Working with my 700 to prep for a KD that'll involve a lot of single-loading, I've been wearing out a higher-than-expected number of dummy / training rounds. Has anyone else noticed this? I've used the same handful of snap caps in my 9mm handguns for years without anything close to this kind of frustration.
A-Zoom: Failure to eject rates well above 50% (falls limply off the bolt face after extraction), heavy tip deformation. Feeds passably well.
Traditions inert training cartridges: some tip deformation, with rapid bullet setback & crimp failure. Ejects well, until the bullet drops into the case.
Rifle works fine with loaded .223 rounds, so I'm confused.
I've got some Strike and Magpul polymer jobs coming to test them (on the assumption that solid polymer can't fail at the crimp, and will flex rather than deform), but I don't have high hopes. At least they are cheap.
Anybody have advice? I'll be single-loading more than I'll be working from the fixed magazine, so getting reps in is kind of not optional if I want to qualify with this particular setup.
If you reload, you could take resized cases, seat a short piece of derlin rod in the primer pocket.
Then seat a bullet with out powder.
The dummy rounds can be marked with layout die or even sharpie.
Mark's advice is probably your best bet. If you don't have Delrin rod, I've used silicone or RTV in the primer pocket for .30-06 snap caps. I still haven't destroyed my red (A-zoom?) .223 snap caps with my AR, so I'm surprised you're having trouble.
Unfortunately I do not reload.
I went to the Traditions dummy cartridges because they are supposed to be exactly the same as an unprimed, uncharged round. I've killed two of them since last Friday.
I've found something that works.
Quote from: Kennebago on December 14, 2017, 12:56:52 PM
Strike and Magpul polymer jobs
Magpul dummy rounds are straight-up garbage, at least in this shooter's 700 Police. They don't feed well and
do not extract whatsoever. I have to pry each round out of the chamber.
Strike's polymer dummies, on the other hand, work just fine. A couple-three hundred reps deep at this point and I'm pretty much convinced they're good to go.
On a hunch I took my calipers to the rim on both sets of polymer dummies and an unfired .223 case. Magpul's rim is significantly undersized (like 12+ thou) - I do not believe it is engaging the extractor very much, if at all. Strike's rim is slightly oversized but within a couple thou of the real thing. They extract and eject with authority, and none of them are showing any wear (outside of the obvious firing pin marks from dryfire).
Pretty happy with Strike, ordering more.
Not at all happy with Magpul. I don't know how these things even came to market, unless my batch was a major QC escape.
I did replace the magazine spring and it seems to have corrected the tip deformation on the real brass & bullet training cartridges I have left. Think those were nosediving just enough to make a difference over time (practicing daily for 10-15 minutes). A-Zooms continue to perform poorly.
kptactical.com makes solid brass training rounds.
I have some of the 9mm and .45ACP and so far they are great.
They do make .223, but they are out right now, and have been for some time.
Maybe if enough people pester them about making some more, they would.
Burnett