"Snap Caps"

[sandie]

Can someone tell me exactly how to use and how they should react. Put all five in magazine? Then pull the trigger and then ???? will the Snap Cap pop out or will I have to remove it from the gun and then do it again until all five have been used and then reload the magazine? I guess I am asking will the snap cap pop out or will I have to remove each time? OR can I rack it and then just keep pulling the trigger on that one Snap Cap. Sorry for the simple question but I do not know so am asking.
Thanks

[TailGator]

Snap caps are intended to cushion the firing pin so that it does no damage to itself or the surrounding part of the pistol. They will not cycle the pistol; in your words, they will not pop out on their own.

If your pistol has a hammer, you can fire again on the same snap cap either double action (pulling the trigger without cocking the hammer) or single action (cocking the hammer with your thumb before pulling the trigger).

If it is a striker type pistol without a hammer, you can usually cock the firing mechanism with a small movement of the slide that comes short of ejecting the snap cap. In either type, you can also cycle the slide fully by hand to eject the current snap cap and load the next one from the magazine.

I hope that helps.

[Tickling]

Put all five in magazine?

You certainly can.

will the Snap Cap pop out or will I have to remove it from the gun and then do it again until all five have been used and then reload the magazine?

If you cycle the slide, the snap caps should act similarly to regular ammo.

OR can I rack it and then just keep pulling the trigger on that one Snap Cap.

Depends on what type of handgun you have.

EDIT: TailGator nailed it.

[Gaerek]

Snap Cap brand dummy rounds are designed to cushion the firing pin on recoil. They will not cycle the gun. In other words, if you have a striker fired gun, you will have to rack the slide each time you dry fire (ejecting the round in the process).

Most modern centerfire guns can be dry fired without snap caps (don't do it to most rimfire guns, however). If your manual says not to dry fire, then use snap caps. Dummy rounds have other uses too, though I wouldn't buy snap caps, simply because they're usually more expensive than other dummy rounds.

Sticking dummy rounds randomly in a magazine with live ammo while at the range can do two things for you. One, it can diagnose a flinch (if you anticipate the shot, your hand will move to anticipate the recoil...doing this during live fire will make you miss your target). Two, it gives you the opportunity to practice a malfunction drill (tap, rack, bang).

You can also use them to set up a double feed (which you can do with empty brass, or even live ammo if you're at a range) to practice clearing that malfunction. I sometimes use those to set up malfunction drills at home.

Another use, that I use them for is practicing reloads during my dryfire practice. Having dummy rounds in the magazine makes the gun act like it has ammo. Since I don't use the slide release (and instead use the rack method) during a slide lock reload, using an empty magazine won't allow me to release the slide properly.

Snap caps, or dummy rounds are very useful, and I'd recommend having some jsut for what I've said above. But they really don't do anything special. People who reload ammo make dummy rounds for their personal use all the time (just make sure they are painted or something to show they are INERT.

[redhologram]

Also, Pax mentions over on her site http://www.corneredcat.com how they can be used as a valuable training aid if someone is having issues with flinch.
Welcome to TFL!

[SIGSHR]

With revolvers,snap caps are a great way of practicing reloading drills with speed strips and speed loaders.

[Carmady]

Great for practicing DA shooting in revolvers too.