This information comes to us from our friend, Bruce
Strickling, to whom we are most grateful for sharing this valuable and thought
provoking method to achieve a quick and accurate second shot.
Making Tapered Paper
Cartridges
by
Bruce Strickling
A Little History:
In the days of the War Between the States, a ball was lubed
with tallow and tied into a straight paper cartridge. The powder end was bitten
off and a small amount of powder was used to prime the pan.
The rest was poured down the barrel; the cartridge was
reversed and ball was pushed into the bore. The excess paper was torn off and
the ball was rammed down the barrel.
The paper cartridges were carried in bulk using a leather
pouch with internal dividers and covered by a flap for easy access.
These pre-made cartridges were must faster to use than the conventional way of measuring out the powder from a horn or flask, pouring it into the bore, and then patching and seating a ball.
No more reversing the cartridge - just load and shoot!
From Straight to Tapered:
An improvement over the straight paper cartridge is one that
is tapered, which can be loaded by only biting the powder end off
and inserting the tapered end into the bore. While drawing the ramrod the
powder will spill down the barrel. Then thumb seat the whole cartridge and seat
it on the powder.
Testing showed identical accuracy to cloth patched round
balls using the same loads and up to 10 of these could be fired without
loss of accuracy or difficult loading. Due to the ball size and thickness of
paper around it's perimeter the rifling actually engraved the paper slightly
which must have also allowed the ball to follow the rifling and deliver most
excellent accuracy. With practice one can load and fire a shot in 8 seconds.
Loading is rather simple. Due to the tapered shape of my
design in cartridges the ball end sits down in the pocket, with the narrow end
up. A cartridge is grasped, tail torn off (little or no powder spilled), then
shoved into the muzzle, pointed end down. It will stop at the ball and sit
there while you withdraw the ramrod from the pipes. By the time you have the
rod out, the powder has trickled down into the barrel's breech. I choke up on the
rod to get the ball started as it is a fairly snug fit at the muzzle and push
it down a couple inches with the rod, then once there, one long push on the rod
will shove it all the way onto the powder charge, compressing the paper between
the ball and the powder charge. Replace (or drop) the rod, cap the rifle
(leather disk capper is quick), aim and fire. With practice, this can be
accomplished in 8 seconds, for an accurate, aimed second shot.
Accuracy:
There
is no difference in point of impact, from my .73 or .62 carbine,
with a clean barrel and patched load or a Tapered
Paper Cartridge reload as can be seen on this 75-yard target.
From
the bench, the first shot was a tight fitting .725 Ø*
canvas-patched and lubed soft lead ball. The second shot was loaded
with a soft .720 Ø RB in two wraps of paper, that hit an inch to
the right at 75 yards.
I
repeated this test 3 times using a soft .725 Ø PRB and .715 hard
balls in paper cartridges. Clean bore for the first shot, then
loaded the paper cartridge for the second shot. The three hard lead
follow-up shots were in a horizontal string, 2”, 1” and 4”s to
the right of center.
*
Ø is the symbol for diameter.
Speed
of Loading:
If
everything is laid out and ready, shots can be fired every eight
seconds with a cap loader. In a hunting situation, I have re-loaded
in twelve seconds, even having to fumble with a cap. Being able to
re-load quickly, with an accurate shot is a very nice feeling.
Ever
try to run and pour powder down a bore? Only about half of it goes
in! [True story] I bet plenty of paper ends have been bitten off
while on the run. If they were tapered, loading would have been much
easier.
Run
a well lubed patched ball down the bore every three to five shots.
This will help keep the fouling to a minimum and let you shoot all
day without cleaning.
Mainly
used in smoothbores, this concept really works well in rifled
barrels. It works in any style rifling, but should be ideal in the
Forsyth Style, narrow lands, wide grooves and shallow depth. The
narrow lands should give maximum grip on the paper; the shallow
depth will give less chance of 'blow by' and will clean more easily.
How to make a
tapered dowel:
While
it is possible to purchase a tapered ring-polishing dowel from E-bay
(search for item # 360177532932) for $3.88 including shipping, some
may wish to make their own tapered dowel. Here’s how to do it.
Marked
at ball diameters:
We
will start with a long dowel. The extra length will be used for
holding, and will be cut-off later. The dowel diameter is 1/8"
larger than the ball diameter. I used a hand plane to rough shape
the six-inch taper, then sanded on a flat surface. Try to spin or
rotate as you round and flatten, while you sand. Roundness isn't as
important as straight flat sides, the flatter the sides of the
taper, the better the paper will fit without wrinkles.
The
small end should be between 1/4 and 3/8" diameters. The smaller
the diameter, the easier it is to fit into the bore, but you will
have less powder capacity.
A
cone made in the end for your index finger to fit into will help
with rolling the paper.
Ball
and Bore Size:
With
calipers, you need to measure the bore, ball diameter and the paper
thickness. The bore is .690, the ball is .675 and the paper is
.0035. One wrap is .007, so 2 wraps is a good place to start at
.0014. [.675 + .014 = .689]
Making
a template:
Now
that we know that we need two wraps for a tight fit, we are ready to
make a master template used to trace the shape of the paper needed. I
use 20# printer paper, 8 1/2 x 11, the thickness is .0035 thick. Cut
the sheet of paper into quarters. 4 1/4 x 5 1/2, a nice size for
most cartridges. It will work for up to 2 1/2 wraps.
I roll
clockwise. I'm not sure if it matters with a left or right twist
barrel. Do what is easy.
1.
Make a start mark about 1/4 to 3/8 inch above the bullet diameter. [
1/2 the ball diameter]
2.
At the START mark align the corner edge with the center if the
dowel, Scotch Tape the paper to the dowel.
3.
At one roll, you should be able to see the paper edge underneath,
make a heavy mark on it. [1 Wrap]
4.
Continue rolling, mark the second wrap at the top and bottom. [You
should be able to see the heavy mark from the first wrap and the
edge of the bottom.]
5.
Draw a line thru the marks of the second wrap and cut.
Save
this piece to make a template for 2 Wraps,
transfer to heavier card stock or aluminum flashing. Write
all information on this template, caliber, number of wraps, type of
paper and thickness.
Lay
your template over the cutout 1/4 sheets of printer paper, and mark
along the tapered edge to cut. [I staple and cut 6 or 7 at a time.]
Rolling
Begins:
1.
I align the edge at the start mark, parallel and on center of the
mandrel. Precise alignment and tight wraps will give consistent fit
of the ball.
2.
At slightly past one turn, pinch the overlapping edge, tighten, and
run a line of glue along the paper. [Wood glue, thinned with water,
applied with your finger]
3.
Roll and apply more glue, along the inside edge of the paper and
smooth flat.
4.
Glue the inside of the small end, pinch or fold.
5.
Let dry, cut to length, pour in the powder, drop a ball in, and
crimp the paper over and glue.
Do
not get glue on the mandrel! A damp towel will help to keep your
fingers clean.
Now
you’re ready to shoot with fast reloads and
you’ll be able to
shoot hard lead balls accurately.
shoot hard lead balls accurately.
Other
things to remember:
Ball
Fit:
If
you are using hard lead, which casts about .002” oversize, you
will need to reduce the number of wraps or use thinner paper.
You
have three choices when the using a tapered dowel to adjust the ball
fit.
1.
Moving the paper up or down the dowel will change the ball's depth.
2.
Increasing the number of wraps will create a tighter fit. Less wraps
will make for a looser fit.
3.
Using thicker paper will also tighten the fit; thinner paper will
loosen it.
Tapered tools that might work:
A
large tapered alignment punch made of steel, should work for bullets
up to size .62 or a ring sizing mandrel such as the one found on
E-bay, made of wood, brass, plastic or steel that tapers from 3/8 to
1 inch would also probably work well.
Paper:
Many
types of paper can be used, from cigarette to shopping bags. They
all seem to work; I just have scrap printer paper that needs to be
recycled.
Caution,
printer paper will smoke and glow. It took many shots, but I did get
one to smolder. Although
a remote chance, be careful in the field not to start of fire from a
smoldering cone. If at all possible, retrieve your fired cones and
you won’t need to worry.
Fired Cones:
Retrieved
after firing, the paper cone clearly displays rifling marks.
A
partially completed cartridge using a .717” diameter hard lead
ball and
recovered
cones. When testing loads, don't glue the end, just pour the powder
down
the bore and load.
Additional
information:
Tapered
Paper Cartridges also works in a .50 and .54 cal. I
just made a Tapered Paper Cartridge for my 50 cal. I wasn't sure
that there would be enough powder capacity for a hunting load. I was
able to get in 90 grains, using a tapered alignment punch.
The
punch is 1/4 x 5/8 that is 12's long. These punches are sizes by the
diameter of the punch end 1/4 and the diameter of the body, 5/8 and
length of 12". Each maker has their own size configuration.
Less
taper means more powder capacity, but not as easy to load. I may
have to make one from wood that tapers to 5/16 and is slightly
longer. I could just use 90 grains of 3F and not mess with a new
tapered dowel.
I
first tried 1 1/2 wraps with a .530 ball......loose. Then
2 wraps, a nice snug fit. Takes a little thumb pressure, but pops
right in!
I
loaded 90grs of 3f in the clean barrel with a .537 ball and pillow
ticking lubed with "Moose Milk." Shot
and quickly reloaded with a Tapered Paper Cartridge. It slid down
easy, with just slight thumb pressure.
The
longer you wait to reload, the harder the powder residue gets. So
reload quickly after the previous shot.
Rolling Tip!
Keep
the paper wraps tight and smooth around the ball diameter. This matters most for a good fit.
Bruce’s Cap Remover and Holder
Bruce’s Cap Remover and Holder
Made from an old fork with the center slot widened,
then trimmed and filed to size. Round leather holder has punched
holes for both #11 and musket caps.
Thoughts about
priming powder for Flinter's.
Pour
some 4f in the TPC, tie it off with some string, then pour in the
hunting load.
Tear
the powder above the string, pour and load. This will leave you with
a small pack of priming powder to tear open and use. Only one
container and two powders, with a little refinement it might work.
You
might need to use longer paper to get both powder in one TPC.
~ Bruce Strickling
