stop. In terms of G forces, they approach infinity. When the hammer slams to a stop, anything attached to it will want to keep right on going. If you have a slim, pointy firing pin, such as on the hammer of a 2nd Gen Colt, or clone, and most S7W revolvers, the firing pin wants to keep right on going. What can happen is over time, the metal sets up microscopic stress fractures. Everything is fine until one day the tip of the firing pin keeps right on going. That's what a snap cap is designed to do. It cushions the tip of the firing pin and slows it down just enough that the G forces on it are reduced to a manageable level.
Personally, I do not dry fire my guns very much. I certainly don't do any 'dry fire practice'. But I really cringe every time I drop a hammer on an empty chamber. With a revolver, there is not much reason to do that, you can just let the hammer down lightly with your thumb. On a Semi-Auto, I don't like to store them for a long time with the hammer cocked. If they don't have an external hammer that I can ease down, I put a snap cap in and pull the trigger on it before storing the gun.
My favorite Trap gun is a Winchester Model 12 made in 1923. I always put a snap cap in it and pull the trigger before putting it away.
If I was going to be doing much dry fire, you can bet I would be using snap caps. No matter what type of gun it was.
If you are going to use spent cases you might as well use nothing.
A spent primer will conform to the shape of the firing pin after two or three strikes. After that it provides no cushioning for the firing pin at all.
It's kind of like the guy who fell off a tall building and about halfway down was heard to say, 'so far so good'. Just like the guy who fell off the building, it ain't the fall that hurts, it's the short stop at the end. When a hammer slams into the frame of a gun, it comes to an abrupt stop. In terms of G forces, they approach infinity. When the hammer slams to a stop, anything attached to it will want to keep right on going. If you have a slim, pointy firing pin, such as on the hammer of a 2nd Gen Colt, or clone, and most S7W revolvers, the firing pin wants to keep right on going. What can happen is over time, the metal sets up microscopic stress fractures. Everything is fine until one day the tip of the firing pin keeps right on going. That's what a snap cap is designed to do. It cushions the tip of the firing pin and slows it down just enough that the G forces on it are reduced to a manageable level.
Personally, I do not dry fire my guns very much. I certainly don't do any 'dry fire practice'. But I really cringe every time I drop a hammer on an empty chamber. With a revolver, there is not much reason to do that, you can just let the hammer down lightly with your thumb. On a Semi-Auto, I don't like to store them for a long time with the hammer cocked. If they don't have an external hammer that I can ease down, I put a snap cap in and pull the trigger on it before storing the gun.
My favorite Trap gun is a Winchester Model 12 made in 1923. I always put a snap cap in it and pull the trigger before putting it away.
If I was going to be doing much dry fire, you can bet I would be using snap caps. No matter what type of gun it was.
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DaisyCutter
Member
The pin portion of the hammer doesn't likely have the inertia required to generate stresses high enough to cause a low cycle fatigue separation due to dry firing, assuming it's machined cleanly from appropriate material with an appropriate heat treat.
BTW, fracture means the part has separated, not to be confused with a crack.
#1
In the basic sense, loading and unloading a component in a manner that exceeds the mechanical properties of the design can cause fatigue cracks to originate. Typically they originate in a weak area, with a tight radius, deep machine groove, grain structure irregularity or similar anomaly or combination of anomalies. Each cycle advances the crack front. The crack keeps growing until the remaining intact cross section can't withstand the load, at which time the crack goes critical and you have a fracture (or separation).
Firearm component failures due to fatigue would generally be low cycle fatigue, due to the higher amplitude loading, versus high cycle fatigue which is more commonly associated with vibration and lower amplitude higher frequency loading.
I once owned a Charles Daly 12ga semi auto, which experienced a low cycle fatigue failure of the bolt. The bolt was made from some kind of pot metal (high zinc content) with a quicky surface treatment to aid against wear. There were coarse machine grooves in one of the radii which made a perfect recipe for a LCF separation. I sent Charles Daly the shotgun and half the fracture. They sent me a new shotgun. Because the failure was a due to a poor design, and would inevitably occur again, I exchanged that shotgun for store credit toward a Browning Gold. Web forums get purged, so this is the only remnants of proof I could find: http://forums.officer.com/archive/index.php/t-116304.html 5th post down.
At any rate, I think I have a decent understanding of what I'm doing to my guns.
#2
My revolver is a Ruger Superblackhawk. Unlike the 130+ year old Colt design you mentioned, it's firing pin is not attached to the hammer. Additionally, it's metallurgy is superior to that of the 1870s. It looks to me like the hammer contacts the frame every time it drops. Plus, if it can handle loads generating 1200ft-lbs of energy, then I reckon it can handle some dry firing. Lastly, Ruger endorses dry firing.
gamestalker
member
I've been dry firing all my CF weapons for about 45 yrs. and have yet to break a FP, or any other part for that matter. On another note, I would never dry fire a rim fire weapon. I had several FP breaks, and destroyed a chamber on a Marlin model 60 also.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
While the manufacturers tell you centerfire revolvers can be dry fired I don't think they meant 500 times in a row. If you dry fire the revolver a handful of times no big deal but if you're going to practice with multiple trigger pulls I highly recommend the use of snap caps. Even if it's not necessary what harm can they do but if those who tell you not to bother, if they are wrong you have a lot to lose...
oldfool
Member
No need for a fire extinguisher until your house catches on fire, or health insurance until you are old and sick, or car insurance until after the accident, or life insurance until after you die. Analyzing the odds is always an optional alternative.
I don't woory about infrequently dropping the hammer on an empty chamber in any firearm, but I see no need to make a deliberate habit of it, either. My left thumb works just fine when dropping a revolver hammer on an empty chamber, always has.
Needed or not, a quality set of snap caps is mighty cheap compared to the live ammo round counts on my guns. I simply see no practical good reason to avoid using them.
Some people do 10s of thousands of rounds of dry fire practice, some do none. I do some, and I use good snap caps, and I inspect the snap caps any time I start a session. Heck, I even buy gun cleaning tools, solvents, and lubricants every once in a while too. Hasn't hurt any of mine yet, go figure. No statistical study required for me.
your guns, your choice
but use snap caps if you are dry firing mine
I don't woory about infrequently dropping the hammer on an empty chamber in any firearm, but I see no need to make a deliberate habit of it, either. My left thumb works just fine when dropping a revolver hammer on an empty chamber, always has.
Needed or not, a quality set of snap caps is mighty cheap compared to the live ammo round counts on my guns. I simply see no practical good reason to avoid using them.
Some people do 10s of thousands of rounds of dry fire practice, some do none. I do some, and I use good snap caps, and I inspect the snap caps any time I start a session. Heck, I even buy gun cleaning tools, solvents, and lubricants every once in a while too. Hasn't hurt any of mine yet, go figure. No statistical study required for me.
your guns, your choice
but use snap caps if you are dry firing mine
MrDig
Member
I use them on all my revolvers, the real problem is they don't quite prepare you for 44 magnum 240 gr SJHP now do they
rswartsell
Member
A-Zoom........ especially with Colts. I believe.
sohcgt2
Member
I have to agree with oldfool, the cost of snap caps compared to the cost of repair or replacement makes the use of snap caps a no brainer to me. Then again I have insurance on all the rest of my gear.
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