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1.) DParker - 06/15/2013
About halfway down the front page of Breitbart's site is the following photo:



An entry from the annual "Reloading 'Oops' Moments" contest?


Update: Never mind. A little digging and I find that those are dummy rounds for hammer-fired pistols (to avoid damage from dry-firing).
2.) bluecat - 06/17/2013
What constitutes a hammer-fired pistol? A Glock (and other similar designs) don't have an external hammer but there is something internal that is slamming that pin forward. So would you want a dummy round for a Glock also?

Rule of thumb, if you see an external hammer it requires a snap cap. Just asking.
3.) DParker - 06/17/2013
[QUOTE=bluecat;6845]What constitutes a hammer-fired pistol? A Glock (and other similar designs) don't have an external hammer but there is something internal that is slamming that pin forward. So would you want a dummy round for a Glock also?

Rule of thumb, if you see an external hammer it requires a snap cap. Just asking.[/QUOTE]

External vs. internal is not the issue. Glocks (and M&Ps and many other polymer framed pistols) are striker-fired, which is an inherently internal mechanisms. On the other hand, hammers can be either external (visibly) or internal. They're just mostly externally visible. In any event, hammers and strikers are quite different mechanisms, and although even most modern hammer-fired pistols can be safely dry-fired it's still best use a snap-cap (or other dummy round) just to be on the safe side and avoid damage to the hammer. Strikers, by their very nature, do not suffer from the same potential for damage from dry-firing, and so no such dummy rounds are necessary.

Your rule-of-thumb is a good one.
4.) bluecat - 06/17/2013
Thanks.

Also in the same line of questioning and I might have asked this before so excuse me if I have but, I never release the slide on an empty chamber. I just release the tension and then ease it forward. I just figured most people did the same thing until I handed my Glock to a friend with the slide back and chamber empty (magazine out) and he released the slide. Of course it slams forward metal on metal.

What's the rule of thumb on that one?
5.) DParker - 06/17/2013
[QUOTE=bluecat;6855]Thanks.

Also in the same line of questioning and I might have asked this before so excuse me if I have but, I never release the slide on an empty chamber. I just release the tension and then ease it forward. I just figured most people did the same thing until I handed my Glock to a friend with the slide back and chamber empty (magazine out) and he released the slide. Of course it slams forward metal on metal.

What's the rule of thumb on that one?[/QUOTE]

I think it really depends on the specific pistol, with it being undesirable at least for some (like 1911s, for instance, due to excess stress placed on the extractor by dropping the slide on an empty chamber) but not necessarily for others. But the prevailing school of thought on that seems to be to err on the side of caution and ride the slide forward (hold onto the slide with your had until it's seated) rather than just dropping it when the chamber is empty. I try to avoid the latter whenever I think about it.

Of course, the exact opposite is true when chambering a round, and you should never ride the slide in that case (which tends to cause improper chambering).
6.) bluecat - 06/17/2013
You are a wealth of knowledge. Thanks.

Because I know you reload, do you just make your own snap caps (expired primer and spent casing loaded with a new bullet)?
7.) DParker - 06/17/2013
[QUOTE=bluecat;6857]You are a wealth of [B]hearsay, rumor and speculation[/B]. Thanks.[/QUOTE]

Fixed. :-)

[QUOTE=bluecat;6857]Because I know you reload, do you just make your own snap caps (expired primer and spent casing loaded with a new bullet)?[/QUOTE]

I already had snap caps that I bought prior to the start of my reloading activities, so there was no reason for me to make my own. I do have dummy rounds that I've made for each pistol and rifle that I load for just to test bullet seating depth settings, but they don't have any sort of primer in them, spent or otherwise.