For whatever it is worth I had Jack Rowe in Enid Oklahoma do a pre-purchase inspection on a British ejector gun. It was five or six years ago. Jack is an English emmigrant, gunsmith, formerly worked in the Birmingham trade, and has written some articles for the Doublegun Journal and used to teach a one week class on double gunsmithing here in the US. He may still for all I know.
I had AZoom snap caps with the gun when he inspected it. It was the first time he had seen them. He was very complimentary of the AZoom and said it was the only snap cap he had ever seen that he liked. He disliked the coil spring snap caps in particular and maintained that they fatigue stressed the strikers.
I have no idea if he is wrong or right. Just reporting what he said.
I agree with Doug's statement that the snap caps can and do dent wood on occasion.
I like Joe Wood's solution the best.
Best,
Mike
Mike,
I have a real hard time believing
any experienced gunsmith would make those statements in faith. Even graduates from "The Acme School of Gunsmithing" in Pago Pago, know how hammers and strikers, firing pins work and what kind of steel they are made from, as well as the springs etc.
Snap caps are only supposed to ABSORB the impact as the hammer/striker/firing pin bottoms out, nothing more, nothing less, thus saving the mechanism, not damaging it. The springs behind the primers are calibrated to absorb the hammers fall, nothing more.....
How could a QUALITY snap cap with springs hurt any part of the firing mechanism...?.... After rebuilding quite a large number of guns over the last 50 years or so, I find this almost impossible to comprehend.
This is very evident by the old spring loaded mop caps pictured that have many, many strikes.
As you can see, the ALSO pictured A-Zooms are useless with their hardened cratered primers. Maybe they only harden in the Southwestern United States or South Africa, but let me tell you they are bricks in hot climates and therefore useless in a very short time.
Different strokes for different folks I guess.......
Best,
QUALITY SPRING LOADED MOP CAPS......NOTICE THE PRIMER...
A-Zooms after less than a year.......
