I tried lots of different methods and materials and load columns, shot cups, made special sized wad and card punches, patterned them all, and finally came up with this method which is a combination of borrowed ideas that finally solved all of the problems I was having making and loading shot cartridges. A couple of people asked me to share so here goes.
Here's all the stuff. For paper I use a 9"-wide roll of painter's masking paper that's less than five bucks at the paint store. These are 24-gauge and a 3.5" wide strip makes two wraps. I cut a bunch of 3.5x9" strips and then cut them in half. Then I cut 1.25x2.5" rectangles for the wad.
Start with the forming mandrel. I like them about. 040" or so smaller than the bore diameter. I build up masking tape on a wood dowel to make up the sizes I need because I'm too lazy to do it on a lathe and too cheap to use good metal round bar. I put kid's glue stick on the far edge and roll the paper up tightly, leaving the paper overhanging the mandrel slightly (just over half the mandrel diameter).
Next I fold the end:
Then I apply stick glue with my fingertip to the folded down part and the whole inside of the remaining overlap and fold the other side:
Then more glue on the flaps and fold those in and smush it all down tight against the end of the mandrel. This leaves four little corners which load easily but hold the cartridge in the barrel after it is rammed home.
Then pull the formed tube off of the mandrel and turn it over. Measure and dump in shot through a funnel, then sift in an equal measure of cornmeal and tap lightly to settle it.
Next, the wad that separates the corn meal from the black powder. Take one of the small rectangular strips and fold it in half to make a square, then fold that over a mandrel slightly smaller than the forming mandrel and hold it with thumb and forefinger, then fold and pinch the other sides 90⁰ away with your other thumb and forefinger to make a truncated pyramid. Crease the four corners to make something like rocket fins and then fold the fins around the mandrel all the same direction (I go clockwise, but it doesn't matter):
Wind it tightly and pull it off the mandrel, then "screw" it into the paper cartridge twisting opposite the way you folded the wings so it doesn't jam up in the paper tube.
Once you get the wad started, push it down with the same undersized mandrel you formed it with and smush it firmly against the corn meal. The wad will halfway turn inside out and will lock firmly into the tube so the shot and buffer won't fall out. You obviously don't want the buffer and shot to fall down the barrel loose after the powder when you are loading.
Then in goes the powder, I generally use a volume of shot and corn meal equal to the black powder, or a "triple-square" load. In this case for 24-gauge 50 grains of FFFg. Funnel in the powder and fold the tail like normal, i.e. how the British did it.
To load, tear off the tail and funnel the powder down the barrel, being careful not to crush the area where your wad is so the cornmeal and shot don't leak out. I like to put a couple spritzes of water-based lube like moose milk or Dawn/water down the barrel and on the remains of the cartridge tail at this stage, using an atomizing pump sprayer. Then crumple/twist/fold the tail and poke it down the barrel tail first, shot end up. Press it home firmly with the rammer with a card-ramming tip on it, prime the pan with a priming horn or cap the nipple, and you're ready to shoot.
As always, beware smolderimg paper or powder embers in the barrel when reloading, so don't put your face over the muzzle or your palm over the end of the rammer, and beware grass fires as singed paper goes downrange with every shot. Nice thing about these all-paper cartridges is there is no string, felt, or hard cards to litter the range or field.
Another big disclaimer: I wouldn't try these in double guns unless adding a tight nitro card over the powder and an overshot card over the shot, or some other sure method to hold the column in place. I don't think retention under recoil is sufficient with the paper cartridge as I have described and the second barrel may develop a potentially dangerous air gap after the first barrel is fired.
I keep meaning to try lubing the outside of the paper tube just in the shot/buffer area (so's to not contaminate the powder) with mink oil or dip in melted beeswax/fat to help soften fouling and make the paper less easy to ignite, but haven't done it yet.
The cormeal does magic to patterns from a cylinder bore; if you haven't yet, you really should have a go with it. .
Here's all the stuff. For paper I use a 9"-wide roll of painter's masking paper that's less than five bucks at the paint store. These are 24-gauge and a 3.5" wide strip makes two wraps. I cut a bunch of 3.5x9" strips and then cut them in half. Then I cut 1.25x2.5" rectangles for the wad.
Start with the forming mandrel. I like them about. 040" or so smaller than the bore diameter. I build up masking tape on a wood dowel to make up the sizes I need because I'm too lazy to do it on a lathe and too cheap to use good metal round bar. I put kid's glue stick on the far edge and roll the paper up tightly, leaving the paper overhanging the mandrel slightly (just over half the mandrel diameter).
Next I fold the end:
Then I apply stick glue with my fingertip to the folded down part and the whole inside of the remaining overlap and fold the other side:
Then more glue on the flaps and fold those in and smush it all down tight against the end of the mandrel. This leaves four little corners which load easily but hold the cartridge in the barrel after it is rammed home.
Then pull the formed tube off of the mandrel and turn it over. Measure and dump in shot through a funnel, then sift in an equal measure of cornmeal and tap lightly to settle it.
Next, the wad that separates the corn meal from the black powder. Take one of the small rectangular strips and fold it in half to make a square, then fold that over a mandrel slightly smaller than the forming mandrel and hold it with thumb and forefinger, then fold and pinch the other sides 90⁰ away with your other thumb and forefinger to make a truncated pyramid. Crease the four corners to make something like rocket fins and then fold the fins around the mandrel all the same direction (I go clockwise, but it doesn't matter):
Wind it tightly and pull it off the mandrel, then "screw" it into the paper cartridge twisting opposite the way you folded the wings so it doesn't jam up in the paper tube.
Once you get the wad started, push it down with the same undersized mandrel you formed it with and smush it firmly against the corn meal. The wad will halfway turn inside out and will lock firmly into the tube so the shot and buffer won't fall out. You obviously don't want the buffer and shot to fall down the barrel loose after the powder when you are loading.
Then in goes the powder, I generally use a volume of shot and corn meal equal to the black powder, or a "triple-square" load. In this case for 24-gauge 50 grains of FFFg. Funnel in the powder and fold the tail like normal, i.e. how the British did it.
To load, tear off the tail and funnel the powder down the barrel, being careful not to crush the area where your wad is so the cornmeal and shot don't leak out. I like to put a couple spritzes of water-based lube like moose milk or Dawn/water down the barrel and on the remains of the cartridge tail at this stage, using an atomizing pump sprayer. Then crumple/twist/fold the tail and poke it down the barrel tail first, shot end up. Press it home firmly with the rammer with a card-ramming tip on it, prime the pan with a priming horn or cap the nipple, and you're ready to shoot.
As always, beware smolderimg paper or powder embers in the barrel when reloading, so don't put your face over the muzzle or your palm over the end of the rammer, and beware grass fires as singed paper goes downrange with every shot. Nice thing about these all-paper cartridges is there is no string, felt, or hard cards to litter the range or field.
Another big disclaimer: I wouldn't try these in double guns unless adding a tight nitro card over the powder and an overshot card over the shot, or some other sure method to hold the column in place. I don't think retention under recoil is sufficient with the paper cartridge as I have described and the second barrel may develop a potentially dangerous air gap after the first barrel is fired.
I keep meaning to try lubing the outside of the paper tube just in the shot/buffer area (so's to not contaminate the powder) with mink oil or dip in melted beeswax/fat to help soften fouling and make the paper less easy to ignite, but haven't done it yet.
The cormeal does magic to patterns from a cylinder bore; if you haven't yet, you really should have a go with it. .
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