Fuzz Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 I have been working feverishly this winter on mag changes. We had a warm day here and made it out to the range. Right away I noticed that the mag changes were different. Mainly because the bullets were in there and the mag locked up a little harder with the bullets in there. So this got me wondering. Should I make up enough dummy bullets to fill the mags? Yes they would have to be marked for safety reasons. This would be costly and wasteful. Maybe. Just wondering if anyone has done this or am I just wasting my time. Thanks for you intelligent opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyroth Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 Cheaper than snap caps... Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 Absolutely!! When dry fire training you always want the gun to have a realitsic weight ... And that means a mag full of dummy rounds. Mine have the primer removed plus I use a bullet style I don't shoot so it's very obvious these are dummy rounds .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 costly and wasteful? They cost less than 10 cents each. I like nimitz's idea of using a different bullet than you normally shoot. Makes double-checking that much easier. I also just leave out the primers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a matt Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 (edited) Absolutely!! When dry fire training you always want the gun to have a realitsic weight ... And that means a mag full of dummy rounds. Mine have the primer removed plus I use a bullet style I don't shoot so it's very obvious these are dummy rounds .... Agreed, no primers no powder you can even use the nickel cases to be totally different if you shoot brass. It's just about the weight and feel. Good luck. Edited March 6, 2016 by a matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 (edited) I'd actually like to take a spare mag tube and fill it with silicon and shot until it's equal weight to a loaded mag and use that for safe area dry fire at matches. Edited March 6, 2016 by Jake Di Vita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a matt Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 Anyone what to call the cops (ROs) on you ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 (edited) For what? Doesn't have to be weighted with shot if for some strange reason that was a problem, can put anything in there with the silicon to make the desired weight. I'm not aware of anything in the rules prohibiting it. Edited March 6, 2016 by Jake Di Vita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuzz Posted March 6, 2016 Author Share Posted March 6, 2016 Thanks for the feed back guy's. I never considered this before. I guess I will be making some dummy rounds. I have 6 mags that were never very reliable that I use for dry firing anyway so I will be able to tell the difference. I guess I could also load the bullets backwards to make them obvious. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 I guess I could also load the bullets backwards to make them obvious. I think it is valuable to have dummy rounds that will chamber reliably, to practice empty gun starts and empty table starts and so forth, so it's more than just the weight. Even if the bullets do look different, I would still feel uncomfortable if I didn't actually look at the primer pocket of each dummy round before I do any practice that involves chambering a round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a matt Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 I personally won't drop a hammer when I know I have a round dummy or other in the chamber. Sheetrock doesn't stand a chance aginst 1400fps. That's just my take. I'm sure everyone that is making up dummy rounds for dry fire is as safe as they can be. I just do my tables starts at the range. I like to know I'm getting my alphas with my table starts anyway. Thats something I need to work at. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a matt Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 (edited) For what? Doesn't have to be weighted with shot if for some strange reason that was a problem, can put anything in there with the silicon to make the desired weight. No no, I'm with you that it is within the rules to do a reload at a safe table with empty mags. I was curious if any one maybe made a mistake and called the cops? Not that you were doing anything wrong. I'm not aware of anything in the rules prohibiting it. I have been told that that is not a good idea more than once. So I refrain from the safe area and mags. Keeping the peace. LolMy post showed in the quote ahead of your final thought. Idk? Edited March 6, 2016 by a matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 For what? Doesn't have to be weighted with shot if for some strange reason that was a problem, can put anything in there with the silicon to make the desired weight. No no, I'm with you that it is within the rules to do a reload at a safe table with empty mags. I was curious if any one maybe made a mistake and called the cops? Not that you were doing anything wrong. I'm not aware of anything in the rules prohibiting it. I have been told that that is not a good idea more than once. So I refrain from the safe area and mags. ? It sounds like the people who told you that haven't read the rules. fwiw, I have chrono'd my dummy rounds. None of them will go through sheetrock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tha1000 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Bayou Bullets offers sample packs of bullets with red coating. I've used a red paint pen so far, but will be getting a sample pack when it's time to build more dummy rounds. I also leave my dry fire mags in my dry fire area and they're not used for anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuzz Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 I made 40 dummy rounds tonight and did them the normal direction. I marked them all black. I have and do not allow any live ammo in the dryfire room. Also the seperate mags will keep any accidents from happening. We will see starting with my routine in the am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kungfurabbit Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 That's a great idea. I usually dry fire practice in the back yard in the shade. No neighbors to the rear definitely has its benefits. Never thought about the weight of the mags, have been running them empty. Will have to make some up and mark them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erttactics Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 You will be happy you did it. It Ives you properfeedback for dry firing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glock26Toter Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Later, as you get better at reloads you don't need the weight to be the same, but when starting out it's a good idea. So, I made a wooden insert. It had a shape on top that resembled a round, and then I drilled holes in it to hold a bunch of bullets. This way, it has similar weight to a loaded mag, but the top had wood sticking out instead of a round. This way, I can practice reloads without chasing dummy rounds allover the basement. I can also rack it without loading/ejecting dummy rounds. It was easier than it sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) Later, as you get better at reloads you don't need the weight to be the same, but when starting out it's a good idea. So, I made a wooden insert. It had a shape on top that resembled a round, and then I drilled holes in it to hold a bunch of bullets. This way, it has similar weight to a loaded mag, but the top had wood sticking out instead of a round. This way, I can practice reloads without chasing dummy rounds allover the basement. I can also rack it without loading/ejecting dummy rounds. It was easier than it sounds. It doesn't matter how good I get, there is a difference between fully weighted mags and empty mags to me. Edited March 8, 2016 by Jake Di Vita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
762rocstarr Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 Good info here. I'll be making up some dummy rounds this weekend. Good idea to simulate feeding and proper weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacobThomas Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 This is a good idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacobThomas Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 I'll be working up dummy rounds tonight just for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmella Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 Everyone, just buy a hornady lock and load press. Load normally for a little while and you will have so many "dummy" rounds with no primer you will start throwing them away. Just shake the powder back into the hopper out of the empty primer hole, and throw it in a bin. That bin will have many more "dummies" thrown into it the longer you continue to load on a Lock N load. I now load on a 1050 but from my locknload days I almost have enough dummy rounds to fill all of my mags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewtac Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Seems some folks are overcomplicating things. Load up dummy rounds with no powder or primers, they cannot physically go bang. Them going bang is just as likely as a gun going off on its own. Load up two or three mags that are used exclusively for dry fire, and then don't worry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvslay Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 May I recommend a couple of safety protocols for dummy round mag training? I store all live ammo separate. In fact, my competition gun pretty much never has a live round in a mag anywhere but the range. This obviously wouldn't be the case shooting a carry gun in production or similar situation. I store my dummies in 50 round plastic containers that are marked. I have 100 ea in .40 and .45. All of them are marked red and have no primers in them. My live stuff stays in 100 round boxes. It is easy for me to know I have all of my dummies accounted for because I have 4 full 50 round boxes when I'm done. When I dry fire I do one of 2 things as a redundant safety measure: A: I remove the firing pin. This is very easy for me since I have a series 70 1911 style gun. Lock the slide back and pull the pin. Even if I did load a live round I would have a redundant safety measure. or B: I insert my laserlyte dummy round. It has no extraction groove so it acts as a chamber plug that would block any potential live round from chambering. If you don't want the laser feedback you can insert it without batteries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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