Metal vs. Plastic Snap Caps

A

anonymousFolk

New member
So for training at home I picked up some 12 gauge metal and plastic snap caps.

metalsnapcaps.jpg


I practiced with the metal and the plastic snap caps for awhile. That was fun, but I noticed a few nicks, dings, and scratches in the metal snap caps.

So now I'm doubting the wisdom of the metal snap caps vs plastic.

Questions

  1. If the metal caps are getting banged around to the point where I can see finish wearing off, that doing any harm to my 870?
  2. Thoughts about putting some rem oil on the metal snap caps?
 
I'm not sure why you're getting them all dinged up ....but if there are any burrs on them / I'd probably polish them off... The metal in a snapcap is pretty soft ...but it might scratch the mag tube or the chamber on the barrel -- I suppose ...

If you're practicing over a hard floor / or concrete ....lay a big piece of cardboard or a big beach towel or something down so they aren't bouncing all over and getting dinged up ....
 
AZOOMS are "technically" (according to the maker) practice/dummy rounds, though a lot of us use them for "snap caps". They are aluminum and far and away SO much better than those plastic clear and red colored pieces of junk. If you are slamming them through the action in a practice scenario, are you letting them fly off and hit the ground/floor? That might be causing dings and scratches. I don't believe the color is anodized, as I am getting some wear on mine, but then they only drop in and out of an O/U
 
The rims came off the plastic ones after not much use. The aluminum ones have a lot more use and still work. The plastic ones suk
 
The rims came off the plastic ones after not much use.
Click to expand...

Yep - broke several myself - may be cheaper to replace but the metal is just better. BTW - if the metal dummy rounds are getting scratched - it is because they are soft enough to do so rather than tearing up your chamber or bolt face.
 
I've not done well with the snap caps for cycling them through actions. Both the metal and plastic versions chip and bust, though the metal ones last longer.

Being a reloader, I have an easy alternative. Using trash hulls of a color different from my live rounds,I load a wad and an ounce of shot, then crimp well. Either the spent primer remains in place or I deprime, then insert a whittled to size pencil eraser and trim it flat to the case head.

These last a long time, and are nigh free. It takes 10 minutes to "load" a dozen.

And they weigh about the same as a live round,thus intensifying the realism.....
 
My azooms have similar chipping to the pictures above. So far it is only the shotgun sizes and it doesn`t seem to hurt anything.

I gave up on plastic ones when one of them self-destructed in a shotgun during storage. Fortuneately, the gun was a break top so it didn`t jam up the action.

I actually use the dummy rounds as a training aid--I can practice loading in the dark, ammo switches, etc, at home without using live rounds. Also helps as a training aid for new shooters--you can do a lot at home and not hog up range time.
 
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