Dummy rounds?

[Thrill]

You could try cutting a section of that rubber the size of the air-space, and rolling it up to fit in before loading the bullet. I was also thinking of trying to put some epoxy on the bullet before inserting & crimping to help it stay in place. I don't reload (yet) but I'm trying to find a local reloader that will make me some dummy rounds.

I reload and have been experimenting with making my own snap caps/dummy rounds.

Steps I took to make a 40 S&W snap cap:

1. Sized and deprimed a brass case, then flared it for the bullet.

2. Seated a RNFMJ bullet and gave it a good crimp.

3. A customer of mine had this really tough material in sheet form, it feels like hard rubber but very tough, about 1/8" thick. He said what it was but I can't remember. I punched a "primer" out of it for the primer pocket. After several hundred strikes it does not look like it has changed at all. If it does wear I can just pull it out replace it.

Concerns so far-
I need to figure out a better way to color the case so that I can easily tell the difference between a live round and a snap cap. So far a sharpie is doing the job but tends to wear off.

The bullet is going to seat itself a little deeper everytime I chamber it. My thought is to use some material like cornmeal to fill the airspace and prevent further seating. Still not bad for a 10 cent snap cap.

[Argus]

To make your dummy rounds more easily distinguishable from live ammo, use a different type of case/bullet than you usually shoot. For instance, if you normally use brass cased ammo with an ogive bullet, use some nickel plated cases with conical bullets for your dummies.

Needless to say, you still need to double check before doing any dry fire with dummy rounds.

[JohnN]

AZoom's and plastic training rounds after quite a bit of use.

Time for some new ones.

[KentF]

Concerns so far-
I need to figure out a better way to color the case so that I can easily tell the difference between a live round and a snap cap. So far a sharpie is doing the job but tends to wear off.

In the ones I made several years ago, I drilled a hole through the case and filed the edges smooth. This makes it easy to both visually and tactility identify the rounds.

[turbolag23]

ive used the plastic ones quite a bit, they are cheaper but like mentioned above after some use the rims get ripped off. I had someone reload some dummy rounds and just painted the cases black after that.

[John Ralston]

A-Zoom - VERY well made

[randypollock]

Just what I needed to know...thanks.