Dummy rounds-Dry firing

[ThumperIII]

It seems the nearly everyone that uses dummy-rounds for dry-fire or clearing drills uses the SnapCap brand. But there also seems to be many complaints about the fast wear out of the aluminum cartridges. I found an alternative that at least appears to be more durable. No brand name is listed on the site so I have to include the address:: Law Enforcement Targets, Inc. - Dummy Rounds

They have a nickel or brass case and plastic bullet insert. Reasonable price. I have not found anything similar from our site sponsors (checked there first).
Is anyone familiar with these dummy rounds and how well they hold up to use?

[jlm60195]

Funny, I just saw those last night and had the same questions.
I may order a few after the holidays

[xdmp22]

might be worth trying, but i think my girlfriend would mistake them for lipstick!

[Phoen-X]

I actually was curious and ordered a set of 5 in .40 s&w, they came in the mail yesterday but wasn't home to play with them. Will post pics later. They seemed to be made from aluminum casing and some sort of hard plastic for the rest (orange portion)

Pretty quick delivery from MN to GA. Ordered on the 21st and received it on the 23rd by postal mail.

[duketogo]

Phoen-X,

Interested to hear the report on these dummy rounds. I have a set of A-zoom snap caps with beat to hell rims (from extractor and ejector I guess) and paint chipped off. Didn't last as long as I had hoped it would and now they jam up sometimes when I am not paying attention to forcibly rack the slide to eject the rounds.

[Old4Eyes]

What is in the area that the primer occupies?

The Pachmayr and Tipton brands use a piece of metal that is supported within the case by a spring.

The A-Zoom uses a soft plastic/rubber piece.

Both methods are the shock absorber that reduces the wear and tear of the firing pin.

I can't tell from the pictures and text of the posted link that there is any device in the primer area. I have seen information of similar dummy rounds that were same size and same weight of the normal round that had nothing to protect the firing pin.

And that is what a snap cap is all about, protecting the firing pin.
If its not protecting the pin, I would call it an action proving dummy round, something to cycle through the magazine and pistol, but not something to pull the trigger on.

So Phoen-X, what's in the primer area of the one's you got? If they are protecting the pin, they are much cheaper than the caps I am using.

I also would be concerned about the color of the case. On the Pachmayr and Tipton, the majority of the case is plastic. If you pull the slide back a little it's very easy to see that you don't have a live round. On the A-Zoom, the color of the aluminum is again quite different from a normal round. Another advantage of the A-Zoom is that the primer area looks quite different than a normal round, where the Pachmayr and Tipton are similar to a normal round. This difference is useful when they are loaded into a revolver.

I bring up the case color issue because it is my habbit that after I chamber a snap cap, I do a press check to assure for the second time to prove I've got a dummy round. I then point in a safe area and pull the trigger. I then continue with my practice.

After beating on one snap cap for a while, I cycle the slide, bringing in another snap cap and repeat the press check again. Since I am not fully cycling the slide I am depending on the appearance of the case to verify I've got a dummy round chambered. If I had to depend visual inspection of the bullet portion of the round I'd be pulling the slide further back, possibly to the point of ejecting the round.

But that's just my method of using snap caps.

[109ace]

I have some 5.56 training rounds that I bought from that site and there is nothing for the firing pin to strike. There is a orange piece of plastic that runs the length of the casing that supports the fake bullet but the piece for the primer is hollowed out. They are good for function testing but not for dry firing, it will be the same as having nothing in there.

[Myk9noseknows]

I use A-ZOOM brand and it's the answer to most of the snap cap brand issues

They are machined metal (i think aluminum) and instead of a brass "primer", they use a silicone type of rubber material. I had some Snap Caps that after a few trips, the firing pin indentation was so bad, the firing pin in the pistol was no longer making contact. I think they used brass, dumb on their part because it's so soft, it just dents in and stays dented (or maybe a marketing ploy so you have to just buy more)

The silicone fixes that issue and is very durable to last nearly a lifetime. The aluminum is stronger than the brass as well at the base of the cartridge so you do not get more damage from your extractor 'clawing' away at your dummy case. These A-Zoom dummy rounds have outlasted the snap cap brand by at least 100x times over.

They are a strange red/rust color, no way of mistaking them for a live rounds. Not too expensive either. So far, the best I've found and it's what I use and suggest to all LEO and Civi's I meet who do either a little or lot of work that require a dummy round.

[duketogo]

Originally Posted by 109ace

I have some 5.56 training rounds that I bought from that site and there is nothing for the firing pin to strike. There is a orange piece of plastic that runs the length of the casing that supports the fake bullet but the piece for the primer is hollowed out. They are good for function testing but not for dry firing, it will be the same as having nothing in there.

Thank you for the info. If that's the case, I'm going to stick to my Azoom snap caps.

[agalindo]

Originally Posted by Phoen-X

Finally got some time playing with some and took a couple pics.

You have to host the pics at a site like imageshack or photobucket. The links you posted don't work.