Thread: Homebrew Snap Caps

Hi,

New here and looking for opinions on homemade snap caps and the best materials/manufacturing method please.
I'm not new to the bush, but I am new to hunting. I am a volunteer track scout/cutter for a trust that owns a 12ha block of bush on the Rimutaka Range and they are looking for cullers to deal with the goat/pig problems in the block, so I bought myself a rifle (after much deliberation and advice, a Browning AB3 Stalker .308), as I keep running into the pesky critters on my travels and feel a sense of civic responsibility to do my part to preserve NZ native flora/fauna.

Haven't even hit the range yet, but I'm now comfortable with cycling live ammunition and am moving onto dry firing drills; hence the question regarding snap caps.
I know that pretty much all centrefire rifle manufacturers (including Browning) say it's completely safe to do dry firing drills without needing snap caps (most rimfire manufacturers these days claim the same), but I'm nervous about potential damage to the firing pin caused by over extension and considering what I've just shelled-out for the rifle, I'm taking the overly cautious road here.

I've found a few videos on YouTube that show different methods of making your own snap caps, and I have made a few of my own using once-fired brass from a mate.
The 'primer' in these snap caps is made from a leather belt, super-glued into the primer pocket on the cases. The shot of them after being fired, is after they have been through the rifle 20 times. The leather seems to be holding-up fairly well and the glue is still holding them in place. The largest hole punch I have is slightly smaller than the primer pocket diameter unfortunately. As I don't yet have a reloading press, there are no projectiles in the cases, which does cause feeding issues when the magazine is nearly empty, and also getting the casing nose into the rifle chamber cleanly. This was my first attempt, so some hiccups were only to be expected I guess.

Most of the videos I've seen use either hot glue, or silicone sealant (for 'primers', filling the case, and casting projectiles).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

TIA,

Dave