Finally Tried Paper Cartridges in smoothbore......

[Flint62Smoothie]

I use the French style paper cartridge ... got up to 15 shots before any resistance was felt. Got a 4 to 5 inch group at 5 yds. measured.

I sure hope that was 50-yards ...

 

[sturmkatze]

As I previously mentioned, At mates club.
“The ramrod went through a shooters hand, through the tin roof never to be seen again”
Daft priming first , but what’s a lost hand in the heat of battle.

Maybe, but that happens with normal goobers shooting too. Embers will be there. Things happen. Don’t put your hand over the end of the rammer. Just don’t.

 

[bud in pa]

I sure hope that was 50-yards ...

Yes it was, old age seems to be taking it's toll.

 

[PathfinderNC]

On the second or third load, I thought I heard a double click of the cock before that pan was primed and cartridge rammed down.
Dear god, I hope that I heard wrong.

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

On the second or third load, I thought I heard a double click of the cock before that pan was primed and cartridge rammed down.
Dear god, I hope that I heard wrong.

This gun doesn't have a set trigger.
There was no editing/splicing the video during those 6 shots for 3 minutes. I make sure of that so there is no editing to make it look good. What the viewer saw is what they got.
Camera was on a stand running the whole time.
If you watch it again.....as the ramrod comes out of the barrel, you should notice I pulled the cock back past half cock 1 click & fired.
Thanks for watching....

 

[Billy-by-gosh]

Let me just say that cartridges are a fun undertaking for me. However, there seems to be a double-whammy against the pre-priming practice (and I may be guilty in part). First, the possibility of a hot ember remaining if you quickly reload after firing a shot is always a concern if not wiping the bore. Second: with flintlocks, the obvious worry of an inadvertent flint falling against the steel. As previously mentioned, a leather hammerstall can eliminate sparks, but very few shooters I see carry or use a hammerstall. In spite of these things, pre-priming the pan is a militarily correct practice in history, and again, it is a lot of FUN if care is taken. I like to wipe the bore between shots, b/c that helps quench embers, but don't yet have a hammerstall. Ironically my matchlock is less risk because it carries no spark-making mechanism; and I always wait to light the match until AFTER the loading drill is completed. (No, I don't keep a long lit matchcord, but prefer a 16th century Bic lighter with short pieces of cord)

 

[Twisted_1in66]

That would solve the danger, but you are slower now.

-Go to the pan and prime (say cover is on already and the gun is unloaded at the start of battle, hunting, etc. Maybe it was for battlefield situations, but I doubt it, and a hunter with an unloaded rifle is going to go hungry).
-Go to the muzzle, load the ball.
-Go back to the frizen to take off cover, and go to full cock.
-FIRE……but now what.

a) put the cover back on and repeat the process, b) leave the cover off from now on which only keeps it safer for the first shot.

I wonder how many people got their faces blown off on accident from their gun or the guy next to them.

In a hunting situation you use a "hammer stall" (leather frizzen cover) on the frizzen and don't charge the pan until you get to the area you expect to hunt. In most states, a flintlock with powder in the pan (charged pan) is considered loaded. Then charge the pan and put it half cock, which is the safety position and place the leather "hammer stall" over the frizzen so that even if half-cock fails, there's no way to generate a spark to light the powder. When you have your target, you flick off the hammer stall that is typically died to the trigger guard so you don't lose it, pull the cock back to full cock position, aim and fire.

At this point you charge the barrel and seat the ball. Then, you charge the pan, mount your rifle or gun and take the next shot. When you are done shooting, you put the hammer stall back on the frizzen because even without the pan being charged it's more convenient than letting it hang from your trigger guard.

Without the charged pan it is considered unloaded in most states even though you may have powder and ball in the barrel. Check your local laws to see if that applies. You are typically prohibited from transporting a loaded rifle or other firearm in a motor vehicle. In any case, it's not a good idea to leave the powder and ball in the barrel overnight. I take one of those CO2 discharger/unloaders with me when hunting so I don't have to shoot it out and then clean my rifle.

Even if you are using a smoothbore fowler or musket though, you are not going to get 3 shots fired within a minute. That's because accuracy counts when you are hunting and you will very probably be using a fairly tight fitting, lube patched, ball. The 3 shots per minute came from using undersized balls loaded from a paper cartridge (with the cartridge box on your right hip), and by charging the pan before loading the barrel. It's a much faster move and if someone is shooting at you that speed of loading takes precedence over the safer method of charging the pan right before you shoot, which is why troops did that back then.

 

[tenngun]

The Brit’s expected fifteen shots in 3 min and 45 seconds to get out of tge ‘awkward squad’. Four shots a minute.
I saw Ted Spring (French and Indian war sketch books ) get off 21 shots in that time.
But what did a soldier do for a living then? Drill, drill when breakfast was done, drill after lunch, maybe a bit of drill after supper. Interspaced with some camp duties.
Drilled so they could do it with out thinking.
I doubt anyone, no matter how experienced of a shooter he is, can go from loose powder and ball to shots any faster then this vid till practice made perfect.