Snap Caps

[B. Dudley]

Even though the gun will not be harmed by a dry fire. It would not hurt to have some. If you don't want the expense, just use a pair of once fired shells if you need to uncock the gun.

[Pa SxS]

I would do as Brian suggests. I've also heard of guys knocking out the spent primer and inserting an eraser off of a new pencil to use for shock absorption. You could also buy some inexpensive snap caps, no need to pay a lot of money for them. Just about all the snap caps now a days are painted a bright color, the reason being so as not to confuse with a live shell.

If you do use a fired hull, I suggest you paint the base for easy identification. You don't want to think you have a snap cap in the chamber when in fact you have a live shell

[Roundsworth]

'A-Zoom' snap caps are a good choice. They are available at multitudes of sporting goods emporiums. I really do not see anything wrong with an inexpensive device that absorbs the shock of a firing mechanism in the absence of a live cartridge, especially in older/antique firearms.

[Wild Skies]

I've been informed by a very experienced collector that most of us here know, or at least know of, that told me that snap caps are not necessarily needed for letting down the hammers, but they are needed for Parker ejector guns (and other makes with ejectors and similar hammers) to offer resistance for ejectors. He told me that he has seen, on more than one occasion, of the ejector rods as well as the doll's head snapping off when opening the gun if the hammers are relieved without snap caps. Anyone else here experienced this?

[Double Lab]

Greg,
I think you are correct on the ejector issue. I don't drop the hammers on my guns before storage but if I did, whether on purpose or not, I ease the action open and use my fingers as resistance to the ejectors. A very wise collector friend of mind warned me of this 40 yrs. ago. He also told me that it was not necessary to drop the hammers on Parkers or on most guns. He was a collector of Civil War guns that he has found cocked after being stored for whose knows how long and they were just fine. By the way it was great meeting you at the UP shoot.

[Wild Skies]

Originally Posted by Daryl Corona

By the way it was great meeting you at the UP shoot.

Likewise, Daryl.

[Dean Romig]

I would be extremely surprised to learn that a doll's head had snapped off because of the lack of the resistance of snap caps when opening a gun. I do believe, however, that the stop plate at the end of the doll's head might become distorted or broken away from repeatedly opening the gun without snap caps.

The nicest snap caps I have ever seen were those turned from discarded Damascus barrels. They are absolutely lovely... pricey, but lovely.

[John Truitt]

I dont think it is the dolls head itself. I have been told by several "experienced collectors" of the little wedge/ insert at the back of the dolls head, that holds the ejectors in place, being the issue.
Hard to imagine but who knows for sure.
I like what Daryl said about providing some resistance to the ejectors.

I have not personally been witness to or seen a gun with this type of injury.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by John Truitt

I have not personally been witness to or seen a gun with this type of injury.

I have... I bought a set of Acme Steel 20 ga. barrels that came off an AHE where the doll's head had been filed to fit another gun and the doll's head metal was so thin in that area that the stop plate had begun to push the edges of the slot outward to the point that the plate would pop out very soon.... I sent the barrels back.

[edgarspencer]

File this in the FWIW dept if you want. Parker's statement that dry firing was ok was based on the fact that the firing pins are an integral part of the hammer, on the 'hammerless' guns. Any gun which has seperate firing pins, usually have springs to return the firing pin when the hammer is lifted off of them. This is true whether they are bushed firing pins, inserted into the breech face, or internal. Dry firing these guns causes excessive firing pin travel, crushing the coils of the firing pins spring over one another, eventually jamming the firing pin.
While Parker may have felt it was OK to dry fire hammerless (internal hammers) guns, I personally don't believe it's good practice. Here's my justification: If you take a shell fired from each barrel, then dry fire the gun, remove the fore end and barrels, then take a shell fired from the left barrel and hold it up to the left firing pin, ( and the same process for the right barrel) you will likely find that the base of the shell rocks, pivoting on the firing pin. It should be evident that this means the firing pin has traveled further forward than it would have, striking a new shell (or fired shell, or snap cap). So, rather than the cartridge or snap cap stopping the hammer/firing pin travel, it's the internal surfaces, such as the pin pocket, or other parts of the hammer. The simple action of the firing pin crushing the primer is, in effect, a cushioning action. If I have snap caps, I use them. I have more extractor Parkers than ejector Parkers, so I can't really comment on the effects of dry firing ejector guns, on the ejector rods, or dolls head grooves.