candle cartridges

[bron]

I've been researching different loads for my .54 Virginia Smooth Rifle, and I've pretty much settled in on 80 grains FFFG under a .530 ball, no patch, which is rolled neatly into a paper cartridge. I'm wanting something similar for buckshot loads and came across an article describing Col. Hawkers Candle Cartridges, which use tallow to hold the buckshot together. Does anyone here have any experience (pro and/or con)they may impart?

 

[majg1234]

Several mos ago there was a series of posts on this,search function should find it.I think it was decided it wasn't much help.What I've found arre two ways that really work pretty good.Do a search for Pillow Ticking shot cups for a lot of readingThey work but are a little time consuming.the other is I take 3 sheets of newspaper a dowel and form a tube,Tying one end with kite string or dental floss,fold over the other end and use tape or wax to hold it down,load as a unit over a felt wad or 1/2 of a cushion wad.tightend my 62 cal up to about modified bore,plus no leading :hatsoff:

 

[ohio ramrod]

I have had good results with the paper cartridges. I have been using them for over thirty years. I used to just use string and tie them. Now as the arthritis makes tying the string more difficult I dip the ends in melted beeswax. :idunno:

 

[F.G. Ford]

Does the shot actually stay together as a single projectile?
Or stay in the paper wrap a little longer?
It would be mean medicine if it stayed together till impact!
Fred

 

[majg1234]

very rarely will one of them not break open,but they seem to give me a modified or a little better choke.Good enough for a large Turkey this spring!!!! When I'm shooting tree ratsI just use a short strip of ticking and a measure/funnel I made with copper tubing I flared. The length acts as a measure.I have one each that throw 7/8 1 and 1 1/8 ounces of shot for my 62 SB

 

[CrackStock]

Does the shot actually stay together as a single projectile?

After reading some info on people trying shot cartridges and sometimes getting one hole patterns in the test targets, I started tearing my paper cartridge open at the muzzle similar to how I cut patches. I just used an over shot card. This leaves the paper trailing and I did not notice single hole patterns. However, I never really gave the closed front a significant chance.

The counter point to my method is that some people think that there may be a hole in the pattern from the pellets passing through the cards.

The good news is that now you have some things to percolate over and the test at the range.

Happy shooting!

CS

 

[rafterob]

Maybe this is overkill, but I roll paper tubes on a dowel. I slit the paper about 1/2 way down and spaced about every 1/3 inch. I roll the paper on the dowel to yield a double thickness so the slits alternate, use a glue stick on the edge. I just fold the bottom over as I roll and it stays pretty well put. I place the tube in the barrel put in the shot and put my over shot card in so that there is maybe 1/4 inch paper sticking out. Ram it home. The paper separates nicely and it tightens the pattern some.

 

[Jason Lewis]

i fiddled around with the candle cartridges on the previous thread. to make a long story short they are NOT worth the effort at all. i got some decent patterns with them but they were all nice cylinder bore patterns not any tighter or nicer than my bare shot loads.

i don't remember the exact details but i was using a mix of crisco and parafin wax. i would take an empty 10ga shell, plug up one end with an OS wad, fill in with the desired shot charge and then pour in the wax mix. when cooled i would just push the whole thing out with a dowel rod.

sometimes they stayed together, other times not. none of them were durable enough to take a day in the field or at times even the loading process.

still it was an intersting experiment.

 

[Supercracker]

My first thought when I saw them was that you could use a stiffer wax/lard mix to encourage slugging for hunting pigs in area where you're not allowed to use larger than #4 shot.