How about using JB Weld or some similar 'liquid metal' that cures to a hard substance?

George

I'd like to load up some dummies with something in the primer pockets, so I guess that technically makes them "snap caps". And yes, I know that that cushioning the firing pin SHOULD not be necessary, but I like to baby my guns.

But what to use in the pockets? Silicon rubber, epoxy, pencil erasers, etc are too soft to last. Hard nylon or soft metal might be better but would be a pain to make. Is there an easy and good way to do this? Thanks.

Why not just use snap caps?

"Why not just use snap caps...." Well... because sometimes they are damn hard to get and most often they won't cycle as a real round.

Have you tried tire-rubber?

Solder?

Try some "RTV" as used in gasket making. You would be surprised how well it stands up. Worth a try.

Good question! I have wondered the same thing. A glob of epoxy? Something with some "give" to it.

I used RTV to fill in the hollow of a seating punch to fit the bullet I was using. Used it that way for about 3 years and loaded a lot of ammo. Worked great. Then I wanted to return it to its former shape, so I just dug the RTV back out.

I asked the same question many years ago and an old timer pointed me to liquid gasket. It works as long as you don't pick at it.

If you wanna go to the trouble, a spring loaded brass rod through the primer pocket is the way to go.

I am going to get around sometime to epoxying in some weed trimmer line into the primer pocket.

Try melting the string trimmer line into the hole. You just light the end of the line with a match and after a few seconds the stuff will start to drip. Just plug the flash hole with a piece of tooth pick and then let the primer pocket drip more than full. After it cools, you just trim off the excess with a razor blade.

Clean the primer pocket and fill with a hot melt glue gun, regular glue stick. Trim off the excess when it cools.

I made some using 5 minute epoxy. You might want to break off a toothpick in the flash hole to keep the epoxy from dripping out.

I did this with a couple of .303 berdan cases so I could cycle my own lee enfields and check out enfield triggers at gun shows. Rifles firing pins hit pretty hard, but the epoxy has held up.

Another tip--I also use 5 minute epoxy to fill bullet nose punches for use with flat nose bullets. Often, the nose punch within a seating die is made for a specific type of nose (in the case of .38 bullets, they are often for round nose). Enough epoxy to fill the cavity in the nose punch makes it perfect, and in 20 years and thousands of rounds I've only replaced the epoxy once because it fell out.

Quick and dirty.....use an already fired primer from your reloading bench. It craters eventually, but so will anything else not spring loaded. Avoid anything harder than brass (epoxy for example), as it might mushroom the firing pin.

I used this method in an old Mauser that didn't decock when you closed the bolt with the trigger pulled. You had to snap it to get the tension off of the firing pin.

My thought would be that epoxy, although very strong, is not as HARD as brass, and I would expect epoxy to crater pretty quickly. I can usually cut (dried) epoxy with a razor blade, but not brass. Anyone want to comment on that?

The hot glue and nylon thread ideas are interesting, I wonder what would last longest- epoxy, melted nylon, or hot glue?

Lots of nice replies here, thanks to you all.

Jim

I haven't tried cutting brass with a razor blade, but I've drilled it with ordinary stainless steel hypodermic "shot" needles, twirling them between my fingers. They come in a wide variety of sizes and work well for drilling small holes.