Making Dummy Shotgun Rounds

[dart368]

I saw that Fiocchi used to make dummy rounds in 12 gauge and a box of 25 went for around $18.00.  I started experimenting with trying to make my own.  I took a shell and cut it down the the length of a regular shell.  I have been trying different compounds. 

First, was bathroom caulking but after 24 hours, it is still flaking.  The hardware store people suggested concrete caulking and after 12 hours, I am still waiting for it to dry.  Both of these give an approximate weight to a lite load winchester.  I also tried solid glue sticks and a hot glue gun.  This seemed to dry fast and stick well but it is a little lighter than a loaded shell.  On one shell, I used "Shoe Goo" and it seemed to work and have a nice weight to it but I ran out since my tube was old and that stuff is on the expensive side.  My last resort was to fill the shell 90% with caulking and 10% hot glue.  It worked okay until I pushed on the top and the glue fell into the soft caulking. 

Maybe I should wait for it all to dry before messing with it but I wanted to use it today for practicing loading and unloading my double barrel.  A craft store suggested rubber cement which is what I would think "Shoe Goo" probably is.  I am just trying to get the right combination of low cost, ease of use, approximate weight and something that isn't going to leak out into the barrell.  Any suggestions?

[Camille Eonich]

Mine are filled with corn cob brass cleaning media.  Not quite as light as an empty but they work well and I use a '97 so I want them as light as possible.  For a double couldn't you just fold the ends of the shell back up and maybe add a drop of glue from a hot glue gun to keep it closed up. 

I'm not sure why you would want it to be as heavy as a fully loaded shell.  Yes you are practicing loading and weight won't make that big of a difference there because what you are concentrating on is getting the shell in the barrels smoothly.  What you are also practicing is unloading and the shells are empty there.  Weighted shells will make them fall out much easier than empties will.

Calking is perfect for the primer pocket.

One thing to keep in mind for your dummy rounds is to get a shell of a color that you would never have any of loaded.  My dummies are light purple.  One shooter I know was practicing in his bedroom and one of his dummies went under the bed.  He didn't realize that there was a live round under there too and since the dummies were the same color as the live rounds when he retrieved the one he dropped he thought he had it right up until he started practicing the round and blew a whole in his bedroom wall.  Mark your dummies well and check them often.

[Bugscuffle]

I use corn meal for the powder load, a normal shot load and prime them with spent primers. I then paint the bottoms of the cartridges with a marks-a-lot to designate them as dummies.

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[wildman1]

Could jest fill em with hot wax and whatever shot would bring em up ta weight.  Easy cheap and ya could be exact. WM

[dart368]

Great suggestions.  I guess I have been practicing with empties so much that I wanted to see if having a weighted shell made a difference in the feel of it.  I guess I was thinking about muscle memory and trying to make the loading as realistic as possible without compromising safety.

One thing I found today was that the rough edges of the shell end where I cut it made it not go into the chamber smoothly sometimes.  I am going to file down the edges tomorrow and try again.

I am dry firing 5 days a week twice a day for about 20 minutes.  I have 5 peices of tape up on the wall in a half circle from 9 oclock up to 12 oclock and then to 3 oclock.  I will vary the target, going from 9 to 3 or 12 to 2 to 8 to 3 and then 9 oclock or sometimes back and forth from 3 to 9 oclock, back and forth for 10 rounds with rifle, trying to get smooth and fast with the lever action and trigger along with sight alignment.  Then comes the shotgun, doing the same drills but of course with loading and unloading my double barrell.  Then, I put on the holsters and do drills with the revolvers.  Of course, I put it all together as well, going from one gun to the next working on transitions.

So I guess I was trying to get the shells to be as realistic as possible.  I like the wax idea and the suggestion of having the shells be a different color is great which I did as well.  Any other suggestions would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[Red Cent]

Spent hull and nothing but kitty litter. Fill to just above the fold line and crimp as usual. YMMV.

Hey Bugs. Why would you deprime a shotgun shell to install a spent primer?

[Delmonico]

Cammie, for function testing in some actions you want them weighted like a real shell.  For those something to fill where the powder charge should be a wad and shot work well.   

For practicing loading anything to fill the shell will work.

[dart368]

Spent hull and nothing but kitty litter. Fill to just above the fold line and crimp as usual. YMMV.

How do you crimp it?  I have plenty of kitty litter.  Excellent suggestion.

[Red Cent]

As usual. I have a Mec 600 that I use once in a while. Fill the hull to just above the fold so that the load will compress a little. I tap it on the table to get the stuff to settle..If it settless below the fold put a little more in thehull. Place it in next to last station and do the "pre crimp". Then the finish crimp. If one comes out with hole in center, pour in some Elmer's in her.

i never use a loaded shell nor do i use the heavy snap caps to test chambering or practice. both are hard on the ejector. kitty litter is light and works well.

[Bugscuffle]

Spent hull and nothing but kitty litter. Fill to just above the fold line and crimp as usual. YMMV.

Hey Bugs. Why would you deprime a shotgun shell to install a spent primer?

You don't have to if you use spent hulls. I have about a thousand of them (paper) and an old style roll crimper that I've been trying to sell in the classifieds for a long time now. So empties are not a problem for me.

[Pettifogger]

The weight of dummy shells depends on what you are using them for.  If you are practicing loading a double barrel you can use full weight dummies.  The problem is that they are so heavy they don't simulate a fired shell when you practice shucking them.  Also, you should not use full weight shells in an 87 or a 97 if you are going to practice loading and ejecting them.  (A full weight shell ejected from an 87 that hits you between the eyes is downright painful.  ) The dummies are far heavier than a fired shell and the action often won't work properly with them and/or it can put a lot of stress on your extractors and ejectors.  The kitty litter idea is a good compromise.  It gives the shell some mass, keeps them from bending, yet is light enough to eject pretty decently.

[Camille Eonich]

What Pettifogger said and really the clear caulk in the primer pocket will add some nice cushion.  I highly recommend it.


You'll get the most mileage out of your practicing by practicing transistions.  Don't drop the double down to waist level when you eject and reload.  Keep it as high and as close to the shoulder as you can.

Watch Red River Ray with his shotgun here.  He's one of the fastest with a double.