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Cartridge papers
- Thread starter mikee51848
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sherpadoug
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I believe that is what Revwar soldiers did. I have tried doing that and my accuracy is even worse than a patched ball. I intend to first get good with a PRB, then try authentic loading with the paper cartridge again.
If you are trying to get off six shots a minute as the baddies with fixed bayonets are marching across the field toward you, you don't have TIME to play with overpowder wads and under shot cards etc. :thumbsup:
I use a J C Whitney auto parts catalog. They are cheap (free) and delivered to your mailbox about once a month. You can cut over 800 catridge papers from one catalog. The paper is thin, easy to tear, and will crumple easily if you wish to use it for wadding under the ball. I found most other paper inclding the ones printed to resemble a period newspaper too thick for practicle use. I shot a Bess for years in competition where we had to load by the manual using a military catridge and fire by volly and I found that using the paper as wadding can cause problems and it is better to throw it on the ground. The paper can get between the ball and the barrel wall specially when the barrel is dirty and make it very difficult to seat the ball or stop the loading process entirely. Also a few times the paper got between the powder charge and the vent stopping the flame from reaching the powder which resulted in a lot of fierce picking and repriming as well as lost points as you couldn't fire again till the next volly. My Pedersoli shoots best with a 85 grain charge of 2f including priming and a thrice dipped .735 ball. I have a metal template to cut the papers with but you could make the template from almost anything. The dimensions are: 5 1/8" high, 3" top horizontal side, 5" bottom horizontal side. This will contain a far greater charge than I use. Make a concavity in one end of a 3/4" dowel to hold the ball. Wipe one edge of the paper with a glue stick and roll, withdraw the dowel, add powder, fold & glue the tail, tie a string around the catridge below the ball to keep the powder from getting up around the ball and you are done. It realy goes quite fast. By the way if I ever get arround to building a catridge box it will have 13/16" or 7/8" holes better suited to a 3/4" catridge.
mikee51848
54 Cal.
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Thank you Les. :thumbsup:
mikee51848
54 Cal.
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- Mar 8, 2005
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Yes, Pedersoli gives you a recipe in their manual. I'll have to try it. They say you can get potassium nitrate at a pharmacy. :hmm:
Here's a tip for you...
I have been using unprinted newsprint that is sold by the local newspaper printing office as roll ends for $10 a roll. I have no idea how many yards are left on a roll end but it is a HELLOFALOT of newsprint!!! Call your local newspaper and see if they will also sell them to you. :thumbsup:
I have been using unprinted newsprint that is sold by the local newspaper printing office as roll ends for $10 a roll. I have no idea how many yards are left on a roll end but it is a HELLOFALOT of newsprint!!! Call your local newspaper and see if they will also sell them to you. :thumbsup:
Soooo... when you do this, you tear off the end, dump the powder in, right? Do yo then flip the cartridge and put the ball end in and cut it like a patch? Or just stuff everything down after the powder is poured so that it's all sort of crunched together on top of the powder? I've never had the opportunity to try a cartridge, is why I'm asking. When you shoot, is the paper burned away or does the ball head toward the aim point trailing the paper? Seems like having a tail of paper would affect accuracy. ::
The paper will burn away on the bottom while in the tube during ignition, the lead ball will blow through the paper with little effort during flight...
As for paper trailing, I am told by a former member that would actually help stabilize the non-spinning projectile, some people do use short strips of ribbon for this "tail" to create drag, but that's another thread...
sherpadoug
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Hawkeye2,
What do you mean by "a thrice dipped .735 ball"? Do you dip you balls in some sort of waxy lube before putting them in the paper cartridge?
What do you mean by "a thrice dipped .735 ball"? Do you dip you balls in some sort of waxy lube before putting them in the paper cartridge?
RunningBear
36 Cal.
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I used Post-its also but I bought saltpeter at the drug store,one tablespoon for a cup of water worked ok.You just dipped the paper into the water and let them dry.The sticky part still worked.RunningBear. :front:
Not Hawkeye here,but Some Smoothbore Civil War guys dip their .69 balls three times in Melted Hot Leftys lube..........Dont know whats in it.......They shoot bare balls and I figger it takes up the windage good and keeps the fouling down for a lot of shooting at a North South Skirmish Association smoothbore shoot........Those guys have done a lot of experimenting with smoothbores.....................Bob
Thanks Leatherbark, not only does it take up windage but more importantly it keeps the fouling soft allowing easy loading. You have never seen a stuck round ball unless you have stuck an unpatched ball in a smoothbore on a hot dry day! Melt a real stiff lube and dip yur (musket) balls repeatedly till ya get a good build up on them, can't get too much as the excess scrapes off at the muzzle. BTW excelent illustration Musketman.
