Civil War Musket Cartridge

[Thunderchild]

Civil War Musket Cartridge

I was wondering if anyone knows how to recreate the paper tubes that were used to hold the powder and mini ball for civil war muskets. I was thinking about how they must have done this. There lube for the mini ball must have been more like wax than grease. I want to make up cartridges for shooting at the range. I know how to make tubes for powder used in civil war reenactments. That’s easy, just wrap a piece of paper around a dowel rod. However putting powder and ball in the same tube with out having the grease migrate everywhere is the problem I want to over come. I have thought of a couple of things like using wax paper. I was also looking at a 58 cal sizing die for a lyman 4500 press. It was the kind that would lube the bullet in the process. The type of lube used by this press is like wax and the press has a heater to melt it. This press with the dies is a bit pricy for me at the current time. Perhaps some one knows what might work. I have seen the plastic caps that Dixie gun works sells. I also have seen cap plugs that were red and you poured in your powder charge and stuffed the bullet on top. I am currently using shooting tubes that have two compartments, one for the powder and one for the ball. The tubes are nice but expensive. I only have nine of them and have to reload them four or five times at the range when I shoot. I am looking for a better way. Today I filled sixty paper tubes with powder charge and then lubed a bunch of bullets and put them in a cap tin. This worked ok but I would prefer to use cartridges that are similar to what was used in the civil war and store them in my leather cartridge box and pull them out as needed at the range.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

TC

 

[MSW]

TC- my eldest daughter knows a fellow who is more or less a professional re-enactor... now he's doing tall ships, but he has done Colonial Williamsburg in the past. his degree is more in the colonial period, but when next i see him, i'll ask where's a good starting point. maybe the NSSA (North South Skirmish Assn.)?

as regards the paper ctg- i build my own for my falling block paper cartridge Sharps. you will need a stick of the appropriate diameter. then, after you make some measurements, do some tinkering, and maybe break down and use some lampblack, you will know how long you want your tube to be. i ran a few turns of ducktape around the dowel. this serves to mark the point of what will become the bullet tnd of the cartridge.

in the end of the ctg which will be closed (and eventually sheared off by the sharp edge of the breechblock as it closes) you want to hollow out a v- shaped portion of the dowel. take your bit of paper (i've tried all manner of nitrated papers, but any decent onion skin typing paper, even if un- nitrated, will do) and wrap it around the dowel, so that the leading edge (where the bullet will go) is just even with the edge of the ducktape. now, you have a tube which is open at both ends. take a punch, nail set or something similar, and gently (without tearing the paper) crimp the paper into the hollowed out section of the dowel.

you will, of course, have to tinker with both the width and length of the paper (and the depth and shape of the hollowed out section) to get a design which will work properly, but when it's all done, you'll have a tube of the appropriate calibre, which is closed at one end and open at the other.

measure your powder into the paper tube (more tinkering with dimensions) and then seat your minnie ball on the powder, using whatever configuration of overshot wads, grease cookies, or filler which works for you. again, ample opportunity for still more tinkering. with a bit of heavy carpet thread, tie the bullet into the paper using the frontmost groove.

by way of disclaimers: i have no ideda if this proceedure is PC or not. i doubt that it is simply because of its labour intensity: what soldier would want to spend all his time with all this messing about with little bits of paper. (and what factory would bother when you could just as easily make a fold rather than messing about with the hollowed out end of a stick).

as regards my offhand remark about nitrated paper: remember that i'm using a breechloading rifle, and i do, as a matter of habit, blow down the breech after i open the action to reload another round. this will clear any unburned (and potentially still smoldering) paper, at least from the breech area. i've only had unburned paper in the barrel during the early stages of the development of this design, and that was when i was using heavy cardstock, but as a safety consideration, it's important to note that if you're using this ctg in a muzzleloader, (musket) you would want to absolutely minimize any chance of having an ember in the bore when you went to load the next round.

cookoffs suck.

bigtime.

therefore, for your appplication, i would recommend using nitrated paper, and go with the thinnest paper which will reasonably hold its shape, and you'll probably want to dispense with the crimping at the back of the cartridge in favor of a fold, which would allow you to tear off the back end of the paper before you poured the powder from the paper tube into the barrel. (again, P.C.? i don't know- but it would make a fun research projcet)

well, sorry i got all longwinded on you, and good luck with your project

msw

 

[jbg]

I have "rolled my own" several times for my Enfield using bore butter as a lubricant in the base and groves of the minie. Basically I just coat the goves with a dab on my finger, dab some morein the base and then roll them in the paper, use a glue stick to seal the paper, drop the charge in the rolled paper and twist the end of the cartridge. I've never hada problem with lube leaking or migrating, but I never had the rounds for more than a few days before I shot them up.
I hope this helps.

 

[rice1817]

Although the nitrated paper musket cartridges would probably work, they would not be PC if that means anything to you. Civil war musket cartridges were not made of cumbustible paper, and only the Enfield cartridges were designed to be load with the paper, which acted as a lubed patch for the grooveless Enfield bullet.

I use butcher paper which is already waxed for my cartridges. I suppose you could also use brown wrapping paper. I do not use a light grease like Wonder lube, I make may own from beeswax and tallow. It is much stiffer and does not migrate. After I have enough mini's cast, I heat up a pan of the lube until it is liquid, then dip the bullets up to the last grease groove, then put them aside to cool and for the wax to solidify. Then I screw a sizing die in my reloading press and push the bullets up through with the press ram and extension that comes with the die. This sizes the bullet and cards off the excess wax.

I roll the tubes just like for re-enactments, using a dowel rod of a little over bullet diameter. I drop in the minie, then twist the end
shut. I throw a quick loop of thread over the twist and cinch it, then cut it. You can then dump a powder charge down the tube, then fold the tube lengthwise and then back onto itself to make the tail that you bite. If you are really worried about lube migration, then borrow an idea from the Enfield cartridge and put a separate smaller diameter tube inside the main tube to hold the powder charge. True Enfield type cartridges are a real pain to construct.

I also make patched roundball cartridges much the same way. I use them for quick reloads. I take some patching material, wrap it around the ball, tie it off with light thread, then snip the excess. I finger lube the patch, then I then make the cartridge as described above but insert a felt wad to prevent migration of the lube.

 

[colonelxyz]

I am no expert, but what has worked well for me the past 6 years is making cartridges out of cigarette rolling papers formed around an old snider brass.Mind you you get some odd looks when u buy 1/2 dozen books of papers at a time.I use a .570rb with a 70/30 wax oil cookie under it with 62gr 2fg.I used to use spit wads but switched after reading about cookies on this site.Prepared rounds have sat for over 6 mons without powder contam.This past month i have been experimenting with pure lead minies lubed with bore butter loaded in the same way with good success.Heres a pic of a rb loaded.

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[Thunderchild]

I would like to thank everyone for there impute. Lots of good information given. I found some additional information on the web. I saw an article on how the civil war factories made cartridges of the day. The article was specific on how the cartridges were made. It would seem that the bullets were dipped nose first in to a hot solution of one part bee’s wax and three parts tallow up to the last skirt ring. The Powder charge of 65 grains was placed in separate paper tube with the ends folded. This powder tube and the pre-lubed bullet were placed in another paper tube. This created an inner and outer paper tube. The outer tube was tied with cotton string on one end and folded on the other. I saw this on the NSSA web site. I can get thin cotton twine, tallow and bee’s wax with no problem. The paper for civil war cartridges that was used, looked thin. It kind of looked like the soft paper that is used for wrapping and shipping items. It is going to take some more looking to find the right kind of paper. I want to pursue this more and replicate the correct packing as well. Ten cartridges were typically packaged together. I saw this on a antique cartridge website. They were selling authentic Civil war Cartridges for 100 buck each. I think I will stick to shooting and leave the collecting to the rich.

Any help on finding the correct period paper for the cartridge or a close proximity, would be gratefully accepted.

TC

 

[paulvallandigham]

YOu can buy cigarette papers at most pipe and tobacco stores, and at some pharmacies. That works just fine for paper patches. You can also buy the paper from Dixie Gun Works.

 

[Tumblernotch]

Go to the Civil War section of this forum and look up "Let's Roll a Few and Party".
[url] http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showpost.php?post/357373/[/url]

To see the whole thread, click on the heading at the top (Let's Roll a Few and Party". There are some diagrams to go with the instructions.

 

[brubincam]

try the tissue paper they used to put in a box with a new shirt you just bought

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

Tissue paper and cigarette papers are useless for rolling cartridges - too easily damaged even when great care is taken. Use KanawhaRanger's post as the reference and do it right, especially if you want to be anywhere close to "PC". (There's that word again! :shocked2: ) Also see John Wedeward's article at:
[url] http://members.aol.com/wis33rd/33articles/authcart.html[/url]

Short and to the point and backs up KanawhaRanger.

 

[Thunderchild]

I have been able to make some very realistic paper Civil war cartridges. I have had very good success on my first couple of tries. They look great.

I found some paper for the cartridges. I was walking through Wall mart and thought I would just check and see if there was any paper that would work. Well there was. I found some Crayola Doodle Paper (Who Da Thunk It). It is basically unbleached blank news paper. Thin but strong and easy to work with. A pad of the paper cost a little over a dollar.

Here is how I made the cartridges.

The civil war paper cartridge was a tube within a tube. To start, you make a five inch tube on a 5/8 pointed tip dowel rod. I cut a five by four in piece of paper and wrapped it around the dowel. I glued the flap. Use waxed twine to secure the end using a surgeons knot. Slid it off the dowel and Leave the other end open for now.

Lube you bullets by making a warmed mixture of 3 parts tallow and one part Bee’s wax. Dip the bullets in nose first up to the last ring on the skirt. Set aside and let cool. Once cool push the bullets through a sizing die. This will size the bullet and remove excess lube. I use a sizing die I got from Dixie Gun Works for less than twenty bucks. Put a lubed and sized bullet in the first tube.

The second tube is going to have to be smaller so it can fit inside the first. But it is basically made the same way as the first. It will also have to be a bit shorter. I shaved down the other end of the 5/8 dowel rod to make it .060 smaller. The smaller tube fits easily inside the first tube. Place the second tube inside the first with the tied end inside the skirt of the mini ball.

Now you fill the inner tube with powder. Then you fold the end of the cartridge that includes the inner and outer tube. To fold you push the tube flat then fold one third towards the center then the other third towards the center. Then fold against the side to the cartridge. Whal-la the cartridge is ready. Make ten and wrap them in paper and secure with twine. This package will or at least should fit inside of the tins found in civil war cartridge boxes. Four of theses packages or forty rounds would fill the cartridge box.


Here is a List of items I am using for the cartridges

Caryola Doodle paper
Glue
Sand paper
5/8 dowel rod
Waxed twine (Like the kind used to fix sail boat sails)
Tallow (crisco)
Bee’s Wax
Black Powder
Mini Balls
Sizing Die