Punt Gun Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 Hi All I have a new Silver Pigeon and a couple weeks ago was at a clay shoot, where the guys were ejecting snap caps. I asked about these and was told that they are needed. When I asked the advice on this subject with the gentleman that I shoot with, he told me that with new guns they are not needed. I bought a set of snap caps, should I use them or not, what's best for my gun? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 Not required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 As above! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 save your money.dont buy them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maidment78 Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 Are you saying not required as you can leave the gun with the hammers cocked and the springs not being weakend or are you saying you can dry fire the gun without snap caps? I have an old gun so use them but this has me intrieged (like the wife will ever let me get a new toy,,,) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 Are you saying not required as you can leave the gun with the hammers cocked and the springs not being weakend or are you saying you can dry fire the gun without snap caps? I have an old gun so use them but this has me intrieged (like the wife will ever let me get a new toy,,,) Never dry fire without snap caps (or a cartridge). I use them because they probably do not good, but definitely do not harm! You've bought them, use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 (edited) Haha, this old chesnut. Go on. Load a gun in your house or back garden. Even though it's just a snap cap, people do make mistakes and end up with holes in their ceiling. Secondly, you can get yourself in a fair bit of trouble if you are seen 'loading' a shotgun in your garden - I once got given a shotgun by my old boss and when I pulled it out the slip and opened it to check it, there were two snap caps in the breech. My work colleagues were genuinely frightened, as they looked like real cartridges, from just 10 feet, so imagine what a neighbour would think. What hasn't been said, which usually crops up in these threads is this question; "When not using your car, do you jack it up off its wheels to relieve the pressure on the suspension?" My oldest shotgun is 10 years old, bought it from new and I've never left a snap cap in it. It still works fine, so I think your gun will be fine. Look on the bright side; if it does break because of not using snap caps, you'll at least know you bought a **** gun! (you'll get a refund) EDIT: I've just seen that you've got a silver pigeon. I have two and there is no chance you'll do any damage by not using snap caps. Edited July 25, 2010 by Billy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bb Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 Never dry fire without snap caps (or a cartridge). I use them because they probably do not good, but definitely do not harm! You've bought them, use them. Also, the handbook for my 325 says to use them. With reference to frightening people, after cleaning the gun I connect the barrels with snap caps in to the stock then fire both. Open the gun and remove the caps, close the gun then, and only then, replace the fore end; one closed gun with springs relieved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 With reference to frightening people, after cleaning the gun I connect the barrels with snap caps in to the stock then fire both. Open the gun and remove the caps, close the gun then, and only then, replace the fore end; one closed gun with springs relieved. Springs relieved from what, being under compression? Spring steel is made to return to its original state, even after severe bending or compression. I can't see why you'd go to such lengths to protect these. It sounds like a complete hassle to do every time you finish shooting. How many topics have you seen on here with someone complaining about a firing pin hammer spring problem? I've seen more posts on the inertia system than that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 And also you relieve the mainspring pressure and load up the ejector system. As Billy says how often do you jack your car up to relieve the suspension or remove the cylinder head to relieve the valve springs? They are a waste of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 A mainspring is better under pressure than a ejector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 A mainspring is better under pressure than a ejector. I'd forgotten about the ejector springs. They're the ones under a huge amount of pressure all the time. Does the faffing around at the end of the day include sliding the electors out and popping the springs into a jiffy bag, Chris? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicW Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 If snapcaps are an essential item,why don't all the shotguns on gunshop shelves have them in ? Vic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punt Gun Posted July 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 I have a set of snap caps for sale, Good quality (Bisley) any takers bargain at £8.00 or I will swap them for a couple of boxes of cartridges Another hours work for sweet fa If snapcaps are an essential item,why don't all the shotguns on gunshop shelves have them in ? Vic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bb Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 I'd forgotten about the ejector springs. They're the ones under a huge amount of pressure all the time. Does the faffing around at the end of the day include sliding the electors out and popping the springs into a jiffy bag, Chris? Gentlemen I would suggest that nobody will ever agree about this topic. Even I'm not certain! Could I suggest to the site managers that any future threads be merged into one, this topic appears to raise its (ugly) head every couple of months with predictable yes/no responses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 Gentlemen I would suggest that nobody will ever agree about this topic. Even I'm not certain! Could I suggest to the site managers that any future threads be merged into one, this topic appears to raise its (ugly) head every couple of months with predictable yes/no responses. The vast majority of topics would have to be merged then. It's just that some people asking the question either don't search the forum, or want to word it their way. This topic probably comes up once every 2-3 months. Hardly a need to merge all, especially as the subject of .22LR vs .17HMR is asked every other day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmaxphil Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 just keep them for dry firing at home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjimlad Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 Snap caps are chiefly useful for checking ejector timing and trigger pulls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 Many years ago I always used snap caps, it was the thing you were taught to do, I still think there may be some mileage in using them for MUCH older guns. In more recent times, the last 20 odd years, I have purchased a few Brand new shotguns, they have seldom seen snap caps (never, in the case of my semis) and still work fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THAIBOXER Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 snap caps are used to protect the firing pins not the springs. if the firing pin keeps bottoming out with no resistance it can snap. or so im told. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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