A Snap Cap in AK's is only needed if its USA made, mainly the Century made "Junkers"!

Snap caps, aluminum and AK are three words I never thought I'd hear together

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I have never used snap caps. Ever. Almost 50 years of shooting. My dry practice isn't what it used to be, but at one time it was on par with Rastoff. No broken firing pins. Ever. This not only applies to S&W, but to Colt, Beretta, Browning, Ruger, SIG, Walther, and whatever else I have used over these many years.

Remember that the S&W paper instruction sheets (the folding ones that were included in the two-piece cardboard boxes back in the 60s and 70s) actually RECOMMENDED dry firing.

I've got a new shield with maybe 300 rounds through at most. The tip broke off the striker. I have probably dry fired 1000 times. S&W sent me a new pin and I replaced it. Caused by dry firing? Who knows, but with my 3914 it is snap caps only so far.

If the tip of the striker broke off through dry practice, how would snap caps have prevented it?

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I don't know - isn't that what they are supposed to prevent?

I suspect that if the tip of the striker was ready to break off, it wouldn't matter if you used snap caps or not. Without exaggeration, I have at least 100,000 dry presses and 2,427 live rounds through my M&P 45 and I'm still on the original striker. Yours failed within 300 rounds.

Your failure was going to happen no matter what. I suspect the striker was defective from the factory.

There is no evidence that a snap cap will protect or harm a firing pin in any way. In fact, there is more evidence that a snap cap can be harmful than helpful. A plastic snap cap can have the rim fail and end up leaving the body in the bore. This would lead to a bore obstruction if not caught when it happens.

Snap caps are great for function testing and for dry practice, but I don't think they protect the firing pin at all.

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