Loading Brown Bess Paper Cartridges

[SR James]

After one has torn open the paper cartridge and dumped the powder down the barrel, it seems to me there are 3 ways to seat the ball:
1 Tear away the excess paper and seat only the paper-wrapped ball

2 Seat the ball first with the excess paper scrunched down on top of the ball

3 Seat the cartridge paper first with the ball on top of the paper.

I seem to recall #2 as being the proper British military procedure but I was wondering if there is any differnce in accuracy between the 3 techniques. And I know I will have to experiment to see what my gun likes, but just thoght I would ask what experiences others have had.

 

[MSW]

i know a fellow who did his undergraduate thesis on this. (colonial armament).

i'll see if i can get in touch with him. last i heard he was in England working on his Masters and tending bar.

(would you want chips with your meal? vs. ya want fries wid dat?)

 

[BillinOregon]

I loaded them using method 2 when I had a Miroku Bess. I miss that pretty girl!

 

[gearheart]

Scrunched up paper last would make the most sense as it keeps the ball from moving away from the powder. :thumbsup:

 

[BrownBear]

Actually, if your paper thickness is right, there's no tendency for the ball to migrate in #2, while #3 is nowhere near as accurate in my Bess. Takes a small bit of fiddling to get the paper right, but once you find it the fiddle is past history.

 

[MSW]

for what it's worth, here's the unedited response from my querry of the fellow who made a study of this.

Since i don't get to shoot much, i haven't fired the two Brown Besses (Browns Bess?) he left with me for safekeeping about three years ago, so I cannot attest as to the relative accuracy of one method over another- for that, i would do some experimentation and see which method provides the best results for the individual musket.

Re: Brown Bess loading sequence
Hey there! I'll give you the quick'n'drawn out version!
1) Open pan - the musket is brought down to near the hip, and the pan is uncovered by flipping open the frizzen.
2) Handle cartridge - bring out the cartridge from it's pouch, with the bullet-end in the palm of your hand. Bite off the paper on the powder end. Note, to get the cartridge prepared properly, you're going to have to bite powder.
3) Prime - a small amount of powder is poured into the pan from the cartridge.
4) Shut pan - pretty simple: close the pan, to keep the powder from spilling out.
5) Cast about - the musket brought around so the stock is towards (or sometimes resting on) the ground, and the barrel is up in the air.
6) Charge cartridge - pour the rest of the powder from the cartridge down the barrel, and push the bullet (still in the paper, which serves as wadding) a short way inside the barrel.
7) Draw rammer - pull the ramrod out of it's guides under the barrel, and "start" it, by placing the head about 1/2" inside the barrel.
8) Ram cartridge - shove the ramrod down the barrel until the ball is firmly seated on top of the powder charge, then remove the ramrod from the barrel and slip it back into it's guides, leaving the last 3 or 4 inches free.
9) Return rammer - shove the rammer the last few inches into place, then bring the weapon up to the shoulder arms position.
10) Make ready - bring the weapon up in front of the body, and draw the cock back to the full.
11) Present/Take aim - pretty self explanatory.
12) Fire - Bang.

When done by someone familiar enough with the weapon, you should be able to do the above in 15-20 seconds.


sounds simple, until you remember that there might be some crazy guy running at you with sharp pointy things which he intends to use in order to make your inside become your outsides.

at any rate, this would be the pretty reliably accurate HC/PC version.

best of luck with your project: make good smoke!

 

[spudnut]

mine is deadly with The #2

 

[bangfxr]

I have use Gen'l Scotts manual of arms 1814 However on the safety side we prime last and from horns. This eleviates the chance of the musket firing from the half cock when setting the charge home.

 

[spudnut]

mine is deadly with The #2

I mean the # 1 method ,Paper wrapped ball

 

[gjkershul]

Getting onto this thread late, here is my non- traditional Bess cartridge protocol.


My load in my Pedersoli Brown Bess for trailwalks, military shoots, and whitetail is 80 gr of 3f. with a .735 Lyman ball ball in a computer print out paper cartridge-yellow pages out of the phone book work well also.
The computer paper mikes at .0035 and two wraps around the mandrel-cartridge stick- bring the paper patched ball to close to the .749 muzzle diameter. I use just a simple rectangle rather than a trapazoid. Before puting the powder in the cartridge I dip the cartridge with the ball in place in hot paraffin (sp) wax to just cover the portion of the cartridge were the ball is.

To load, the cartridge is torn, the powder is poured and the cartridge is reversed and thumb loaded waxed portion first into the barrel. The portion of the cartridge now above thge crown of the barrel is then torn off leaving a waxed-for lubrication- paper patched ball which is then rammed home on top of the powder charge. If permitted by the event, it is advisable to reload with this type cartridge immediately after firing when the barrel is warm from the previous discharge.
This protcol is something like the British drill for Enfield Rifled Musket cartridges.

 

[SAJones]

Had many discussions on this topic back in my re-enacting days. We all agreed the Brits kept the paper on the ball, but as I recall, my Van Steuban's drill manual called for "thumbing" the ball out of the paper, leading me to believe a bare ball was loaded over the loose powder. Not exactly conducive to accuracy, but accuracy was not the primary concern; volume of fire was. I've done all three techniques, but now I just use a cloth patch if I'm shooting ball.

 

[spudnut]

For some reason my LLP shoots paper cart better than patched cloth balls (I'm sure it must be me)All I shoot are smoothies and my other two like cloth patched ball.