Do snap caps wear out?

[Turfweazel]

I got a set of snap caps when I bought my px4 sub compact for practice. One of them the gummy primer area has broken and fallen apart. Is this a normal thing or should I try to return it? I would guess under 200 shots on that cap so not like I have had it for years.

Andy

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Did you get snap caps or dummy rounds? There's a difference. Brand matters, too. Dummy rounds aren't made for repeated snap cap dry fires, but do induce the occasionally failure to fire or to intentionally set up double feeds so you can practice malfunction drills. Snap caps are usually spring loaded and will hold up much better to repeated dry fires.

 

[sloughfoot]

Nothing is bullet proof. Everything fails. Toss it in the garbage and buy a new one. They don't have a guarantee do they? You can always try to return it, who knows....

 

[actaeon277]

I know my .22 snap caps only last a while.

 

[seldon14]

I got a set of snap caps when I bought my px4 sub compact for practice. One of them the gummy primer area has broken and fallen apart. Is this a normal thing or should I try to return it? I would guess under 200 shots on that cap so not like I have had it for years.

Andy

I wouldn't worry about it. Dry firing the PX4 shouldn't hurt it.

 

[cosermann]

I've had the Pachmayr ones that are plastic bodies with a brass rim just fall apart after a while (the plastic bits separate from the metal bits). Never had a problem with the Azooms.

 

[ol' poke]

I've had the Pachmayr ones that are plastic bodies with a brass rim just fall apart after a while (the plastic bits separate from the metal bits). Never had a problem with the Azooms.

^^ This! I had some for 12 guage, and they came apart fairly quickly. I'll stick with a-zooms.

ol' poke

 

[Turfweazel]

I threw away the package and I don't remember what brand they are. I got them at Gander Mountian they are red aluminum and have a clear gummy primer area. I have heard that dry firing is ok and dry firing is bad how can you tell if it is or not. I have had long guns for a long time now but this is my first handgun I guess I am just trying to keep it nice.

Andy

 

[Audie Murphy]

I threw away the package and I don't remember what brand they are. I got them at Gander Mountian they are red aluminum and have a clear gummy primer area. I have heard that dry firing is ok and dry firing is bad how can you tell if it is or not. I have had long guns for a long time now but this is my first handgun I guess I am just trying to keep it nice.

Andy

Sounds like azoom to me

 

[Turfweazel]

Oh hey there it is written on the bottom yes they are A-zoom sorry.

Andy

 

[indybuell]

If it has a billet made firing pin, you should be fine. You can have issues with a cast pin with excessive dry firing.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I threw away the package and I don't remember what brand they are. I got them at Gander Mountian they are red aluminum and have a clear gummy primer area. I have heard that dry firing is ok and dry firing is bad how can you tell if it is or not. I have had long guns for a long time now but this is my first handgun I guess I am just trying to keep it nice.

Andy

Dry firing is bad for rim fires, it doesn't have much effect on center fires unless you are doing metric buttloads of it, in which case you need to count the dry fires in your round count for hammer springs and a snap cap is a good idea.

What constitutes a metric buttload? Depends on the gun. Modern firearms often will tell you right in the manual if dry firing is ok, and to what extent.