Snap caps - commercial or home made

T

Tuzo

New member
Snap caps are a bit expensive and opinions abound about their utility and need. What interests me is home made snap caps. The common solution is a spent, deprimed, and sized case with the primer pocket filled with pencil eraser material. Sounds fine but it is probably non-effective because eraser material is far softer than primer metal. Commercial snap caps seems to be filled with urathane which is stiffer than eraser material and provides adequate firing pin cushioning. Urathane is commonly used as bushings in high end auto suspensions, skate board wheels, and other applications. Instead of eraser material, a discarded skateboard wheel may be used to fabricate a more effective snap cap.

Sound reasonable?
 
Sorry about the spelling

Urathane should read urethane. My polymer knowledge is not as knowledgable as it used to be.
 
Actually, a thick brass disc glued in with a thin layer of silicone will work best. Urethane and pencil erasers will not cushion the firing pin to any degree.
 
ive made snap caps by filling the primer hole with epoxy, and silicone.

they worked ok.

for my carry guns i use them alot so i buy the real ones.
 
I don't use snap caps, but I suppose you could pry the anvil out of a spent primer, fill it with lead or solder and then use it as a dummy primer in a dummy round. Drill a hole through both sides so that it is easily identified. Or just build dummy rounds with no primer at all if your gun can be dry fired.
 
Epoxy and silicone won't work. As I said-Using a brass disc glued in the primer pocket with silicone will give the proper rebound. The fake primer should be almost as deep as the pocket, with just a tiny bit of silicone underneath.
 
I would think a piece of tire rubber glued in the primer pocket would work well. Should provide enough cushion and resistance. Take a sharpie and color the brass to make it stand out from your ammo.
 
You spend hundreds of dollars for a fine weapon then nickle and dime the snap caps with ereasers, a epoxy filler with a spent case or use BMS5-95 aircraft seal in the case.
 
Firearms value

Good reasoning concerning the nickel and dime aspect of snap caps. But many of us enjoy the innovation side of firearms. Hence such things as reloading, stock refinishing, and trigger tweaking. Home made snap caps is just another factor that contributes to the enjoyment of firearms.
 
I have been thinking about making my own lately. I was thinking about putting in pencil eraser with a metal disk on top of it.
 
Please let me explain: RUBBER OF ANY KIND WON'T WORK!
The firing pin will simply pierce it, and it will have minimal cushion effect.
 
simple solution

Why not just leave the spent primer in the case and use it. After all, isnt that what was in it to begain with and it worked.
 
aa5

Coz probably the 3rd strike, the pin goes thru the spent primer and it becomes useless.

I have had some success making my own snappers, by when I am molding ball or projectiles, I fill the case heads on my split cases (44 mag) with lead and file them about level when hard. The pin will dig a hole after a dozen or so strikes, move onto the next one, and next time you mold, re fill them with lead :D

When I can find some real spring type snappers, I will buy them tho, saves all the BS in making your own.... they cant be that expensive (here in Oz? Dunno, probably)

However, lead has worked for me :D
 
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