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Paper Cartridges

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rodwha

58 Cal.
Joined
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I've read several threads concerning making paper cartridges at home using cigarette rolling papers and decided to give it a whirl.

One of the things I recall having read (it's been a while since I've read about it) was to use a 7/16" dowel to help roll the paper properly. I topped the dowel with my conical and used just enough paper to reach the first lube groove or the second band (~1/8") as I used 3 different types of conical.

I cut the papers in half and loaded them up with 35 grns of 3F powder and twisted the end to hold it in. There was usually just enough to get a little twisty on the end.

Then I began looking around for old threads on paper cartridges and found that a taper will help, if it's not required. Oops! I hadn't thought of that.

What do you guys use to roll the paper to make it tapered? This guy used plastic tubing of some sort. It looked like a piece of Bic pen or something.

And then I also found a fellow who uses a wet sponge to moisten the glue as licking it is likely a good way to ingest some lead. Oops again!

I used American Spirits rolling papers which are very thin and made of flax (IIRC).

My first time out with my rifle and pistol I spent 6 hours and only shot 50 rounds through each. This will really speed things up if it works well!

I can't wait to get to the range and try them out!
 
Good idea!

I suppose I'll wait and see how they do as is before I alter anything.

I hope they fit into the chambers easy enough! I have a feeling it'll be a bit difficult as it's close to the size of the conicals.
 
Were I to wrap a ball instead of the base of a conical I wouldn't be able to cut the paper in two unless I reduced the charge considerably, and even then I doubt it would make two.

But it leaves just enough of a tail to twist using 35 grns and a conical.
 
Here is how I do it, this would be for a Navy 36 but the idea is the same.
Sand down a wood dowel to put a slight taper in it. Make a pencil mark at the point on the taper that is just large enough to squeeze in the conical. I'd say the mark to the end of the dowel is about 3/4".
Make a cardboard template for cutting out the cigarette paper. This template is an isocelese trapazoid. The long base is on top and the short base is on the bottom and the two sides angle outwards towards the top base. The gummed part of the cigarette paper is along the top base. You also want to add a trap door or square tab to the middle of the bottom base- this trap door covers the back of the cartridge.
You need a glue stick. Use the template to draw the design on a cigarette paper and cut out the paper. Take the two angled sides and overlap them- this overlapping should be about 1/4" and use the glue stick to stick the overlapped sides together. The top of the paper ought to be lined up with the pencil mark on the dowel. Now use the glue stick once again around the trap door and crunch the trapdoor around the back of the paper case.The dowel ought to be long enough that the trap door can be forcefully crunched around the outside of the paper case. Now pull the case off the dowel and fill with powder- I use 15 grains in a 36 Navy, then push in the conical and lick the cigarette paper. The gummed portion should be on the INSIDE of the top of the paper case. When you lick the paper the moisture goes straight through the paper and glues the paper to the conical. Since the paper is wet at this point- handle with care- set aside to dry- when dry put in a safe container that is fireproof- an Altoids can is good.
Just ram the cartridge into the chamber- the blast of the percussion cap is strong enough to blow apart the back of the paper case and fire the round. This is the big advantage of the trapdoor- just a single layer of paper. Some folks crunch up a lot of paper at the back and then ignition becomes a problem.
WARNING!!! Bits of paper can be left in the chamber. The original ammunition was treasted with both nitrates and sulpher and burned up better. LIVE EMBERS could be in the chamber so inspect carefully before re-loading.
I like the paper cartridges as a bonding experience with the past but for being on the trail- you can make up some little paper tubes with paper caps that each hold one powder charge and can be reused. Those along with some wads, caps, and balls in an altoid can yield more rounds and are safer to use- for taking the revolver on the trail.
 
When I considered altering my short piece of dowel rod I figured sanding down a section somewhat evenly would be all that was necessary with the idea that the exterior of the cartridge would be ~.450".

Do you find it necessary to make the trap door and beveled cartridge?

I do have a small multitool that's main tool is scissors instead of pliers. I figured if I had a problem with the stubby twisty I could cut it off nearly flush.

The nipples seem to be off center though, and the hole which shoots the spark through should hit the single layer of paper.

I enjoy making these cartridges a little too much. I've yet to try them, and assume I'll have problems stuffing them into the chambers, yet want to make some more. Quite frankly it wouldn't be hard to cut a hole, dump the powder, tear off the paper and ram it home. Still faster and easier for range work.

I think I'll make some more....
 
I couldn't help myself! I sanded down the dowel a little bit and made some more!

These are 30 grns with a 190 grn conical.

I've run out of handy things to store them in and am using some tupperware. I fill in my gaps with cotton balls.

Has anyone stored them bullet down, tail up without the bullet pulling out? Mine are mostly held on by the lube sticking to the paper. I'm laying them flat as I'm afraid the bullets may pull out if I store them nose down.
 
Well with some of this- it's whatever works for you. I think most folks just roll the paper into a tube and fold over the back. Doing what I do is more work and I do it for several reasons. First, the single layer of paper at the back pretty much guarantees ignition. My style uses less paper so it tends to burn up better and leave less residue. As an experiment I've used plain newspaper which is three times thicker than cigarette paper and the blast of the cap is strong enough to fire the round- the only problem is newspaper leaves embers/residue you have to brush out of the chamber before re-loading.
I have an electric hand drill with a 1/2" chuck so I stick the dowel in that and hold down on some 80 grit sand paper and make the taper. This making of the mandrel (wood dowel) takes some tweeking- the idea is the dowel is the exact size of the paper case so you can press the paper tight around the dowel.
Most users of paper- combustible type- cartridges don't grease the ends of the chambers or take other measures to safe guard against a chain firing.
The original ammunition was sold in little wood boxes with seperate holes- one for each round. D.C. Sage of Middleton, Connecticut used a solid block with holes for the cartridges and another hole for caps. There was a gummed label over the top of the holes (varnished to make waterproof) and a pull string. You pulled the string and that ripped off the label and you turned the box upside down and all the cartridges fell out. Colt also made this type ammunition but they used a two piece box- like the Sage but split down the middle. The box was again wrapped in a gummed label and a wire pull string to open the box. These boxes were about the size of a deck of cards. I believe two boxes fit into the leather cap pouch worn on a cavalryman's belt.
I've made both type boxes- the Sage is the easier to make. With a clean, unloaded gun, if I recall correctly, it took me about 25 seconds to ram in the six rounds and cap the nipples. That's really pretty good considering the 1873 Colt Peacemaker had to be unloaded of the spent rounds and then the new rounds put in. On this speed test- you run big risks doing that with a just fired gun because there might be a live ember in a chamber and the new round could explode- possibly killing you. Always do a speed test with a clean- not yet fired gun.
You may ask why this wasn't a problem back during the Civil War? The original combustible cartridges were different, treated with more nitrates plus sulfer- they were actually corrisive to the chambers but during a war that wasn't an issue. In any event they burnt up better than cigarette paper- leaving no residue.
I also carry this type ammunition in an Altoids can and to keep them from moving around and breaking I also use cotton balls to hold them tight.
As I said- this is fun stuff for the range but if you want a compact kit for the trail- make some little pencil-sized paper tubes with matching caps that fit over the ends and carry a single charge of powder in each tube. In the same Altoid can carry some balls and lubed wads and caps- You ought to be able to carry about 20 rounds in one Altoid can and this set up is far better as the pre-lubed wads make for safer shooting.
 
My standard size rolling paper just barely wraps around itself by about 3/16" and so is mostly just a single layer of very thin paper. The tip is rolled into a little twisty tail, which is certainly much thicker. It's about 1/8-3/16" long. I have a small multitool with scissors that I can use to cut it off if I have a problem.

It's been raining today, and there's a chance tomorrow. We won't go to the local range, and may not venture out much further to one of the other two outdoor ranges that you don't have to walk the firing line. Booo!

Since it's legal to carry in a National park I've thought about taking this with me while backpacking (same with weekend hunting trips). I have a watertight container that I considered using to carry loose powder, storing the caps in a tiny ziplock bag, etc. unless I were to buy a Classic Ballistix cylinder. I've also been eyeing those little plastic speed loader tubes. I'm not sure if they are watertight though.
 
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I have a small multitool with scissors instead of pliers I can use to cut the twisty tails off with if I find them getting in the way somehow.

And if I find they don't work well I can always tear off the ends, dump the powder, rip off the paper, and load. Still faster.

I'll be going with my neighbor to the range as he recently bought a pistol for home protection and is looking for some guidance. Most people don't seem to be very patient with these types of guns and run weary quickly.
 
They worked quite well. They did leave burnt paper that I'd clean out in between cylinders, but then tried without doing so to see if it caused problems, which it did not.

I did have one conical come dislodged, but out of 42 cartridges I think it fairly good.

I did have minor problems with a few cartridges, but a little finagling I was able to get them in. I think it was due mostly to not being super tight.

I have read that something can be applied to the outside of the cartridge to help it burn completely up. I'm going to look into this. Until then I'll continue to make these!
 
As I was reading these posts, I thought of treating the paper with a mixture of sulfuric acid and nitric acid (3 parts nitric to 1 part sulfuric). This is how gun cotton (cellulose nitrate) was made. It may be possible to treat the cellulose in the cigarette papers in this way to make them completely combustable. The treated papers would have to be rinsed in clear water and allowed to dry. It may also be possible to safely enhance the complete combustion of the paper by soaking it in a solution of potassium nitrate (salt peter) and then letting it dry. No rinsing. The added nitrate should make it more likely to burn completely and leave no smoldering residue.
 
Can you go into better detail of the processes? Which would require less stuff and be easier on the paper/cartridge?

I'm not familiar with these acids. I use Star San, which is a food grade sanitizer used in the dairy industry that is a sanitizer also used in beer brewing. I'm OK with it, but I'd prefer not to deal with acids otherwise.
 
I should point out that the purpose of completely burning up the paper was a SAFETY concern- that live embers wouldn't remain in the cylinder. Originally Colt used tin foil as the tin would not hold an ember. He had a lot of trouble finding suitable tin and I think the only stuff that would work was made in Germany. The tin foil was thin enough for the blast of the percussion cap to rupture the foil and explode the load.
I wanted to duplicate these tin loads but where could I find such thin tin foil? I found some candy wrappers with thin foil and I used these for the cases but I'd say only around 70% of them exploded- on a lot of rounds the cap didn't rupture the foil. The other thing was accumulated debris in the chamber, after about 3 rounds there was so much residue that I could not fully seat the next round- the conical stuck out beyond the end of the chamber and prevented rotation.
The original Colt foil cartridges had similar problems except not as bad, after about 6 rounds you couldn't load another without cleaning out the chambers. The army found this acceptable as they felt 6 cylinders was 36 rounds before this would be needed.
Another reason Colt used the foil was the Army wanted waterproof ammunition. Eventually Colt switched to the paper but made the deal waterproof but putting them in a waterproof wood box. D.C. Sage used fish gut that would "crisp" and not hold an ember. There were others that used sort of a pyrodex pellet shellaced on the outside but that type ammo failed the army waterproof testing (soak in water for 4 hours).
 
This began as a curiosity and hopefully a way to make range time more productive, especially when out with others as I've seen the bottom feeder types to loose interest quickly when they see how slow to load they can be.

Now I'm even more interested as I see this as a way to reduce what I'd need to take afield while hunting, or possibly even backpacking if allowable (been wanting to make a 30 day backpacking trip along the Continental Divide or Appalachian Trail). Waterproofing the cartridges or the container(s) would be highly appreciated!
 
Go to the drugstore and ask for some salt peter (potassium nitrate). Make up a strong solution of it and soak the paper in it. After the paper has soaked long enough for it to be penetrated by the potassium nitrate, set it aside to dry. Once it has dried, it is ready to be used to make cartridges. I have not done this to cigarette paper so if it falls apart in the solution, you may have to use onion skin paper rather than the cigarette paper.
 
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