A good snap cap for my High Standard

So I'm green to the sport and am using my dad's High Standard Supermatic Trophy. I'm wanting to throw some dry firing and conditioning into my weekly routine. I'm using these blue snap caps from Cabelas that the rims have broken down and gotten sharp real quick. I've read of guys using blue dry wall hangers, but wanted to know if there is a better option. My shotgun caps are heavy brass with a spring loaded center that have endured thousands of dry fires without fail.

I use the yellow drywall anchors from Homedepot I don't know if there is anything better.

troystaten wrote:I use the yellow drywall anchors from Homedepot I don't know if there is anything better.

+1

I use the ones from Larry's Guns in all my .22s

If you read the packaging most snap caps come in it says not for dry firing. I bought two different kinds and in small print they both say that so I am using the yellow dry wall anchors.  Ruger says their Mark I, II, III plus the 22/45 can be dry fired all I want with out anything.  I called they to find out as I have always been taught not to.  The dry wall anchors are a pain to put in each shot. Don

Cut a piece of magnetic card.

Jack H wrote:Cut a piece of magnetic card.

That's what I did for dry firing my High Standards. I just took a little notch out of it to clear the extractor, and it works great.  I'm also shooting my Dads old High Standards... Not as well as he did, but I'm improving!

Hi, Make my suggestion; yet another one for using the Yellow Wall Anchors.

They are ridiculously cheap and you get a bunch in a package.

I may try using the cardboard/plastic shield along  with the wall anchor.

best of luck;  Tony

Every wall anchor I ever saw and tried didn't rally stop the firing pin.  Too soft.

Like Jack says. I use one of those magnetic cards you stick on your fridge and cut a skinny strip and stick it to your barrel. Works faster and better than wall anchors. Wall anchors wear out from fire pin hitting them and you might forget to take them out before a match.

Stan

Another vote for  Yellow Wall Anchors.       
How could one manage to leave one in place?  One always checks the breach.

Just for reference, here's a link to a box of 100 of the yellow dry wall anchors for around $6 ...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H5WVCS/
That contains just the plastic anchors... much cheaper than buying them with the screws from my local hardware store.

My problem with the dry wall anchors is that my gun ejects them.  So I have to insert a new one for each trigger pull, and pick them all up at the end.  So, I'm looking for a better way.

Does anyone who uses the "magnetic card" have a photo of what you do?  Ideally a photo of what it looks like when it's in place and ready to use.

Dry wall anchors - just cut off the rim on one side where the ejector is and they won't eject.   I cut off two sides so that I can use two firing surfaces until it is worn out (it looks like a 0 with two flat sides).

Trapshooter, here's some images of the fridge magnet method. I'll show 2 cut strips, a rear view showing placement, and a side view showing gap or out of battery. I first heard of this on rimfire central. I've dry fired thousands of times with no damage to firing pin or slide.

chopper wrote:

Trapshooter, here's some images of the fridge magnet method. I'll show 2 cut strips, a rear view showing placement, and a side view showing gap or out of battery. I first heard of this on rimfire central. I've dry fired thousands of times with no damage to firing pin or slide.

I position the card piece to cover the whole breech minus the extractor cut.  I do want to cover where the firing pin might hit.  I have seen when a firing pin actually breaks.  Then the broken pin's front can do damage.  A broken pin can make a deep crater.  Not just a pin mark

I position the card piece to cover the whole breech minus the extractor cut.  I do want to cover where the firing pin might hit.  I have seen when a firing pin actually breaks.  Then the broken pin's front can do damage.  A broken pin can make a deep crater.  Not just a pin mark

That's what I do... its pretty much a square with the right lower corner notched out.

Jack H wrote:

I position the card piece to cover the whole breech minus the extractor cut.  I do want to cover where the firing pin might hit.  I have seen when a firing pin actually breaks.  Then the broken pin's front can do damage.  A broken pin can make a deep crater.  Not just a pin mark

Chopper... thank you very much for posting the photos.  This is definitely a case where a picture is worth 1000 words.

Jack H... so, you have the firing pin actually hitting the magnet, right?  Do you move it after every shot, or move it periodically, or use a new one each day, or do you just let the firing pin beat a single dent into the magnet and leave it at that?

I have concerns about letting the firing pin fly forward without hitting anything, as I've heard that it can beat up the parts that do end up stopping it (depends on the gun, but usually some part of the firing pin and/or the firing pin spring or the slide internals).

Actually the firing pin should not hit the magnetic card just like it must not hit the barrel.    It should stop on it's shoulder back in the slide tunnel.  I put the magnetic card over the potential pin divot spot just in case.  Clean the barrel face and the fit the card piece well.  It should stay there quite a while.  The larger the barrel-card contact the better it will stay in place.

If somehow we could add a hard buffer type material into the cartridge rim space, that would be ideal.  Larry's Hammerli type plugs do this but are too soft and get chewed up quickly. 

One more thing.  Do not even think about dryfiring a High Std Olympic or short shooter conversion without stopping the pin with something hard enough to duplicate the cartridge rim.  The aluminium slides are so soft the shoulder in the firing pin tunnel will batter forward and let the pin make huge divots in the barrel.  Same with a high mileage HS short's extractor which will wear itself forward in the aluminium.

Thanks for the posts. I'm gonna try the wall anchors and magnetic card and see what works best. Love pop's ole Supermatic Trophy and want to treat her well.