Tallbald
Member
Thanks to folks here I've ventured into making paper cartridges for our Ruger Old Army's and CVA Optima V2 .50 caliber single shot. These are both fantastic guns and cheap to shoot the way we do. These pictures are of loads for the .50 caliber CVA.
I made the mandrel and holder from a broken mop handle on the wood lathe. I worked beeswax into the wood while they were spinning then buffed them to keep the stick paste I use from adhering. I used hair curler papers from Sally's Beauty Supply ($3 per thousand), homemade waxed felt wads, and home cast Lee 250 grain pure lead REAL bullets. I found that making up many tubes first was easiest for me.
The tubes are trimmed and pasted so that there's only one layer of the paper where the primer flash will strike, and don't know yet if I will have to puncture the paper for flash to get to the powder. I'm hoping this is an accurate load, but only made up 20 or so rounds so I can see if I need to change the powder load to improve things.
A J-20 series "Medium Rifle" MTM two piece cartridge case fit the cartridges well when I put a strip of foam rubber in the lid to keep them down in the bottom of the case.
In the last photo you will see a heavier load I made up for the CVA. I decided though that they kick too hard for just fun, and I know they areway more pricey to shoot. I'll come up with a heavy, accurate load and roll maybe half a dozen to keep on hand should I "get a wild hair" at the range some time though. Don
I made the mandrel and holder from a broken mop handle on the wood lathe. I worked beeswax into the wood while they were spinning then buffed them to keep the stick paste I use from adhering. I used hair curler papers from Sally's Beauty Supply ($3 per thousand), homemade waxed felt wads, and home cast Lee 250 grain pure lead REAL bullets. I found that making up many tubes first was easiest for me.
The tubes are trimmed and pasted so that there's only one layer of the paper where the primer flash will strike, and don't know yet if I will have to puncture the paper for flash to get to the powder. I'm hoping this is an accurate load, but only made up 20 or so rounds so I can see if I need to change the powder load to improve things.
A J-20 series "Medium Rifle" MTM two piece cartridge case fit the cartridges well when I put a strip of foam rubber in the lid to keep them down in the bottom of the case.
In the last photo you will see a heavier load I made up for the CVA. I decided though that they kick too hard for just fun, and I know they areway more pricey to shoot. I'll come up with a heavy, accurate load and roll maybe half a dozen to keep on hand should I "get a wild hair" at the range some time though. Don