SNAP CAPS ~ Worthwhile? Or.......

[QKShooter]

SNAP CAPS ~ Worthwhile? Or.......just a "feel good' waste of money?
Some do absolutely NOTHING to lessen or decrease the firing pin impact.
All modern center fire & nearly all modern rimfire firearms can be safely dry fired (sans Snap Caps) without any harm being done to the firearm.
So...what are they good for?
Love Them...Use Them? ~ Or "Not Worth Nada"
What Say You?
I do use them but, I'm not sure exactly why.
Are they a bogus type item
Which ones are the best?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[P95Carry]

QK - I think good snap-caps - the more expensive ones with a good cushy insert where primer goes - are worth using. I know most modern guns permit dry fire with little or no prob but always seems to me kinder to let firing pin impact - something.

Other point too - I have some 38sp dummies and these are great for speedload practice.

One more use too - get a buddy to load your mag - ''ball and dummy'' and check your shooting stability and flinch - or not - most useful.

So - worth IMO having certainly a half dozen of the main cals in snap-caps.

[rocky]

As P95Carry commented, good for training with a buddy. Or with autos good to not look at the mags and have em loaded random to simulate a malfunction or a clearing drill. Also good to show ya any recoil flinch or other bad habits.

[QKShooter]

I have been using these...see below.
And I am not really sure that they are doing a whole hell of a lot to "save" my firearms.
When I used to Dry Fire & (way back when) practice things like loading mags in total darkness I used to use regular military dummy rounds. I still have a lot dummy rounds tucked away somewhere so I am debating if I should buy any more Snap Caps or not.
I'm not sure if the ones by Pachmayr serve any function at all to lessen FP impact.

[P95Carry]

Ahhh - well just checked my stuff QK and my 45acp's look like that - with ''Traditions'' marked on them.

I'd say these are very good - solid brass ''primer'' loaded by an internal spring - these are good IMO and will take countless FP strikes with impunity.

[QKShooter]

I also have some Dummys that are lathe turned solid brass & they are oxidized & colored dark brown but they are getting really beat up since I use them to check feed & eject.

[Betty]

I have the same ones like in the picture - I use them (and spent brass) for running malfunction drills with a partner.

[Euclidean]

They have got about 4 million uses. Be creative. I'd elaborate but I am tired.

[gunthorp]

I use the same ones in the picture (echo) they're IMO the best. Besides, if I told you they were no good for nothing crap, and you broke something by not using them, I'd have to fix it fer ya.

I'll load FMJ dummies with spent primers for malf and flinch drills. I don't need a partner cause I forget all the short term stuff anyway.

[joe/OH]

I make up reloads with no powder and a spent primer. Is there any benefit the snap caps have over this method? It looks like they have some sort of spring cushioning the firing pin impact - but would this do anything a spent primer wouldn't do?

[QKShooter]

What damage (if any) could happen to a Colt .45 1911 due to extensive dry firing without using a Snap Cap?

Damage to the firing pin is not very likely.
The firing pin stop is going to get smacked hard & take the exact same beating... by the hammer...no matter what.
Enlarge the firing pin hole in the slide?
Firing pin spring damage? Nope.

Just honestly wondering.

[gunthorp]

A spent primer is so soft that after a few hits it's rebounding effect is nill. Inside my dummys I put a precisely cut dowel to avoid setback. When dry firing more than casually, I use the snap cap. If a 45 can run thousands of live rounds before tune up time with new springs, dry fire with snap caps can do no harm. Without snap caps, the pin bottoms hard, and the metal can change molecular structure (if you pound on an iron magnet it looses magnetism, you've heard of stress cracks in unradiused corners, and metal fatigue.) The firing pin hole will probably not enlarge, but the shoulder inside the slide may tighten up on the pin from the battering. All this will probably take more time than we need to worry about.

When something is so inexpensive and easy to use like snap caps, it's hard to justify extended dry fire without them.

[QKShooter]

Now that sure was worth reading and paying attention to. I can see the logic in that. Meanwhile...one thing that I did notice is that Colt Firing Pins do become Magnetic & will actually pick up small pieces of metal like steel filings.

"A spent primer is so soft that after a few hits it's rebounding effect is nill. Inside my dummys I put a precisely cut dowel to avoid setback. When dry firing more than casually, I use the snap cap. If a 45 can run thousands of live rounds before tune up time with new springs, dry fire with snap caps can do no harm. Without snap caps, the pin bottoms hard, and the metal can change molecular structure (if you pound on an iron magnet it looses magnetism, you've heard of stress cracks in unradiused corners, and metal fatigue.) The firing pin hole will probably not enlarge, but the shoulder inside the slide may tighten up on the pin from the battering. All this will probably take more time than we need to worry about.

When something is so inexpensive and easy to use like snap caps, it's hard to justify extended dry fire without them."

[F350]

I like 'em for training people; there is ABSOLUTLY no way to mix up a live round with the bright red plastic of the snap cap. As a firm believer that the best safety a gun has is between the user’s ears every little bit that aids the functioning of that safety is welcome.