Paper Cartridge?

[10 gauge]

I plan on making .715 lead ball paper cartridges for my Brown Bess. Do any of you guys also Nitrate your cotton string like your paper?

 

[wulf]

No.............I don't even nitrate the paper..

 

[ohio ramrod]

Same hear I just rip the end off, no nitrating needed. I have found nitrating weakens the paper and makes a mess when the paper tears before you want it to.

 

[Tkendrick]

Same here. Been so long since I nitrated papers, I'm not sure I even remember how.

 

[Le Grand]

10 ga. It seems to me that you wouldn't want to nitrate the paper. Nitrating the paper is for making paper cartridges to be used in percussion revolvers, where you want the paper to burn. In a musket you don't want the paper to burn, you tear the paper and pour the powder down the bore, then follow the powder with the ball still in the paper. By having the powder poured loose down the barrel, there's nothing that will hamper its ignition. In a revolver, the paper cartridge is loaded into the cylinder without being torn. That's why the revolver's paper cartridges are nitrated, so the powder in the revolver's cartridge will be ignited.

 

[10 gauge]

Sounds good to me, Its just that I was told in the past that nitrating the paper was a safety thing so that there was no paper embers left burning in the barrel when you dumped the next powder load down, this was done to make sure that all paper was consumed. Maybe it was 58cal rifled musket paper cartridges that I'm thinking about.

 

[10 gauge]

You guys are right, all I'm finding on the internet is nitrating paper mostly for cap and ball revolvers.
So do you guys suggest Ragbond or Newsprint paper for BrownBess cartridge making?

 

[bebloomster]

I don't nitrate the paper either... nor do I use any string as a common glue stick works fine for me... more "French" cartridges than "English". I prefer recycled newsprint for the paper... can find tablets of it at most office supply stores. I usually keep 100 cartridges loaded up but do not lube any of them until I am ready to go shooting. I dip just the ball end in melted Crisco brand shortening. With a .715 round ball and 2 complete wraps of recycled newsprint the 30th shot seems to go down the length of the bore just as easily as the 2nd shot. Crisco really works well for me in that respect. Once dipped though the paper cartridges will have a shelf life of maybe 3 months.... after that the Crisco will have wicked through the paper and will start to degrade the power charge.

Good luck to ya with the paper cartridges.... to me that is the only way to load a Bess.

 

[gjkershul]

I prefer computer print out paper because it is of uniform thickness. Second choice is yellow pages paper out of old phone books.

 

[10 gauge]

Wow! so "Dex" really does help me. Should I use the pages that start with "C" for cartridge? :rotf:

 

[poordevil]

I make my ctgs out of old Dixie gun works catalogs. Something I learned is if you let your ctgs sit for too long the powder gets weak. I had some sit for about 3 years and when I shot them there was a noticible loss in force and sound.P.

 

[bebloomster]

Had the paper cartridges been lubed? If so, the lube could have wicked through the paper and contaminated the powder. Lubing mine with melted Crisco shortening gives them about a 3 month shelf life. I make mine up without lubing them, saving that step until just before I am ready to go shooting.

 

[trent/OH]

Should I use the pages that start with "C" for cartridge? :rotf:

Some guys show no sense at all. You use page 1 for 1Fg powder, page 2 for 2Fg powder, possibly page 3 for 3Fg powder. Your average Lobsterback couldn't spell, so he wouldn't be using alphabetization in cartridge making.
And before you wonder about the rest of the pages in the phone book, remember the colonial era phone books were mighty thin. Most towns were pretty small, so they didn't have many phones! :bull: :rotf:

 

[BlackNet]

I have used cigarette paper with 0 problems.

 

[BS]

Printer paper and thinned wood glue.

 

[trent/OH]

I have used cigarette paper with 0 problems.

Are cigarette papers large enough to make a 72 caliber cartridge? I don't smoke, so I obviously don't roll my own.

 

[10 gauge]

My Bess is 75cal, I dont think that cigarette papers would work well.

 

[bebloomster]

Seems to me that they would be a bit on the flimsy side... atleast the papers I remember when I was rolling my own. Then again, my memory is a bit fuzzy as that was in the 60's and if you can remember the 60's you weren't there.

 

[SgtSchutzen]

"If you can remember the 60`s you weren`t there"
I like that one Evil Dog. :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

 

[mazo kid]

I make my ctgs out of old Dixie gun works catalogs. Something I learned is if you let your ctgs sit for too long the powder gets weak. I had some sit for about 3 years and when I shot them there was a noticible loss in force and sound.P.

I shot some that were at least 15 years old and no noticeable degradation. The cartridges were made out of paper grocery bag material and were not lubed.