I've been making the Hazards for six months or so. It's kind of a relaxation thing for me...some people might do crossword puzzles, I take an hour-ish once or twice each week to make a half-dozen each of .44 cal and .36 cal, let them set up until I have time to finish the job. It's not difficult, and the only "specialized" equipment is something to briefly compress the cap into the mold. I use a small drill press, but the smallest and cheapest way to tackle it might be to buy a small C-clamp.
They work fine. I make them and then package them in paper packets or wood cartridge blocks, and stamp and apply labels so they look right. The packets aren't museum-quality reproductions, but an impression that isn't embarrassing (to me). (I wish I could find better information on the paper--if I could find anything to improve, I would...because.)
For efficiency in total time to turn black powder into holes in targets...well, it's not more efficient than just filling cylinders at the range. It allows for faster reloads, as long as your revolver's loading notch accommodates the combined rigid cartridge, but I've tracked that my actively involved time to prepare 12 cartridges is close to 2 hours, from preparing the molds, breaking out the kit and scale, mixing the powder and binder, filling and packing the molds, cleanup, then removing the charges, gluing them to the conicals, coating with nitrocellulose for waterproofing and durability, lubricating the conicals, and cleaning and reassembling the molds to be ready for the next use.
The consistency of the mass of the charges is less than when filling cylinders or paper cartridges. Although I am finicky about putting the same weight of mix into the molds, when they've dried there is a variation in charge weight of up to 1 grain from extreme high to low, which I presume is principally imperfectly distributed binder and water from charge to charge. (The standard deviation in my last batch was 0.3 grain.)
But it's something I can do at night and in the rain when I would not be at the range anyway, and without any travel time. Apart from just enjoying the activity, I like that I've been able to use these as a way to educate others (who make the mistake of coming close to me and not walking briskly away when I begin to mention this) that self-contained cartridges of different sorts existed and were the principal way pistol ammunition was issued during the Civil War. The compressed powder cartridges are, to me, more peculiar and more interesting than paper and seem to intrigue others more. I'm trying to build up a little stock so I can give packets away to friends with percussion revolvers. (As my mother-in-law says, "Christmas is coming!")
I wish they had molds for the .36 pocket and for the .31. I know the 3-D files exist (at the link in OP), but I haven't seen them for sale when I've checked the site.
Paper cartridges are faster to make, for sure. And if you just want to make up some quick cartridges for a demonstration, you can use round ball, which is cheaper than buying conicals.
Two years ago, I didn't know any of this. I'm grateful for the authors, YouTubers, and fabricators out there who are not only bringing the information to light but also making it pretty easy to learn about and gain a practical feel for this historical ammunition.
