Remington Peters 410 Dummy rounds

[Phil C]

I am hoping someone can share some information on a couple of shells I have had for years. I received these in a 410 SXS I had purchased. They were used as snap caps and maybe that is what they are. Just not sure.

[Stan Hillis]

Very interesting. I've never snap caps made without some sort of plunger, or malleable material, for the firing pins to strike against. But, clearly they have been used as snap caps at some time.

Give that these don't have anything of that sort, and that they appear to be loaded with a wad and shot, and the hull is see-thru, I'm more inclined to think they were never intended as snap caps, but more as an item to show the way a particular load looked.

Those heads appear to be steel. Is that the case, Phil?

[Phil C]

Good morning Stan you are correct I just checked with a magnet and the are steel. I also measured them and they are 2 1/4” in length.

[Dean Romig]

And they are entirely filled with shot with no apparent wad at all...





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[edgarspencer]

I've had them in several gauges, and figured they must have been a teaching aid, or a gunsmith might use them for checking chamber and rim depth. I never figured them to be a snap cap because of the lack of some sort of resistance for the firing pin (or hammer, in the case of a Parker) to strike.
I also have thought they were a statement about my not knowing exactly what they were used for. Yes, that's probably what it means.

[Richard Flanders]

I'd guess something to do with military firearms training. Pilots were given Stevens .22/shotgun O/U guns as a survival gun. Maybe some were .410?? Not sure of the total period where they were issued Stevens, but for sure during and after WWII during cold weather training here in Alaska where a now deceased test pilot friend test flew P-51's and P-38's on skis out of Fairbanks. He still had his Stevens and sleeping bag till the end.

[Researcher]

I've had these Browning Double Automatic salesman's demonstration dummies in my shell collection since one of the men at the Fredrick & Nelson sporting goods department that tolerated me as a teenager gave them to me.

Double Automatic demonstration dummies 01.JPG

[Ken Waite III]

They were used to function test the Remington pumps and semis, made for all gauges

[Phil C]

Thank you guys for the information.

[J. Scott Hanes]

When I started with Remington, the field sales reps were issued dummy rounds for use at shoots to test gun function. In those days, we did minor repairs at Trap and Skeet shoots.