Snap Caps Made Me Shoot Better
The title says it all - snap caps helped me to learn to be a better shooter.
For the uniformed - "A snap cap is faux ammo that can contain a spring-damped false primer or one made of plastic or none at all, the springs and plastic filled ones help absorb the force from the firing pin, allowing the user to safely test the function of the firearm without damaging the components of the firearm."
So did snap caps help me? Well they allowed me to practice both at home and on the range. At home - they allowed me to practice my fundamentals in a safe environment. (Pulling my weapon out of it's holster, drawing, pointing in a safe direction, and firing.) (WITH NO LIVE AMMO IN MY WEAPON). Seems like no brainer stuff right? Practice makes perfect - and I like to practice a lot. Still not perfect as much as I would like to believe - just ask my wife.
Using snap caps at the range is what really helped me learn the most about what kind of shooter I am. So how did I use snap caps at the range? What I did - is I placed a snap cap inside my mag along with my live ammo. I loaded several magazines and placed a snap cap at various round intervals in each one to try and keep it as random as possible. After firing several rounds - my magazine would arrive at the snap cap. My weapon obviously wouldn't cycle and the shot didn't fire - so I was forced to looked at what just happened. Did I flinch? Did I push the pistol when trying to fire? Was my hand stance pushed to one side or the other?
After several trips to the range - I started to notice a pattern that I was able to correct via more practice. Over a summer I noticed my accuracy improved dramatically. Now I started doing this practice of using snap caps at the range several years ago - but I still use it to this day when I am in a stationary target practice environment. Hope this helps you out as much as it helped me.
Do you use snap caps? Have they helped you improve your accuracy and/or trigger pull? Let us know in the comments below.
- M
About Special Agent 'M'
Agent 'M' is a shadowy figure in the Gun industry. He is a highly trained armorer with experience in all things that shoot shit. In his spare time he acts as an under-cover commentator, and blogger.
Some say that he is not even human. Some say that he literally cooks up omelettes made up of eggs, 9mm projectiles, mushrooms, and Glock parts, for breakfast.
We'll leave the final opinions to you.
