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Rolling papers for combustible cartridges?

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AtlatlMan

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I've seen it suggested to use ol' Zig Zags or other brands of roll-yer-own cigarette (or, uh, other plants) paper to make combustible cartridges for revolvers. Anyone tried this?
 
Do rolling papers need to be nitrated or are they already fairly combustible?
They don't need to be nitrated. The best rolling papers for BP cartridges are the rice paper type. They pretty much burn up completely. One of the sponsors here, Cartridgekits, has a good video on making paper cartridges. Just click on their box at the top of this page. I use their kit & am very happy with the results. I used Zig-Zag back in the 60's for other purposes.
 
They don't need to be nitrated. The best rolling papers for BP cartridges are the rice paper type. They pretty much burn up completely. One of the sponsors here, Cartridgekits, has a good video on making paper cartridges. Just click on their box at the top of this page. I use their kit & am very happy with the results. I used Zig-Zag back in the 60's for other purposes.
As did people in the 70's, 80's, 90, and 21st century.

The world may run out of bombs, bullets, powder, barrels, patches and balls.

But the world will never run out of Zig-Zag papers.

Too many, worldwide, trying to take the edge off.
 
They don't need to be nitrated. The best rolling papers for BP cartridges are the rice paper type. They pretty much burn up completely. One of the sponsors here, Cartridgekits, has a good video on making paper cartridges. Just click on their box at the top of this page. I use their kit & am very happy with the results. I used Zig-Zag back in the 60's for other purposes.
when was the sixties?? where are they man??? if you remember it you werent there. 🤪
 
I tried RAW brand, it was a tight fit making 44 cartridges. They're a little bit fragile, they need to be handled with a bit of care. They work better for 36s, but it probably has to do with my methods. They do not need to be nitrated.
I've been using hair curler (perm) papers for my 44s, they work great, tougher paper, and cheaper. 1000/pack compared to 300/pack for rolling papers, at roughly the same price. When I run out of Raws I'm switching to perm paper for both calibers.
I'm planning on making a post on what I've been doing. As far as I know, none of it is my own idea, these are the methods I found working the best for me. Maybe they'll help someone, they've been working fine for me.
 
I tried RAW brand, it was a tight fit making 44 cartridges. They're a little bit fragile, they need to be handled with a bit of care. They work better for 36s, but it probably has to do with my methods. They do not need to be nitrated.
I've been using hair curler (perm) papers for my 44s, they work great, tougher paper, and cheaper. 1000/pack compared to 300/pack for rolling papers, at roughly the same price. When I run out of Raws I'm switching to perm paper for both calibers.
I'm planning on making a post on what I've been doing. As far as I know, none of it is my own idea, these are the methods I found working the best for me. Maybe they'll help someone, they've been working fine for me.
I look forward to reading it.
 
I tried hair curling paper and RAW cig paper. Not happy with their performance leaving lots of unburned paper pieces and causing the cylinder to bind. However, nitrated coffee filter paper work really well for me. They are not as fragile as the other two I mentioned and burn up 99% leaving little if any debris.
 
Ernbar, what glue do you use? I've been using this, it burns clean. I don't get too much debris left, not enough to slow it down. The most I've shot at one time is 5 cylinders full, so maybe it's time for an endurance test.
 

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Ernbar, what glue do you use? I've been using this, it burns clean. I don't get too much debris left, not enough to slow it down. The most I've shot at one time is 5 cylinders full, so maybe it's time for an endurance test.
I use the stick glue VERY lightly and have noticed that the nitrated coffee filter paper burns up really good compared to the cig and curling papers. If you light a match to my nitrated coffee filter paper it goes puff in an instant. The cig paper after being lit burns slowly compared to the nitrated paper.
 
I've made quite a few paper cartridges using the RAW Classic rolling papers.

GotWKit.jpg


Not going to lie, its very time consuming but vastly speeds up time at the range. Last weekend while it was pouring rain I made up a box of 50 and then dipped the ball end in a mix of tallow & bees wax, then shot them the next weekend. They worked great! I only had one hang fire, and it was right near the end of the box. I had some occasional trouble with cylinder binding on paper fragments.

Something to note: I shot about ~100 rounds on that range trip with no cleaning. The first 50 were paper, the second ~50 were hand loaded with loose powder, round ball, and topped with bore butter. When cleaning later, I discovered there was still some paper left in a couple of the cylinders, even after the second 50 rounds! It caused no issues, but I was very surprised it survived.

I tried hair curling paper and RAW cig paper. Not happy with their performance leaving lots of unburned paper pieces and causing the cylinder to bind. However, nitrated coffee filter paper work really well for me. They are not as fragile as the other two I mentioned and burn up 99% leaving little if any debris.

This matches my experience as well. I'd like to give the nitrated coffee filter paper a try, I was curious what process you used? I found this video, this process looks fairly straightforward.



Always looking to improve my processes!
 
I've made quite a few paper cartridges using the RAW Classic rolling papers.

View attachment 204350

Not going to lie, its very time consuming but vastly speeds up time at the range. Last weekend while it was pouring rain I made up a box of 50 and then dipped the ball end in a mix of tallow & bees wax, then shot them the next weekend. They worked great! I only had one hang fire, and it was right near the end of the box. I had some occasional trouble with cylinder binding on paper fragments.

Something to note: I shot about ~100 rounds on that range trip with no cleaning. The first 50 were paper, the second ~50 were hand loaded with loose powder, round ball, and topped with bore butter. When cleaning later, I discovered there was still some paper left in a couple of the cylinders, even after the second 50 rounds! It caused no issues, but I was very surprised it survived.



This matches my experience as well. I'd like to give the nitrated coffee filter paper a try, I was curious what process you used? I found this video, this process looks fairly straightforward.



Always looking to improve my processes!

Yep that’s the same way I nitrate mine using his method. Spectricide is cheap and works really well.
You are right, it’s labor intensive but I enjoy doing these as well as reloading smokeless ammo. I started doing some this evening and loading them with 22 grains of Schuetzen and topped with a Kerr conical. Will be dipping the bullets up to the paper in my beeswax and coconut oil lube once I have my batch done.
93D9B6BE-AF3E-4BED-BFAE-731656D12092.jpeg
 
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