Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.
Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
Can anyone tell me how long a snap cap will last. Mutt badly needs to break in that NEW BISLEY SAA by Cimarron. The action feels kinda tight, if I'm saying that right . Maybe you have an answer Hobie, or Joe you shoot a lot from what I have read. Can't afford to use that much real ammo and I'm tired of patching holes in the walls not to mention it scares the stuff out of ME and the CATS . Mutt hasn't felt well so we don't get out to the Range enough. What other way is there
Others might disagree, but I've been led to believe that if it has the transfer bar system on it, dry firing will not be an issue......I dry fire my modern handguns that are so designed.
The Rotten Fruit Always Hits The Ground First
Proud Life Member Of:
NRA
Second Amendment Foundation
Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms
DAV
I just don't know how long a snap cap will last, and there are differences between the various makes. One can make snap caps by inserting rubber erasers in the primer cups of empty brass. Replace as necessary. In my, ummmm, less flush earlier life, that is exactly what I did. Those would last quite a while but I can't remember how many rounds. Certainly cycling the gun a lot will both break in the gun and keep Mutt occupied.
I have one caution though. NEVER have regular ammo around when using snap caps.
Sincerely,
Hobie
"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend." Robert Louis Stevenson
I've used the A-Zoom aluminum snap caps up to 500 hammer strikes before the "primer" was bashed in enough that I felt it warranted replacing. The Armsport plastic kind last about 100 hammer strikes before the "primer" and case were starting to come apart. Each gun will be somewhat different. If you get quality snap caps from Galazan or one of the English companies that make them for handgun rounds you will find the spring tension is adjustable and they will last a very long time. When the "primer" is bashed in pretty good you can reface it with a file and tighten up the spring tension to get it doing its job again. Feel better to Mr. Mutt!
BlaineG wrote:Others might disagree, but I've been led to believe that if it has the transfer bar system on it, dry firing will not be an issue......I dry fire my modern handguns that are so designed.
I was led to believe that as well. Actual practice however, has shown there to be some risk of damage tho. I've been told there's a way to tune tranfer bars for reduce the chance of breakage, but they don't come from the factory so tuned. I've broken 3 Ruger transfer bars in two different guns dry firing. At this point, I simply wouldn't trust that one wouldn't break at some inoportune moment, so choose not to dry fire them without snap caps. Some say transfer bars are cheap, and go ahead and dry fire them. Great for a range toy, not so great for a carry gun.
I had a link to a picture of 3 broken transfer bars, but I was just notified that it was too large of an image. I thought I'd posted it before, so don't understand why it won't post now. Oh well. I thought all my pics in photobucket were sized to be able to post here and other places. Guess the settings changed or I had this one wrong.
Didnt mean to sound contrary, just make the point, no gun is as indestructible as we like to think at times. Snap caps are cheap in the greater scheme of things.
Last edited by Malamute on Sun Jan 22, 2012 1:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt-
Isnt it amazing how many people post without reading the thread?
My Beretta stampedes, my Uberti '73, Winchester '86 and TTN double are NEVER dry-fired without snap caps.. I have A-Zooms for all of them.
When the "primer"gets too battered, it can be drilled out and replaced with a piece of nylon rod, or even a plug of hot glue, in an emergency...
Frankly, I know too much about crystalization and the effects of shock on hardened steel, especially springs, and I won't take the chance.. A cushioned blow is far better than slamming metal to metal... Even a live primer cushions the fall of the hammer..
Regards
Buck
Life has a way of making the foreseeable that which never happens, and the unforeseeable, that which your life becomes...
Then again, I could be wrong....All I can say is that a Single Six and several others have been dry fired prolly a couple thousand times each with no apparent problems....
The Rotten Fruit Always Hits The Ground First
Proud Life Member Of:
NRA
Second Amendment Foundation
Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms
DAV
Ruger's wire springs are a huge improvement, in that regard, but I have replaced a pile of broken Ruger transfer bars, especially in the big frame revolvers.. The owners had invariably been dry firing them, although not always when the part failed... Don't recall having replaced a TB in a rimfire single six, but most folks don't dry fire their rimfire revolvers that much...
Regards
Buck
Life has a way of making the foreseeable that which never happens, and the unforeseeable, that which your life becomes...
I've heard, and I can't speak from experience on effectiveness or longevity, that you can make snap caps from empty cases if you fill the primer pocket with caulk, hot glue (as Buck Mentioned), or basically anything that will cushion the fall of the firing pin. Definitely not as good as a good snap cap, but it's cheap and better than nothing.
"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen" - Samuel Adams
I've used a small piece of foam in my hammer guns.....placed just right below the line of sight. A wadded up piece of cotton t shirt will work as well.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
C. Cash wrote:I've used a small piece of foam in my hammer guns.....placed just right below the line of sight. A wadded up piece of cotton t shirt will work as well.
That's a good idea...!
Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws "first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
C. Cash wrote:I've used a small piece of foam in my hammer guns.....placed just right below the line of sight. A wadded up piece of cotton t shirt will work as well.
That's a good idea...!
Not really.. Such cushions may not stay in place reliably, and if they don't allow the leg of the bolt to slip over the hammer cam on the down-stroke, the gun will tie up , and you will probably have to disassemble it to get it working again...
Regards
Buck
Life has a way of making the foreseeable that which never happens, and the unforeseeable, that which your life becomes...
C. Cash wrote:I've used a small piece of foam in my hammer guns.....placed just right below the line of sight. A wadded up piece of cotton t shirt will work as well.
That's a good idea...!
Not really.. Such cushions may not stay in place reliably, and if they don't allow the leg of the bolt to slip over the hammer cam on the down-stroke, the gun will tie up , and you will probably have to disassemble it to get it working again...
I agree with Buck.
Dry firing is not a good idea on any of these guns, even the Ruger. The hammers hitting steel to steel is hard on parts. Colts and most SXS's tend to flare the pin holes or the pins, Rugers tend to break transfer bars. Rifles tend to break the FP. You need a soft metal like a primer to dampen this. But continuously dry fire into a spent primer isn’t a good idea either.
I have seen snap caps made with silicon in the primer pockets. I don’t think that is a good setup for long term use. Silicone is too soft. If you want to make snap caps that fit your gun, drill the primer pockets out to the OD of the primer, cut a piece of brass rod the same OD as the primer and long enough to extend about 2/3's into the case, then fill the case with silicon to glue the rod in. Grind the rod flush with the case head and seat and crimp a bullet, if you like. Now you have snap caps that work in your gun and will last. For the leveraction rifle just grind a portion of the rim off so the extractor doesn’t pull it out every time you lever the gun. This will work with shotguns as well.
Next best setup is to de-prime then super-glue a piece of a hard rubber “O” ring in the primer pocket then trim it flush.
Certain designs may be prohibitive for sure, and not familiar with the gun in question, but works for me and works especially well in the 94 Winchester. You just wedge it in a little and it stays put pretty well. Just a suggestion to try and YMMV.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
What Hobie & Buck said. I've taken the anvil outta spent primers, removed the dent, filled the primer pocket witth eraser material, reset the primer. I think it lasts longer than just the eraser. PLUS, if you use 5in1 blanks, they'll feed thru the levergun!
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession! AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
I have broken several transfer bars in Ruger 44s & 45s (new guns) dry firing many times while driving to and from work several days a week. After a few transfer bars breaking it soaked in on me to stop. End of breakage.
Hayabusa
. Maybe you have an answer Hobie, or Joe you shoot a lot from what I have read. Can't afford to use that much real ammo and I'm tired of patching holes in the walls not to mention it scares the stuff out of ME and the CATS 
. Mutt hasn't felt well 
so we don't get out to the Range enough. What other way is there 
Then again, I could be wrong....All I can say is that a Single Six and several others have been dry fired prolly a couple thousand times each with no apparent problems.... 
