use of snap caps idea

[Doctordrew]

I know that snap caps are great for dry firing and such, sometimes I anticipate recoil and I'm thinking to myself what would be better than to load up a mix of snap caps and ammo (or have someone else load up a few mags) and shoot, you never know if your going to go "click" or go "boom"

when I dry fire I KNOW its going to go click..... this way I'll have no idea.

MAYBE this is what everyone already does and I sound like im re-inventing the wheel....but maybe not and I feel pretty smart right now so even if you already thought of this, make me feel like you had'nt.

 

[doobie]

Yeah people do this... you have someone else load a mag and then they watch you shoot it. The IDPA does it. I've done it myself by re-loading known duds and mixing them in with the rounds I'm about to load.

 

[Doctordrew]

thats an awsome idea by handloading duds...

but dont you mean somethign like this "thats an awsome idea drew! wish I thought of it"

 

[JonJ]

It's called the "ball and dummy" drill".

 

[JimConway]

The ball and dummy drill is an awesome technique for learning MALF clearance at an instinctive level. This is where you all want to be. Right???
It is also very helpful is seeing if the shooters has any shooting problema, like a flinch or ambushing the target.

 

[Twigg]

..I've done it myself by re-loading known duds ...

Dude ! Get yourself some snap caps pronto ! Sooner or later one of them "duds" is gonna go bang ! More'n' likely when you least expect it to.

Unless of course you are referring to handloading inert rounds, in which case, never mind...

 

[Ned]

We did this at the appleseed shoot, it was very helpful.

 

[M1911]

It's called the "ball and dummy" drill".

Yup. It's been around for many, many years and is a standard tool in every firearm instructor's bag of tricks.

 

[doobie]

Dude ! Get yourself some snap caps pronto ! Sooner or later one of them "duds" is gonna go bang ! More'n' likely when you least expect it to.

Unless of course you are referring to handloading inert rounds, in which case, never mind...

I have snap-caps. I use the snap-caps at home.

When I said duds yeah; I meant inert rounds of un-primed, un-powdered rounds. These are only used at the range. Sorry for any confusion.

 

[Meanie-14]

Yup. It's been around for many, many years and is a standard tool in every firearm instructor's bag of tricks.

Yep, it's so old, it was even used with revolvers.
Seriously, though, a good way to detect "flinchitis" as well as to perfect your "tap/rack/bang" abilities. For a six-shooter, mix three live rounds with three dummy loads in random order, then spin the cylinder a little before closing it. For an auto, mix dummies into all your magazines (don't put 'em all at the top or all at the bottom!) and then any one mag should provide the nedessary element of surprise.
If you get a "click" and the muzzle seems to take take a dive away from that good sight picture you had, that might be a sign of something going on.

 

[JimConway]

Meanie-14
You mentioned "Tap/rack/bang". This is what was taught a few years back but has been found to be dangerous. The problem is that you are teaching yourself to always shoot after clearing a MALF. The police have found, after a few unfortunate incidents, that this is very BAD training. A better approach is Tap/Rack/Assess. When training with the ball and dummy drill, be sure to focus on the assass aspect and only shoot occasionally.

 

[Fsorrent]

I'll have to use this technique to get over my flinching problem. I don't do it with any other gun except my Glock 19 for some weird reason.

 

[Meanie-14]

Meanie-14 You mentioned "Tap/rack/bang". This is what was taught a few years back but has been found to be dangerous.

Good point, Jim. I have heard it called "tap/rack/reassess," but the reassess part didn't come up in the admittedly limited training (just the basic qualification course) I've done since getting back into carrying a sidearm for "work purposes." For that, we were each given nine dummy rounds to mix in when loading the three magazines required for the course. The group was pretty small, so it gave the instructor a chance to watch for anyone flinching as well as seeing how we handled a failure-to-fire. (Didn't get into clearing a Class II until somebody on the line had a "stovepipe.")
Since I lugged a revolver around for so long, I used to think "doing failure drills" meant practicing switching from the Colt Python on my right hip to the Detective Special on my ankle. Thanks for the reminder on the current term.