Snap caps?

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  • maxwelhse

    Grandmaster
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    Aug 21, 2018
    5,415
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    Michiana
    I just bought snap caps for every caliber I have, all Tipton, and they all seem OK except the 9mm. It won't even close to chamber in my LC9. Now I'm reading more deeply into the reviews and it seems a lot of guys have various issues with the Tiptons.

    What are you guys using? I'm sending the 9mms back, but I'd like to replace them with something else.
     

    2A-Hoosier23

    ammo fiend
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    13   0   0
    Sep 16, 2018
    710
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    Lawrence
    Are your Tiptons the transparent red ones? I use those (9mm) almost daily and have yet to have any issues in a Glock 43, Sig P365, CZ P-07, or CZ P-10c. Pretty sure I got them on Amazon. Maybe a bad batch?

    I also have ST Action Pro's which mostly work fine for me but have had more trouble feeding than the Tiptons. Nothing serious. They just occasionally get caught up when feeding into the chamber if the slide isn't released with full force. I prefer the Tiptons
     

    Dean C.

    Master
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    Aug 25, 2013
    4,429
    113
    Westfield
    I personally use the A-Zoom snap caps (they are red) and don't have any issues. I change them out about every three months as the extractors tear the rims up. Call me paranoid but when dry firing using snap caps even on striker guns makes me feel slightly better.
     

    gregkl

    Outlier
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    33   0   0
    Apr 8, 2012
    11,870
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    Bloomington
    I have the A zoom caps also. They work fine but I just loaded up some dummy rounds and filled the primer pocket with some silicone. I painted the projectile so I can easily identify them from live rounds.

    I have no worries about dry firing without caps though. I use the caps to practice reloads.
     

    MCgrease08

    Grandmaster
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    37   0   0
    Mar 14, 2013
    14,374
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    Earth
    Another A-Zoom user. They seem to be the gold standard. Although I don't use them much these days since I have moved to all striker fired pistols and it's too much of a pain to keep loading a mag with them to practice since the slide has to be racked between every trigger press. I do have one striker gun with restrike capability (Taurus G2C), so I use them when dry-firing that one.

    I also find the purple / red color too hard to spot in the grass, so I don't use them as dummy rounds. The plastic orange dummy rounds get the call in that scenario.
     

    Kozaturf

    Sharpshooter
    Site Supporter
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    14   0   0
    Feb 21, 2020
    504
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    Westville-ish
    A-zooms here too. Blue ones and the purple/red ones. Had transparent plastic ones before, don't remember the brand, didn't care for them and have stayed away from that style since.
     

    maxwelhse

    Grandmaster
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    Aug 21, 2018
    5,415
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    Michiana
    Just ordered some A-Zooms. Thanks fellers!

    I have some of each, Tiptons and A-Zooms, and they all work fine in my wife's LC9 and in every other 9 we have.

    No clue why mine didn't like it, but it wouldn't chamber by at least half a round and I was afraid to drop the slide on it for fear of having to pound it out. Some of the other calibers of Tipton were also a little "sticky", but nowhere near that bad. Not saying they're a bad product, just saying my gun didn't like them. All of the other calibers of Tipton got along fine with my stuff. Honestly, that's the only thing from Tipton that I have that I'm not 100% happy with.
     

    hammerd13

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Oct 20, 2015
    350
    63
    Hamilton County
    Why waste the money on them at all? Any properly built centerfire gun shouldn't need them...

    Snap caps/dummy rounds will extend the life of any firearm while dry firing. Gabe White, for example, uses dummy rounds and STILL blew out the breech face of 4 Glock slides by dry firing over the years. We're talking 100s of thousands of dry fires per year...eventually something will break. That's why he and many others have several copies of the same gun. One to carry, one to dry fire, one to live-fire train with, a spare, etc.

    A snap cap/dummy round not only extends the time between firearm components breaking, but also allows you to replicate the trigger break, EXACTLY. Really no other way to do it. Even those dry fire magazines don't feel and break exactly like your firearm's trigger.
     
    Last edited:

    sempifi99

    Plinker
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    2   0   0
    Jul 20, 2020
    86
    8
    Fort Wayne
    I've been using A-Zoom, I have tried a 380 Auto, 9 mm and 12 gage. Everything except their 12 gage has worked flawlessly, but their 12 gage occasionally fails to feed, I think that is because the solder is on the smaller side. But for 9 mm I have not had a problem..
     
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