# Homemade snap caps



## kornesque (Oct 8, 2008)

Pretty much all the theory is borrowed from an AGI mini-lesson I received recently. I've heard plenty of ideas to reduce dry fire shock, but having an actual snap cap is great for running general malfunction drills. Outstanding idea for those who prefer to dry fire into a load. Think safety EVERY step of the way if you elect to go this route.

1) Bullet a brass WITHOUT the primer AND without powder.
***OPTIONAL*** - You can also use a factory load. Extra safety precautions must be followed in this case. Soak the round in fresh water for AT LEAST 24hrs to ruin the primer. Taking care to minimize damage to the bullet and brass, separate the bullet and brass using NON-SPARKING tools. Empty the powder in a safe location, and use a small punch to remove the primer. Re-bullet the brass and continue.

2) Using a box cutter, scapel or any precision cutting tool, shape a pencil eraser or piece of nylon into a size that will fit into the empty primer pocket. Start large and cut down to size; some "squishing" and patience may be required. Once it's seated well, cut pretty much flush. 
No patience? I also determined pieces of glue stick and a properly sized wad of leather (fits in primer pocket) melted together work great. For lack of better words, finish with a small "blob" protruding from the primer pocket, comparable in dimension to the visible portion of the human eyeball in the socket (see image). This will allow the firing pin to take up more material. Heat it and cool it with open flame a good few times to help it firm up. If it ever starts wearing down, a few seconds with a lighter seems to restore the origianl "blob" shape".

3) Make sure this dummy is easily distinguishable from live rounds. Drill holes through the case at various points (sand down smooth), apply permanant marker, or what not.

4) Enjoy. The only real benefit of real snaps over these is the real ones will prevent the minor copper/lead inherent to cycling these guys repeatedly.

If anyone else has any tips to improve these, please add. Hope this comes in handy for some.


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## Growler67 (Sep 8, 2008)

Nice job. I might shoot a very light coat of polyurethane or something after coloring it.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

*Kornesque;*
I like your tag line: "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast."
My shooting coach always said something very similar: "Smooth is faster than fast."
I tell anybody I happen to coach, "Slow practice makes you smooth, and smoothness makes you quick."


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## kornesque (Oct 8, 2008)

Steve, I've heard it many ways also. This is what our MLE instructors made us belt out after every class, and really helped get the point in our heads. Well, they also drilled us with "PAIN IS GOOD, EXTREME PAIN IS BETTER, CONSTANT PAIN IS BAD.", and unfortunately we had to get that point as well. :mrgreen:


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