arcticap is about as close to 100% as you can get, but I'll clarify a couple of things.
First off, the reason I'm doing this has nothing to do with historical accuracy. I seldom drive a truck to go shoot. I will either be on the bike or in the Rhino and cargo space is at a premium. So paper cartridges make going shooting less equipment intensive.
I've sealed the ends both by folding over and by twisting. I've found that either way I can simply stick the cartridge in the hole, ram it home and it works. In the couple of hundred that I've fired this way, I've never had a misfire and only a couple of split second hangfires, you know the kind where you the shooter are the only one that knows it hung for a split second.
The main reason that I started tearing off the end was that about every other cylinder I would get a nipple that I just couldn't get the pick through, so I'd have to fire a cap to clear it. I started twisting the cartridges because first off, it's easier than folding and secondly, it's easier to tear off the "teat" and just dump the powder in. I don't necessarily "empty" the cartridge into the chamber, all I do is get some powder up against the flash hole, then stuff the remainder in the hole and seat a ball. This helps ensure that the majority of the paper gets consumed/ejected.
I quit including the balls in the cartridges simply out of laziness. It's easier to sit in front of the idiot box with my flask, filler and a sponge and roll my own without the ball. Also, when seating the cartridges with the ball included, you shave not only lead but paper. This might seem like the height of laziness, but the paper rings are a pain to clear with my fat fingers. It's just as easy to stick that ball on top of the chamber and ram it home on top of the cartridge.
To answer Levi's question, the recoil is negligable. My (at the time) 8 year old grandson has fired this gun comfortably. Both of my daughters and my wife also fire it regularly. With a load of 16gr of powder, it very managable.
