Beeswax to seal blank cartridges?

[Maestro]

I brought some blank cartridges to a small reenactment (not a CL or BAR event) earlier this year and some of the "officers" gave me a lecture about not dipping my cartridges in beeswax (see photo) because, if we were to ram the cartridge paper as a wad (which we might sometimes do in a demonstration), the "hot molten wax projectile would be flying through the air".

What do you think?... am I wrong in thinking that a small amount of beeswax like that would be burned up before it even left the barrel?

 

[J.D.]

Shoot 'em into a cardboard box, at about 20 feet. If there is anything solid, it will show up on the box. That said,IMHO, there is no need to wax blank cartridges. Any possible projectile should be avoided, for obvious safety reasons, at any battle reenactment or demonstration.

Most reenactment sites do not allow anything that could become a projectile to be loaded into the bore. No rammers are permitted on the field. Nothing that could become a potential projectile is allowed to be used during reenactment of a battle.

My personal rule of thumb is to adhere to the rules established by the site of the reenactment, or the rules of the participating unit, whichever is more stringent.

Why tempt fate?

 

[Grizzled Roberts]

If they are that picky they should supply the cartridges. I do have some off the wall tales for waxed paper cartridges. I have to make up small
paper cartridges for demonstrationg my Ferguson Rifle. Some places like Friendship will not allow me to use a horn or flask going directly to the breach ( just as Ferguson did ) so I make up these small cartridges. I dip the entire cartridge
in bees wax because I make these up well in advance and I need to waterproof the cartridges so they will not pick up any moisture during field time or travel. Of course like a muzzle loader nothing but the powder goes in the breach
so the waxed cartridge is a non issue. I have found some of my cartridges several years old and the wax keeps out the moisture! I kind of like going to reenactments where I take empty powder horns and use their powder!
:thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

My only experience with blank charges has been during parades, where we shoot off blanks to please the crowds. The first year, I pre-measured loads into tube I made from some orange Stationary my sister had sent to me years before. I poured the powder down the barrel, and then ramed the paper down on top to add compression, so that the sound would be louder. It was, but I also created "Orange Confetti", that some in the crowd likes as it rained down on them, and others didn't. Occasionally a piece of paper would be burning when it left the barrel, but it always burned out before it came close to the ground or to endangering people.

The next year, I poured plain BP down the barrel- a lot more of it, so that the weight of the powder contributed to the compression --- and skipped the paper tubes. No more fire hazard! I was using 120-150 grains of FFg powder in my .50 caliber gun, and it roared like a lion- a sure crowd pleaser. Lots of fire out the muzzle, lots of smoke, and a lot of unburned powder that burned in the air , or fell to the ground with a quiet "patter".

If you are going to be a re-enactor, follow their rules.

The second year my club did parades, we made a rule that forbade ramrods being used, or even carried in the guns. They could be carried in our club covered wagon, but not in the guns. Every participant's bag was checked to make sure he was not carrying any lead balls, either. And short starters were left behind, too. We burned up a lot of powder- I went through almost two horns of powder in one parade, but the crowd loved it, and cleaning involved the same amount of time. The water does that job.