how i do shot cartridges

[armymedic.2]

So after some experimentation this is what i have settled on that works well for me. little labor intensive but worth it if you've nothing better to do while watching tv.

also, if someone has a better way please do share.

so,what i have learned is to avoid is making snug fitting cartridges. anything close to bore size, upon trying to push down the barrel has always lodged somewhere before seating. ive seen where some people have the fiber wad or other wad be part of the shot cartridge. this doesn't work for me and never seats.

so i experimented and what works very simply in the field is this:



if you want iot to be more "pc" just tie with twine on both ends instead of using the glue stick.

i wrap newspaper 2 thicknesses around a slightly under bore object. in my .62 i like .58 or anything close. but not snug.
i put a strip of glue, wrap, and finish with another coat of glue on the end of the roll, so it stays put and forms a tube. then i stick the dowel or object into the tube, and form the round blunt end of the roll and glue shut. then i fill with shot or powder and glue/fold the other end.


you end up with this:
shot is in the longer one, powder in the shorter one.


i leave a little extra on top of the shot one so that when tamped with my ram rod it flares out and locks it in place against the barrel. the powder one you need only enough to tear the top off without spilling powder.

loading process:

tear off folded top of of powder cartridge and pour down barrel. then push the remaining paper tube, minus the top you tore off, down and tamp in place (this is your "wad")

place shot cartridge in barrel blunt end first. it will sink until the folded end catches on the muzzle. with ram rod push down barrel and give a few light tamps. this will flare the top of the cartridge to lock it in place. (at not time is the shot cartridge torn. the ignition will do that for you)

prime and your off

loading this way is insanely fast, which is good bc they take awhile to make.

today i went through some crazy nasty cover after rabbit and none ever came loose or moved, though i checked it many times.im confident enough now to hunt without checking if it has moved.

what i noticed about this style:
no change in leading of the barrel. it is not a shot cup, and does not keep shot from rubbing on the bore

though it did produce a slightly tighter pattern in my gun, which was not my aim, as it already takes squirrels to 40 yards or so. but its nice to know it performs at least as well as my half lubed wad and shot card.

fully worth using as my kit became extremely light. i needed to carry my game bag, which i always do bc i dont like carrying rabbits in my hand while hunting, and a pan primer around my neck. no more powder horn or shot snake. i felt very free to wander and not weighted down at all.

hope this clarifies some things for guys wondering, or prompts someone who knows an easier way to manufacture to chime in.

 

[TinStar]

Interesting. I may have to try this when the weather breaks.

TinStar
Soli Deo Gloria!

 

[ohio ramrod]

I use a similar method tieing the ends with string and twisting and folding over after filling. For powder charges I use a heavy waxed paper since I often hunt in rainy weather. But I do use leather wads between the powder and shot cartridge. I have found that three thickness of newspaper is best for the shot cartridge. I also found putting the wads in the cartridge causes it to bind up at loading. So I load by ripping open a powder charge dumping it down the barrel followed by the powder charge paper, leather wad, then the shot cartridge folded end out. with no over shot card needed. :idunno: :idunno:

 

[coloradoclyde]

I too use a glue stick, they are handy.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I'm sure you have seen these before but this is what i use

 

[Patocazador]

Colo. Clyde, are the wads glued to the paper case?
Does the cartridge bind when seating as the others have said?

 

[coloradoclyde]

yes the leather wad is glued and no they don't bind. the cartrige is smaller than the leather wad and lubricated. The leather wad does however produce a very tight seal when going down the barrel. kinda like an old bicycle tire pump.

 

[robinsroost]

Well. I really like your idea and I might have to try it. So far, my only smooth bore is a Pedrisoli, 20ga SBS, double, but your way seems like a viable option. I was thinking of working up loads using coin wrapper tubes, but I haven't yet had the oppertunity to try them........Robin

 

[Archer 756]

:thumbsup: I posted in another area go to March/April Muzzleloader there is a fine article on just this subject. :hatsoff: