tpelle
Member
I've been reading up and experimenting with making paper cartridges. I've been using the cigarette paper method, wherein I roll the ball into the paper, seal the ball end with a twist, pour in the powder, seal the powder end with a twist, then trim the twist back.
These were made for use in my Pietta 1860 Army.
First, I had a lot of trouble with getting the cartridges started into the cylinder. There just isn't enough room to get the powder end started.
Once started, however, the ball pressed in OK, trimming off a lead ring and the end of the paper cartridge.
I capped the 5 cylinders that I loaded and took my first shot. There was a very short hang-fire, definitely a crack when the cap went off, followed a fraction of a second later by the usual boom when the main charge went off.
I cocked the gun for the second shot, and pulled the trigger. The cylinder fired, but it just didn't feel right. I decided that, before sending another ball down a possibly-obstructed barrel, I'd decap and break the revolver down to check things out. I tried pulling the hammer back to half-cock, and found that the revolver was locked up!
I took the pistol back to a table and knocked the wedge loose. Pulled the barrel off, and it was clear. Pried the caps off with my pocket knife. Looked at the cylinder, and the ball that I tried to fire was pushed partly out of the cylinder, and would have been partly into the forcing cone (which was - luckily - why it was locked up).
So now I had a cylinder loaded with three unfired charges that I didn't trust, and one squib with the ball partly out of the cylinder.
I got out my nipple wrench and removed all the nipples first. I tried pushing the squib ball the rest of the way out of the cylinder, but I didn't have a brass rod long enough. Sat for a minute considering how to proceed, and developed a plan.
First I pushed the squib ball back into the cylinder to a depth matching the other balls. I took my powder measure and poured the chamber full of powder through the nipple hole. I then replaced all six nipples, and reassembled the revolver.
Before capping the charged cylinders I took a straightened-out paper clip and pushed it down through each nipple, puncturing the remaining paper cartridges and hopefully exposing powder to the flash from the cap.
I went back out to the firing line, and decided that I would fire the four shots into a tree stump where I could watch the impacts at close range and make sure all the balls made it out of the barrel. The remaining charges fired OK.
So, here is what I learned so far:
1. The paper cartridges are hard to get inserted, unless I can find a way to get them made with an extreme taper to allow them to be more easily inserted in the chamber.
2. To get reliable ignition, it will likely be necessary to prick the cartridge through the nipple to expose powder to the flash.
3. Considering the time that it took to do this load (of course, it was my first effort), I think I could have loaded with loose powder and a ball quicker and easier, especially if I have to add a pricking step to the operation
Back to the drawing board!
These were made for use in my Pietta 1860 Army.
First, I had a lot of trouble with getting the cartridges started into the cylinder. There just isn't enough room to get the powder end started.
Once started, however, the ball pressed in OK, trimming off a lead ring and the end of the paper cartridge.
I capped the 5 cylinders that I loaded and took my first shot. There was a very short hang-fire, definitely a crack when the cap went off, followed a fraction of a second later by the usual boom when the main charge went off.
I cocked the gun for the second shot, and pulled the trigger. The cylinder fired, but it just didn't feel right. I decided that, before sending another ball down a possibly-obstructed barrel, I'd decap and break the revolver down to check things out. I tried pulling the hammer back to half-cock, and found that the revolver was locked up!
I took the pistol back to a table and knocked the wedge loose. Pulled the barrel off, and it was clear. Pried the caps off with my pocket knife. Looked at the cylinder, and the ball that I tried to fire was pushed partly out of the cylinder, and would have been partly into the forcing cone (which was - luckily - why it was locked up).
So now I had a cylinder loaded with three unfired charges that I didn't trust, and one squib with the ball partly out of the cylinder.
I got out my nipple wrench and removed all the nipples first. I tried pushing the squib ball the rest of the way out of the cylinder, but I didn't have a brass rod long enough. Sat for a minute considering how to proceed, and developed a plan.
First I pushed the squib ball back into the cylinder to a depth matching the other balls. I took my powder measure and poured the chamber full of powder through the nipple hole. I then replaced all six nipples, and reassembled the revolver.
Before capping the charged cylinders I took a straightened-out paper clip and pushed it down through each nipple, puncturing the remaining paper cartridges and hopefully exposing powder to the flash from the cap.
I went back out to the firing line, and decided that I would fire the four shots into a tree stump where I could watch the impacts at close range and make sure all the balls made it out of the barrel. The remaining charges fired OK.
So, here is what I learned so far:
1. The paper cartridges are hard to get inserted, unless I can find a way to get them made with an extreme taper to allow them to be more easily inserted in the chamber.
2. To get reliable ignition, it will likely be necessary to prick the cartridge through the nipple to expose powder to the flash.
3. Considering the time that it took to do this load (of course, it was my first effort), I think I could have loaded with loose powder and a ball quicker and easier, especially if I have to add a pricking step to the operation
Back to the drawing board!
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