Cartridge Dummies requirement

Improving and repairing firearms. Rifle bedding, barrel work, stock replacement and other ways to improve your firearms.

Cartridge Dummies requirement

Post by BRAIN » 15 Oct 2023, 3:14 am

Hello,

I'm looking to purchase Cartridge Dummies online in Australia.

Can anyone recommend reputable online stores or platforms where I can find a good selection of Cartridge Dummies?

Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
BRAIN
Recruit
Recruit
 
Posts: 1
Australian Capital Territory

Re: Cartridge Dummies requirement

Post by No1_49er » 15 Oct 2023, 7:42 pm

There is other stuff available, but this could be a good starting place https://www.rebelgunworks.com.au/collec ... and_a-zoom
They're good folk to deal with.
Proud member of "the powerful gun lobby" of Australia :)
No1_49er
Staff Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
 
Posts: 827
Queensland

Re: Cartridge Dummies requirement

Post by bladeracer » 15 Oct 2023, 7:57 pm

BRAIN wrote:Hello,

I'm looking to purchase Cartridge Dummies online in Australia.

Can anyone recommend reputable online stores or platforms where I can find a good selection of Cartridge Dummies?

Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!


This could refer to military training ammo, inert ammunition made for cycling manually through firearms, replica ammunition that uses no genuine ammo components, or snap caps used for dry-fire training.

What precisely are you looking for?

The simplest is to buy the brass and bullets and assemble your own to your own specification. I don't think I've ever heard of anybody commercially making dummy ammo for sale other than collectible military training ammo.

For practicing rapid fire in .303 I made up dummy ammo for myself. It does cop a hiding so needs a really good crimp on the bullet.
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12694
Victoria

Re: Cartridge Dummies requirement

Post by womble » 16 Oct 2023, 3:09 am

Or ask bladeracer to make you some :D
I dream of a world where chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned
womble
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
 
Posts: 2369
Victoria

Re: Cartridge Dummies requirement

Post by bladeracer » 16 Oct 2023, 3:23 am

womble wrote:Or ask bladeracer to make you some :D


I wouldn't be against doing that, if I have the gear to do them. Very easy if they're just for display. If they need to be able to cycle through a firearm then I'd suggest new brass and an FMJ bullet rather than a soft point, hollow point, or a polymer-tip, as they will get beaten up. A length of dowel inside the case is not a bad idea to help keep the bullet in place.
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12694
Victoria

Re: Cartridge Dummies requirement

Post by in2anity » 17 Oct 2023, 8:45 am

A cautionary tale.

There are two problems with the azoom caps. 1) after not long, the rubber primer develops a striker dent, such that the firing pin is no longer being arrested by the rubber primer 2) it's very unlikely the azoom cap tightly headspaces, meaning the entire cap will be jumping forward as the pin strikes.

Therefore, after much dryfire with a cap (standard practice, in the target realm), the firing pin will start to be halted by some arresting face on the pin itself instead of the striker hitting the cartridge. On some designs, such as a Lee Enfield, this is more or less ok. But on other designs, such as many Mauser designs, it seems to stress the firing pin tip such that eventually a fracture will occur and the striker tip will break away from the firing pin.

From dry fire (with well-used snap caps), I have broken x2 mausers, x1 Winchester 92, and x2 Omark bolt head retaining pins. Particularly the omark is dangerous in this regard, because you can blow your face off if the bolt head does not rotate with the bolt body.

Moving forward, I feel it's more important to have a correctly headspacing, fireformed case (with the spent primer remaining) than it is to use a snap cap. I just neck-size spent brass from the targetted chamber, then reprime the emptycase. I fire the empty case, to expend the primer. Then I seat this dummy cartridge, and paint the tip hi-viz, signifying dummy. That's what I use when I dry-fire, instead of azoom. No more broken strikers.
At what point does lack of maintenance become patina?
User avatar
in2anity
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel
 
Posts: 3057
New South Wales


Back to top
 
Return to Gunsmithing