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View Full Version : Field loading c&b revolvers???



GunnyJohn
01-31-2014, 12:56 PM
I've seen pictures online of shooters at the range with all thier gear laid out for reloading C&B revolvers, but what about in the field? Do you just carry a little tub of crisco with you to cover the load? May seem like a dumb ? but this newb is just wondering if the is some other technique. Might want to take it out and blast gophers with it this summer. I'm finding it fun, if not challenging to shoot.

pietro
01-31-2014, 01:54 PM
.

Some carry a 2nd (loaded) cylinder for their C&B revolvers; others carry the lube in a small squeeze tube.


.

Baja_Traveler
01-31-2014, 02:14 PM
I don't use lube to cover the load, but I use a wonder wad instead.

For my ROA I use the Big Lube boolit designed for .45 C & B pistols - it is pan lubed with my regular black powder BPCR lube at home. All I have to do is drop powder from a horn, put a wad over the powder, seat the boolits and cap. Probably a 4-5 minute exercise for all cylinders...

lancem
01-31-2014, 02:20 PM
Take a used toothpaste tube, snip the sealed end off and clean well. Fill with your lube, fold cut end closed, I would fold it like 1" then put on a tye wrap, then fold it over again and tye wrap it again. Not period correct :) but it works well and as long as you don't loose the cap it contains the mess. Snip the tye wraps to refill...

GunnyJohn
01-31-2014, 02:28 PM
Take a used toothpaste tube, snip the sealed end off and clean well. Fill with your lube, fold cut end closed, I would fold it like 1" then put on a tye wrap, then fold it over again and tye wrap it again. Not period correct :) but it works well and as long as you don't loose the cap it contains the mess. Snip the tye wraps to refill...

I like it. Thanks lancem. I'm off to brush my teeth...again

Omnivore
01-31-2014, 03:05 PM
You bring up an excellent point. Range shooting where you may lay out a whole "pantry" full of accessories and supplies, is quite another matter from that of field shooting. FWIW; the small TC Bore Butter tubes have a small enough opening that the lube can be dispensed directly into the chambers, same as your toothpaste tube. They can be refilled from a larger Bore Butter tube by placing the larger opening over the smaller one and forcing "the toothpaste back in the tube" so to speak. You can use your home-made lube in the same system by melting it and pouring it into the tube through a funnel.

Wads are of course more convenient as stated above, and lube groove bullets might even eliminate any use of wads. I keep a bag of balls in one pocket and a bag of wads in another, with the powder flask in a belt holster. Some flasks have loops for attachment of a carry strap. Caps in a snail capper (from Ted Cach) on a cord around the neck. Back in the day they'd often use paper cartridges from a belt-carried cartridge box, so in that case you just pull a cartridge out of the box, stuff it in, ram it home, then cap and you're ready to go. Good luck ever finding a pistol cartridge box, though making one of your own is certainly an option.

Some companies sell what they call a "bullet pouch" which mounts on the belt. Those are in fact horrible and disgusting copies of the Civil War era style cap box, used back in the day to carry musket caps, but they may have their uses for us, so long as they prevent the contents from spilling out. Mine wouldn't even hold 44 caliber balls, it was built so poorly, but as long as you remained upright it wouldn't spill the contents. I suspect that the manufacturers have no clue as to what they're trying to copy or why. I further suspect that hardly anyone making some of this stuff ever actually tries to use it.

JudgeBAC
01-31-2014, 05:47 PM
Felt wad between boolit and powder always worked for me.

Outpost75
01-31-2014, 07:48 PM
I frequently hunt with a cap&ball revolver. I carry a small pocket flask with enough powder to reload my Ruger Old Army about four times. Grease is carried in a Scoal snuff can. Caps are in a Cash capper, round balls and wads in a tobbacco pouch. The whole kit fits in my coat pocket. Nipple wrench, screw driver and cleaning rod are in a small ruck with lunch, water bottle, fire making kit, hatchet and wetterfleck.

DIRT Farmer
02-01-2014, 12:16 AM
Shoe polish tins work well. Now that I don't put a uniform on every day, I can't afford to lose any of my colection.

JeffG
02-01-2014, 12:28 AM
There was some outfit that used to make a plunger type grease gun just for the purpose you are talking about. I can't remember you made it and don't think it was even marked. I've had it for over 20 years and don't think I've seen one since. I have one, it's all brass, about 5" long and 1' diameter tube. On one end it has a screw on cap with a small tapered spout with threaded plug and the other end was screw on cap with a plunger. You unscrew one end or the other and fill it with whatever grease you wanted to use, Crisco, bore butter, etc. To me it was just as easy to carry a tube of bore butter, squeeze a bit on my finger and smear it on the cylinder face. I typically used cream of wheat between powder and ball so I didn't really need to worry about flashover, but liked having the grease none the less.

Omnivore
02-01-2014, 01:38 AM
FWIW; I don't know how common the practice became later on, but the loading instructions that came with the Colt's revolving percussion pistols never mentioned using lube or a wad. Just powder, lead and cap. I don't believe that the millions of "consumable envelope cartridges" and foil cartridges used in revolvers in the 1860s contained any lube either.

I don't ever concern myself with crossfires, or flash-over or chain firing or whatever you want to call it. The only reason I use lube is to keep the fouling soft so the gun runs longer and cleans up a little easier. With clean loading, smooth undamaged chambers and proper fitting lead, you don't get crossfires. So when I talk about lube or wads it's got nothing to do with preventing chain fires. We use lube and wads in single shots too, for the same good reasons, and what with having only one firing chamber and all, they can't crossfire.

Lefty Red
02-01-2014, 01:45 AM
In the field, I never found myself shooting more than ten shots. I pack two pistols when I hunted squirrels, a CVA 36 '51 Navy and a '62 Pocket Police, and maybe reloaded once or twice. Empty Skoal cans, with Crisco, a small power horn with measure, some caps, and Wonder Wads was all I carried besides ball-ets.

bigted
02-02-2014, 03:56 AM
haven't had mine out in the field ... however here in the yard i always use crisco or bore butter over any bp loaded revolver ... be it c&b or cartridge pistols. what i have and use is a small grease gun designed for chainsaw bar roller tips ... it squirts a tiny stream of grease and is pointed enough to shove it down in the chamber and hold it there till it is full ... then ... move to the next chamber. this little grease gun is small enough to fit in a pocket and will hold enough lube for a bunch of loads unless you short load and have need to fill copious amounts of open cylinder hole above the ball.

i also am in the camp of not doing so for any cross firing or any other reason except for making my fouling nice n soft so the cleanup is so much easier. it also allow me to shoot longer between any cleaning chores because of the softness of the fouling ...

i have a .36 1861 navy with a 5 1/2 inch barrel that i can load the cylinder 4 times without doing any cleaning or brushing ... then the only thing that hampers loading is the hard fouling just inside the chamber walls making it harder n harder to shove the ball past the fouling and crud.

Good Cheer
02-02-2014, 01:31 PM
I use a lube made from beeswax, lanolin and olive oil that is thick enough to stay put in front of the ball or bullet. Or in the tin for that matter. An old bronze bladed knife (Thailand) is my favored means of applying it.

kens
02-02-2014, 01:41 PM
Felt wad between boolit and powder always worked for me.

That and a grease cookie over the ball.

Good Cheer
02-02-2014, 01:47 PM
Do any of you fellas use punched card wads over the powder? The spongy pressed paper used for egg cartons is what I regularly use for over powder wads in muzzleloaders. The wads will soak up quite a bit of melted lube and serve well in rifles. I haven't done any definitive testing with them in percussion revolvers but it's on that big ol' list of round tuits.

Uncle R.
02-02-2014, 02:07 PM
I never used a wad of any kind. Carried conicals from Lee Old Army mould that were pan lubed with beeswax. I have a leather snap-top belt pouch that will easily hold 36 bullets. Carried a capper and a spare tin of caps and a copper powder flask with a spout sized for the proper load. The procedure is fast and simple - turn fired empty revolver muzzle up in weak hand - charge all the holes, seat all the conicals. Turn muzzle down - cap all the nipples. Capper eliminates fumbling or looking for a place to set the tin or the lid or wishing you had a 3rd hand. Makes capping a fast easy operation. Ready to go in maybe two minutes and shoots great. No other components or additional lube required.
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Uncle R.

Junior1942
02-02-2014, 03:58 PM
If you have only one crossover/flashover when firing a cap & ball revolver, you will forever afterwards put grease on the cylinder mouths. That's the VOE talkin!

Uncle R.
02-02-2014, 04:48 PM
If you have only one crossover/flashover when firing a cap & ball revolver, you will forever afterwards put grease on the cylinder mouths. That's the VOE talkin!

Hi Junior!
VOE here too - I had a multiple chamber discharge just once from not using grease over round balls. It was way more exciting than I was hoping for and I don't plan to be THAT guy ever again. I only tried it because was young and foolish and I believed an old buckskinner when he told me that grease wasn't needed.
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That old buckskinner probably had other character flaws too...
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I was writing only about using the LEE conicals with lube groove designed for the Old Army. When I pan lube 'em and Kake cut 'em it leaves a film of beeswax on the bullet OD as well as filling the groove - and ramming them into the charge holes scrapes a pretty good bit of wax into the cylinder mouth. They seal tightly, they were designed to be used that way (Heck I was following Lee's instructions) and in many hundred (Thousands?) of shots I never had a problem.
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Round balls? Grease please - enough to fill the chamber mouth level full.
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Good to hear from you! Hope you're well.
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Uncle R.

Maven
02-02-2014, 07:41 PM
There's a letter to the editor of the current "Muzzleblasts" (NMLRA) by Marty Murphy, past president of that organization and a BP revolver competitor about chain fires. To wit, they begin at the rear of the cylinder because of a poor percussion cap to nipple fit, not at the front. The Bevel Brothers researched this as well and devoted most, if not all of their monthly column to it. Grease 'em if you wish, as it serves a purpose, but it DOESN'T prevent chain fires.

Uncle R.
02-02-2014, 08:29 PM
There's a letter to the editor of the current "Muzzleblasts" (NMLRA) by Marty Murphy, past president of that organization and a BP revolver competitor about chain fires. To wit, they begin at the rear of the cylinder because of a poor percussion cap to nipple fit, not at the front. The Bevel Brothers researched this as well and devoted most, if not all of their monthly column to it. Grease 'em if you wish, as it serves a purpose, but it DOESN'T prevent chain fires.

I've seen / read references to this theory (?) before. I can't say it isn't true, but it seems quite a coincidence to me that I've NEVER had a multiple discharge with the chambers greased and the only multiple discharge I ever experienced was on the third (and last) cylinder full that I fired without grease or lube. This out of hundreds and hundreds of loadings in that same gun - 99.9% of them greased or lubed with beeswax.
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That goes beyond coincidence, and I remain convinced that it was because of those bare balls. (They were also none too tight of a fit in the chambers I might add - although they did manage to stay in place under recoil.)
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Of course that doesn't mean that loose caps can't cause chain fires too - just that it's never happened to me.
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Uncle R.

cwheel
02-02-2014, 10:57 PM
Used to have a old Italian 36 cap and ball. Nipples didn't all fit the caps tight, but it did fire. Used to load like most, powder, ball, lube, and then cap the nipples. I noticed at one point that some of the powder passed through the nipples while loading, didn't pay attention. The cross fire was 3 holes, one under the barrel and one to each side, shaved some lead, but I was OK. Last time I fired that one. When I got my ROA, I started capping first to prevent powder leaks, charged powder, wad, then the ball. Most folks will seat the cap last, but after the chain fire, I always cap first. Safety note, stay to the side of the front of the revolver cylinder when loading this way. Back face of the ROA is now always clear of loose powder, think it's a good place to start preventing chain fires, caps fit the nipples tight as well. If you are challenged enough to not be able to keep your face and other body parts away from the front of the cylinder while loading, don't use this method.
Chris

Outpost75
02-02-2014, 11:05 PM
There's a letter to the editor of the current "Muzzleblasts" (NMLRA) by Marty Murphy, past president of that organization and a BP revolver competitor about chain fires. To wit, they begin at the rear of the cylinder because of a poor percussion cap to nipple fit, not at the front. The Bevel Brothers researched this as well and devoted most, if not all of their monthly column to it. Grease 'em if you wish, as it serves a purpose, but it DOESN'T prevent chain fires.

Agree, loose caps and worn nipples with excessively large openings are the usual cause. Grease is only to keep the fouling soft so that the cylinder doesn't bind up

dondiego
02-03-2014, 10:31 AM
Well, the ONLY time I ever had a chain fire was when I decided to not bother with putting grease over the balls. It might have started at the nipples, but it sure is a coincidence that it only happened when I didn't grease the cylinder. I'm cured. Sure seems like I would have had a chain fire after that incident with the same caps and balls if it was related only to the caps and nipples.

waksupi
02-03-2014, 11:37 AM
Same here, the only chain fires I ever had, was when I didn't grease the cylinders.

FLINTNFIRE
02-03-2014, 12:37 PM
When I was a teen I experimented with no lube over cylinders , only chain fires I had were without lube . I always pinched my caps down to keep them on the 58 remington , No chain fires since then with lube over balls , to each their own.

Maven
02-03-2014, 12:38 PM
Well, I suppose substandard diameter ball, i.e., one that doesn't shave a ring of Pb and no grease over the cylinder mouths may contribute to chain firing. Add to that sloppy charging so that there's loose powder at the front of the cylinder and you've got a recipe for unintended multiple discharges (but I'm still betting on the cap-nipple relationship as the more likely cause). These days I rarely grease the cylinder mouths, but use a tight fitting ball + a lubed felt wad and have never had a problem. In short, I cast my vote for the Bevel Bros. controlled experiment rather than anecdotal reports. The nice thing about the scientific method is that it invites skeptics to try a proposition for themselves, i.e., it invites replication. I'm sure the NMLRA can tell you which issue of "Muzzleblasts" contained their article if you'd care to try this for yourself.

dondiego
02-03-2014, 12:45 PM
Your lubed felt wad being the key. I have worked in the scientific field for over 32 years in a test laboratory and have seen many so called controlled experiments produce invalid results. I will be using a wad or grease over the ball.

waksupi
02-03-2014, 04:43 PM
I never loaded a C&B that didn't shave a lead ring when loaded.

Rattlesnake Charlie
02-03-2014, 04:50 PM
If you have only one crossover/flashover when firing a cap & ball revolver, you will forever afterwards put grease on the cylinder mouths. That's the VOE talkin!

What he said.

i used to carry my grease (straight out of a tube for a grease gun - it doesn't melt like Crisco) in a tin that percussion caps came in. I had used a torch to burn the paint off, and it looks a little more vintage.

Bardo
02-04-2014, 12:50 AM
Here is what I use. I usually take 5 tubes with 6 conicals or round balls in them. If I use round balls I put 6 wads in the tube so they are the first to come out. The flask hold at least enough powder for 30 shots. I also have a small spray bottle of Moose Milk I sometimes take to free up the cylinder.

Bardo

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HARRYMPOPE
02-04-2014, 02:47 AM
I agree with Maven on chain fires happening from the back.With a ball being shaved to fit powder just cant get in there.

FLINTNFIRE
02-05-2014, 02:58 AM
All my cap and balls shave lead when loading , have not had a chain fire in over 30 years now since lubing over ball , only tried it without lube when a teenager to see if it would , load yours how you want , I will load mine the way I do . Every one does things their own way , what works for one may not be the way another likes to do it.

histed
02-05-2014, 12:02 PM
FWIW, I've seen fellas take something like ZigZag cigarette papers, roll them around a former, put powder in one end, then a wonder wad or some such, then a ball. The powder end is folded over and these are carried in a cartridge box. I never tried it my self - I shot mostly .44s - but it seemed to work well with .32s and .36s. Idea was to push the entire "cartridge" into the cylinder, seat the ball, then run a pick through the nipple vent to expose the powder before capping.Personally, I'd worry about sparks and embers being left in the chambers, but these guys claimed it was the same as the old style nitrated paper cartridges. Uh, OK...?? Just sayin'

scattershot
02-05-2014, 03:15 PM
"Do any of you fellas use punched card wads over the powder? The spongy pressed paper used for egg cartons is what I regularly use for over powder wads in muzzleloaders. The wads will soak up quite a bit of melted lube and serve well in rifles. I haven't done any definitive testing with them in percussion revolvers but it's on that big ol' list of round tuits. "



Sounds like a great idea to me, thanks for the tip.

Omnivore
02-05-2014, 05:48 PM
Histed;

I've used paper cartridges made using cigarette papers, and also just "powder bags" (no lead) made from the same. I fold the paper over in back, and no punching of the paper has ever been necessary for reliable ignition. For one thing, as the lead is jammed down on top of it, the paper splits open and for another, the cap is more tham powerful enough to punch through a couple layers of the thin paper.

For field loading either one (power only, or full cartridge with lead and powder) is extremely convenient. Some of my revolvers don't take a full cartridge very well and so the powder-only version is still nice. The downsides are in the time it takes beforehand to make them up, and the fact that they are pretty fragile.

As for embers; well you have to be somewhat concerned about that regardless of how you load. Zig-Zag regular papers are slow burning compared to some of the others, and I do see more bits of paper left behind when using those. I've tried nitrating the paper usaing saltpeter and water, then letting the paper dry, but it doesn't seem to make much difference one way or the other. Maybe I just don't know what I'm doing.

histed
02-05-2014, 08:33 PM
Looks like you're pretty up on it to me. I never tried it, but, since I know it works, this goes in the back of my mind for the next one - hopefully this summer. I thought I read somewhere that this was quite common in the Golden Age of the west. You're right about embers. Just mix saltpeter in water, huh? Any special proportion? Want to try sniping groundhogs with a .36 and this could be very useful

Mike 56
02-05-2014, 11:07 PM
These are the paper carts i shoot in my 1858 Remington they load really easy. I have not tried then in my colts yet. http://youtu.be/pC5mwOJ2Khg Every few loads clean the cylinder face and relube the cylinder pin.

Wolfer
02-05-2014, 11:52 PM
I carry crisco in an empty snuff can. In the past I've used the cheap syringe you get at the feed store, without the needle of course. You can squirt it right in place, not near as messy. But if your concerned about messy then cap and ball is probably not for you.

When I first got mine about 40 years ago an old gunsmith / black powder shooter told me to never shoot it without grease. I never have. He said if the gun was new and the cyl holes were round chain firing was very unlikely. I've seen several originals with oblong throats.
I've had lots of nipple / cap problems where caps would fall off of loaded chambers but have never had a chain fire. Hope I never do! Woody

Bardo
02-06-2014, 01:12 AM
When I have made paper cartridges in the past I have had good luck with the perm papers. You can get 1000 for about $3 and each one make 2 cartridges. I have never had a misfire or hang fire with them. I put a slight tapper on them and when I seat the ball I think it splits them open at the bottom. So I have never pricked the paper through the nipple. I have never noticed embers in the chambers after words. One thing before you make a whole bunch with the conical attached make sure the will fit. An Uberti 1851 wont work but my Uberti 1861 has enough room. You can just have the paper and then add the boolit and that works in all the guns I have tried. Its nice if it is windy to not have to deal with loose powder. And you can fit several in an altoides tin along with you wads.

Bardo

Omnivore
02-06-2014, 02:37 PM
OK I think the answer to easy field loading is coming down to some kind of consumable cartridge, whether complete with ball or just a paper "powder bag".

The guy in the vid was twisting the backs of his cartridges. I should say that ONCE I have the twisty bit get stuck in a factory Pietta nipple and is was heck trying to clear it. It took several tries, with picking in between. I've fired many others that way with no problems, but I no longer twist the backs. I fold them instead, using the glue strip to make the last fold so it's pasted in place.

histed; don't ask me. I just heard of "nitrated paper" and so that's what I tried. As I said, it didn't seem make any difference one way or the other as far as what's left inside the chambers after firing. More difference was observed in the different brands of cigarette paper, with the regular white pack Zig Zags being the slowest burning and leaving a bit more behind in the chamber. Dixie and some of the other vendors sell "nitrated paper" for use in Sharps rifles and such, but for one they're pretty expensive and for another I've never tried them in a revolver or anything else, nor do I know how, and of what exactly they are made. I have a whole book an "consumable envelope cartridges" of the circa Civil War era, and it's 00% about company history, production numbers, business relationships, etc. and almost zero actual information for the persoin who wants to make his own. I CAN tell you though, that litterally millions and millions of these type cartridges for revolvers were sold in the 1960s and '70, and though sales fell off rapidly, they continued to be made commercially into the 1900s. Now they're being made commercially once more, by small mom and pop operations, but they're not cheap and shipping is of course a problem with hasmat fees and such.

Edited to add; I can also tell you that "Gum Arabic" (which I THINK is what's used on today's gummed cigarette papers) and "Water Glass" (sodium silicate) were popular adhesives used in 1860s consumable envelope cartridge manufacturing. Both are readily available today. How thay made "nitrated paper" or what kind of paper they started with I still don't know. Some revolver cartridges using metal foil (presumably tin or lead foil) as the envelope were also made, and those had to be pricked, or torn, before they'd ignite. Some were made with "skin" envelopes (again no specifics, though a bladder skin is most likely) and others had no envelope at all, being compressed powder pellets with the lead glued on. A modern analog to the latter would be a Pyrodex pellet with a flat-base bullet pasted on one end. I'm not aware of any comercially made cartridges back in the day using a round ball. In 44 caliber they generally used conicals (several designs have been identified in surviving examples, even within one brand) of over 200 grains, and up to about 155 or 160 grains.

FLINTNFIRE
02-06-2014, 05:00 PM
Here is a good link with some info you might find interesting , has instructions on nitrated paper cartridges
http://winchestersutler.com/ShotLoad.html#CLN

Alan
02-06-2014, 05:06 PM
flask, capper, sandwich bag with lubed felt wads, and bag of balls. fwiw, I've had better luck in .36 and up with 2f powder.

Texantothecore
02-06-2014, 05:58 PM
When I have made paper cartridges in the past I have had good luck with the perm papers. You can get 1000 for about $3 and each one make 2 cartridges. I have never had a misfire or 7hang fire with them. I put a slight tapper on them and when I seat the ball I think it splits them open at the bottom. So I have never pricked the paper through the nipple. I have never noticed embers in the chambers after words. One thing before you make a whole bunch with the conical attached make sure the will fit. An Uberti 1851 wont work but my Uberti 1861 has enough room. You can just have the paper and then add the boolit and that works in all the guns I have tried. Its nice if it is windy to not have to deal with loose powder. And you can fit several in an altoides tin along with you wads.

Bardo

Bardot,
Did you use clear nail polish to glue the tube formed for powder?

I stopped at the local beauty supply and picked up a cheap packet of perm paper. It is very thin but sort of stiff and looks like it will work in the pistol.

Omnivore
02-06-2014, 07:15 PM
Flintnfire; Thanks for the link. The difference is they boil the water, apparently dip the paper in hot water, and use "onion skin paper". I'm mixing a saturated solution at room temp and brushing it onto the cigarette papers. I'm not sure there is a specific definition of "onion skin paper" or if there are several varieties and weights falling under a general description, but I will look into it. I'm also not sure this so-called onion skin paper would be superior in some way to other papers, or why. Ideally all the paper or skin would be burned in the firing, but even in the linked article they speak of "removing any debris left over from the previous shot".

Bardo
02-06-2014, 09:52 PM
I use a glue stick- it dries almost instantly when you touch it to the other paper and isn't messy. But store them in a zip lock or they dry out fast. I usually cut the papers so there is a little tab that folds over the bottom- that way there is only one sheet of paper where the nipple is. I think when you seat the boolit it tears the paper because I have never had ignition problems. Also if you use the tab method then you only need to put glue on one side. Once you figure out what you want you can cut several pieces at once. It is pretty quick. Then add your powder and a filler if you want. then twist it and cut off extra with finger nail clippers.

Bardo

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Bardot,
Did you use clear nail polish to glue the tube formed for powder?

I stopped at the local beauty supply and picked up a cheap packet of perm paper. It is very thin but sort of stiff and looks like it will work in the pistol.

Omnivore
02-07-2014, 01:55 AM
Here's a link to the Hotchkiss patent of 1862 for an improved method of making skin cartridges. There may be something in it for us. For one thing it leaves only a single layer at the base where it gets ignited, but obviously some of you already a way to do that. Still it is interesting to see what they were doing back then for "field loading";

http://www.google.com/patents/US34367

I looked for this about a year ago and it wasn't available. With OCR scanning they're getting a huge number of these old patents on line, even if the results are often dubious. The word "of" for example often comes out as either oi' or ol' and stuff like that, but you can figure it out well enough.

Who'd'a thought you could patent a method of wrapping a skin on a dowel?

And it wasn't bladder skin as I had guessed. They used mutton or pig's gut. There is No mention of nitrating in this case, as Hotchkiss speaks of relying on the properties of the gut. I have some bladder skin of the type used in musical wind instrument pads (also known as gold-beater's skin). It's very light and very tough, and it exhibits some of the behaviors Hotchkiss was talking about. I think I'll play around with Hotchkiss' idea and see what happens, even if I don't have any mutton gut laying around.

Ill probably just end up making a mess, but if it shows any promise I'll report back.

What he doesn't tell us in the patent is what adhesives he used, if any, or how the lead was attached.

Texantothecore
02-07-2014, 11:49 AM
Thanks for the pictures, Bardo. Your technique is quite clear and I can't wait to use it. I ended up with same wraps that you use so it looks as if it is going to work well.

Bardo
02-07-2014, 12:19 PM
If you load powder then ball then lube. You can put the ball on top of the powder then twist it. I leave the steam long - so then it is easy to pull the paper off after you seat it. Then lube. Just make sure your gun can fit that long of a cartridge. I normally do powder then felt wad then ball. But I have done it the other way.

Bardo


Thanks for the pictures, Bardo. Your technique is quite clear and I can't wait to use it. I ended up with same wraps that you use so it looks as if it is going to work well.

Texantothecore
02-08-2014, 01:58 AM
That perm paper might also be perfect for paper patched bullets. It looks like good stuff.

Bardo
02-08-2014, 02:39 AM
I loaded up some with ball wad and powder. Hopefully I can shoot them in the morning. I can get 11 in that little tin. and then carry my capper and I am set.

Bardo
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