A friend has a new.45 he wants to dry fire. It’s a HiPoint and he says the manual says not to dry fire. Is it worth a trip to the store for snap caps for what will probably be 20 dry fire getting used to the gun? Lots of once fired.45 brass laying around.
Snap caps vs empty brass?
- Thread starter ned
- Start date
Some guys prefer snap caps, because they're usually a different color than live rounds, which is definitely a safety feature. I have heard of people using brass cases, but they usually mention punching the spent primer out and filling the primer pocket with silicone caulk, or some other tough, resilient material. If it was me, I would go with commercial snap caps.
As always, IMHO, FWIW, YMMV, etc.
Empty brass the primer is not striking anything. Thats one way they break the firing pin. Snap Caps prevent that. There are different types, my opinion is the best are the ones with rubber in place of a primer. The full plastic type gets the primer hit and may keep hitting further dry fires into the same hole/dent made by the 1st, so not sure how well they do for repeated use. The all plastic ones will also break off the rim at some point when used in semi autos.
Always have used snap caps. Have a set for every caliber I own, except .22
OP
Glad I asked. Thanks again RF!
Empty case will work fine, if you punch out the fired primer and fill the hole with silicone caulk or a pencil eraser.
contender
Ruger Guru
As a Hunter Safety Instructor,, I like to say to my students; "Get a few snap caps. They are inexpensive, and look very different than live ammo. SAFETY FIRST,, and by using real snap caps,, you will learn many skills while being safe!"
Those things are designed to be hit repeatedly and still work. Inexpensive insurance for the gun, AND for the safety aspect.
Those things are designed to be hit repeatedly and still work. Inexpensive insurance for the gun, AND for the safety aspect.
Amazon sells them so you don’t even have to go to the store!
Agree with above also in that they look very different from any sort of brass ammo, live or otherwise.
Agree with above also in that they look very different from any sort of brass ammo, live or otherwise.
One of the suggestions I just learned that a lot of folks do with trying to smooth out a trigger is with a hammer fired handgun put one of those foam ear plugs between the hammer and rear of the firing pin.....
freakindawgen
Blackhawk
2023. No flying cars, even our movies put us past where we are at the moment. All I want are snapcaps that produce recoil for chosen round. Be good for sight control on the heavy hitters! 
contender
Ruger Guru
"All I want are snapcaps that produce recoil for chosen round"
That's called "ammo!" :D
That's called "ammo!" :D
the sil;icone in the primer pocket is just fine, absorb the pin hit,,and best to use the empty brass that came out of THAT gun , so as to not hinder "extraction"...this remnds me of when at the range courses at times the instructor put one of the 'spent cases in a revolver, the shooter NOT knowing, just to watch their reaction , if and when they "flinch" when the round does NOT go off....I've seen folks even squint their eyes shut in anticipation, with the flinch.......yes "Practice, practice, practice......":cool:;)
You beat me to it! ;) :LOL:
I've been doing that myself, for years: include a dummy round in every cylinder, give it a spin, and then start shooting. Definitely reveals any flinching !
:)
caryc
Hawkeye
If you are just trying to smooth out the trigger by wear, you don't need any padding. Just hold the gun as in the picture below. You can pull the trigger and recock the hammer with your thumb. The hammer does not need to fall onto the firing pin or transfer bar. One can sit and do this like a hundred times just during a program commercial.
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Well, Contender beat me to it. I've been using snap caps for years, and tend to leave them in the gun. If I were using spent brass, it would be pretty easy to 'assume' the brass in the gun is spent brass from your practice session. The different color makes it obvious what you have in there.
Me too!
Cal30 1906
Single-Sixer
Me too especially when teaching new shooters and some old shooters too.
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2014
- Messages
- 589
Spend $15 and buy Tipton Snap Caps off Amazon. They are spring loaded at the primer. I don't want to train myself to be looking at brass for dry fire practice. I use the yellow #4 wall anchors for .22-just rotate the striking point.
DocAriel
GP100
Jerry Miculek mentioned the foam ear plug thing too, so I tried it and spent a good half hour picking out the tiny shreds later! I blame the transfer bar.
realisticsnapcaps.com makes very pretty ones in every possible caliber (no 22s of course)
Tipton snaps are what I use. No chance of confusing it with real ammo, cycles perfectly and does what it’s supposed to do.
Quick Draw
Bearcat
Yep those #4-6 yellow wall anchors do work well.
