Snap Cap in 870

R

RBK

New member
I tried a snap cap [Armsport Inc. with the spring inside] and it does not appear to function. That is to say, after loading and pointing the muzzle in a safe direction, you pull the trigger and no "click". In fact, nothing but mush throughout the entire trigger travel.
Any ideas? OR for that matter, is it OK to dry-fire the 870 when putting it away unloaded?
 
Snap Cap

I use them all the time in my 870's. I always get a click. Are you sure the cap was all the way into the chamber?
Does the trigger sound normal when you dry fire it? The cap should not affect the trigger pull, sounds like something is amiss here.

I use caps manufactured by MTM, they are black lexan and have yellow primer cap. They work flawlessly in my 870's and are usefull in practicing pumping the action as they feed easily through the magazine.


Geoff Ross
 
Dryfire

Geoff-
There is one thing I have noticed, the snap cap is about
1/2 inch shorter than my usual shell, which is 2 3/4". This may have something to do with it [engaging?].
I'm clueless. It chambers OK.
Without it, it dryfires OK, a pronounced "snap" of the trigger.

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Oh well..... 2 billion Chinese could care less!
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Being shorter should have no effect on it engaging, the bolt should be grabbing the snap-cap anyhow.

But, the mushy feel instead of the pronounced snap.. I suppose if the spring in the snap-cap was sufficiently powerful, the firing pin couldn't slam out like it should..

But, frankly, I have no clue ;)
 
Snap Caps

One problem might be that the snap cap is thicker than the chamber. The cap may not be seating all the way in thus causing a slight gap between the bolt and the chamber rim.

I had a problem with 20 ga Armsport snap caps in a Ruger 20 ga O/U. They were so tight when I tried to eject the caps the first time I used them the ejectors ripped off the rim of the cap!

I still have the caps but the ruger is gone, they work fine in my new 20 ga O/U as long as I remember to load the remaining part of the rim to the ejector:)

I would suggest looking for a package of the MTM caps. They come in blister packs of three and are slick and tough because they are made of lexan. They work fine in my 870s and they are cheaper than the Armsport caps.

If the gun dry fires OK without the caps then the caps must be causing the problem. A stiff primer spring would not cause a mushy trigger pull, but not having the bolt fully closed might.

My $.02

Geoff Ross
 
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