stevethevanman Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 I always thought that snap caps were something to stop the firing pin from damaging it self, but yesterday I was told that you are better of dry firing the gun and that snap caps actually harm firing pins , is this true which is better dry firing or snap caps, opnions please.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catamong Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Don't bother with snap caps, throw them away or better still, sell them to some mug on e-bay. They are useless bits of metal designed to con newbies to the sport of shooting. Cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevethevanman Posted July 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Don't bother with snap caps, throw them away or better still, sell them to some mug on e-bay. They are useless bits of metal designed to con newbies to the sport of shooting. Cat. I was always told dry firing was bad and you should have some snap caps in the chamber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Pro's and con's for their use, been covered on here heavily before, do some dearching and you should find them. I wouldn't quite call them useless, I would use them in old shotguns that weren't designed to be stored with their firing pin springs under compression and also for dry firing/checking your ejection mechanisms. Other than that I consider them useless! :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Don't bother with snap caps, throw them away or better still, sell them to some mug on e-bay. They are useless bits of metal designed to con newbies to the sport of shooting. Cat. I was always told dry firing was bad and you should have some snao caps in the chamber. Quite right too Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catamong Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 I don't know of any experienced shooter that uses them. Cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 I don't know of any experienced shooter that uses them. Cat. I do Oly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGalway Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Don't waste your money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevethevanman Posted July 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Just wondering as I got some for free yestersday...Thanks for the advice Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 No worries Steve, like I say, if you have old guns then I would store them with the aid of snap caps, if not borrow some if you ever want to dry fire your gun/check your ejection mechanism. This is what I do as I don't have any old guns to warrant purchasing a set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throdgrain Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 They are useful for checking the mechanism in a pump action, otherwise totally useless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daitai Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 what about checking ejection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 if you use the gun once a week no need for snap caps.save your money and you should never dry fire a gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markio Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 what about checking ejection You can still do that dry firing though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john faul Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 hi steve all the use a snap is good for is taking the pressure of vee springs in such guns as perazzis or kemens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 what about checking ejection You can still do that dry firing though? No, you can break your firing pins with nothing to soak up the impact Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mry716 Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 The shock of a firing pin hitting its stop point is enough to break the nose especially with the Spanish type s/s that have Disc Set Strikers. These are rarely bored centrally so often the pins need to be bent (nose to shank) to actually pass through to hit the cartridge. And I mean often - perhaps 1 in 5 pins is off line to a greater or lesser extent. These guns are particularly prone to breaking the nose if dry fired. Other guns, be they O/U or S/S, English or foreign will be equally likely to break a pin if the pin hasn't been hardened correctly. They should have a hard shank end where the tumbler hits to save it being hammered into a mushroom shape but a soft nose. If the hardness goes too far forward the pin nose will easily break off. Overall it is bad practice to dry fire any shotgun as most pins are made to extend further than they need to just fire the primer and are never made to have to stop on their own shoulder. To do so compresses the pin return spring (if they have one) to the point that they can shatter simply because they would never compress it as much if restriced by a cartridge case primer or if they have no return spring, even hammer the inside of the action or disc to the point of damage. A set of snap caps renewed every 200-300 firings (unless the inset can be replaced) is something I always use and recomend others to do the same. They allow the pin to hit a hardish (brass usually) point like the primer that is sprung loaded so stopping the movement without significant shock. The minor inconvenience of using them helps avoid the odd unexpected breakage half way thorugh a 'best' day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 In both Beretta owners manuals supplied with my guns, it says to use them - so I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagsy Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Has anyone actually experienced a pin breaking or know of someone who has? I tend to use them but have never met anyone who has had any problems without them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webber Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Yes my mate has a Lanber sporter and he has gone throuigh a couple of sets of firing pins. He does not use snap caps. I do use snap caps. I am an engineer, and can therefore appreciate the benefits and reasoning behind them, despite what some others may say. I also shoot Beretta guns, which are supererior to Lanber. This subject has been covered extensiveley over the years. I recall a post that I did some years ago, where my snap caps wrecked my dads coffee table, its well worth a search. webber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webber Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 I have copied this post from may 2004, not much changes on here. Enjoy! RTR The first set of snaps that I purchased were the clear plastic type, they worked fine, untill I accidentally trod on one, and then the other whilst trying to pick them up, haveing ejected them across the dining room. The next set that I bought were of the heavy brass variety, these still work fine, but come with a warning from me! Here comes a tale. Although my father is now blind, that has not always been the case, and he can still appreciate good engineering when he feels it. So a couple of years ago I took a new shot gun that I had bought to my dads for him to give the gun the once over. I removed the gun from its slip, and broke the gun as is safe custom and practice. In an instant I could see what was going to happen, but was powerless to do anything. As the gun opened these two lumps of brass were hurled out of the chambers, straight for dads glass coffee table. No one would expect anything other than a bulls eye. Now in St. Helens, a lump of glass is usually just that; but not this one oh no! Dad had been a project and design engineer for Pilkingtons the glass manufacturers. One of their value added projects from donkeys years ago was glass furnicture. It never really caught on at the time, and youve guessed it, dads table was a prototype, one of its kind. Probably not worth much on the antiques road show, but priceless to dad. What can you say? He thanked me for bringing my new aquisition in very colourful language, the type that is familiar to most engineers who hail from the shop floor, and advised me that if he could see my neck he would wrap the gun round it! I do however digress. There are aluminium snaps, which I do not have, however I would assume that their life span would be great, and the distance travelled equally so. As I have stated in a previous post, the type that I now favour are an aluminium cap attached to a lambswool mop. They work great and the mop not only prevents the snap from being launched across the rooom, but also soakes up any residue oil that may run down the barrell destined for the precious wood. I have not seen this type of mop on sale in the Uk. I bought my last set from Gamamiel in the USA, but I fear that I can no longer recommend this company as they penalise export customers. I have checked on the Cabelas site and they do offer a similar version, but with brass caps, not aluminium. I feel that good quality caps will last a shooter a life time. I know that there has been mention in this string as to not useing snaps, and that, like many other matters to do with shooting comes down to personal choice. I therefore choose to utilise my vast knowlwdge of matters engineering, and a modecome of common sence, and use snap caps, just in case! webber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Master Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Is it true that if a snap cap is used it will take the pressure off the firing pins but if it is an ejector using a snap cap will only put pressure on the ejector springs if stored in a 'fired' state? I can see their use though on older non ejecting guns. FM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeboy Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 They are useful for checking the mechanism in a pump action, otherwise totally useless :( yep, thats my opinion too. totally unnecessary in modern guns and can damage pins rather than protect. You would need to dry fire your gun countless times to possibly cause harm. I wouldn't waste my time or money with them again. Even the gunsmith says they are unnescessary. Leeboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mry716 Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 "totally unnecessary in modern guns and can damage pins rather than protect." Please explain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeboy Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 I was told by the gunsmith they were not nescessary, I didn't ask why. As for the pins, I have had constant trouble with the firing pins becomming damaged on my Silver Pig III and have had to have them replaced several times. The geezer at GMK said to stop using the snap caps as they were probably the culprit. I'm not an expert or a gun smith, I just do as I'm told by those people who are and who's advise I thought was sensible to take. Leeboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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