.36 Caliber Paper Cartidges???
- Thread starter 10851Man
- Start date
Willie Sutton
Moderator
Sure!
Gather powder, bullet, cigarette rolling papers, glue, and some saltpeter.
Roll 'em up.
There are plenty of places on the net to see how to do it.
AFAIK they are not sold commercially.
Willie
.
Gather powder, bullet, cigarette rolling papers, glue, and some saltpeter.
Roll 'em up.
There are plenty of places on the net to see how to do it.
AFAIK they are not sold commercially.
Willie
.
g.willikers
New member
For pistol and revolver, it's easier to just put the pre-measured powder and ball in small containers and then dump the contents down the barrel or in the chambers.
The containers can be ordinary paper tubes, since they're not going in the gun.
The containers can be ordinary paper tubes, since they're not going in the gun.
Ah but that wouldn't be historical fun
Potassium Nitrate...hot water, correct size dowel rod and cigarette papers. You need to be extra careful if you've never done this. These have a chance of leaving smoldering traces of the papers in the chamber which could ignite the next cartridge you load. Causing obviously hand/finger damage or removal.
I make them up un-nitrated for ease of caring a cartridge box full...bite (or rip off
) the powder end, the place the bullet over the chamber for ramming... ripping off the remaining paper of as you seat the ball.
Potassium Nitrate...hot water, correct size dowel rod and cigarette papers. You need to be extra careful if you've never done this. These have a chance of leaving smoldering traces of the papers in the chamber which could ignite the next cartridge you load. Causing obviously hand/finger damage or removal.
I make them up un-nitrated for ease of caring a cartridge box full...bite (or rip off
) the powder end, the place the bullet over the chamber for ramming... ripping off the remaining paper of as you seat the ball.
Last edited:
I was thinking about these also, have not done much work on it, You can tell as you hear this question, But what do you mean by Nitrating and un-nitrated.. ???? And how does one Nitrate these??? And what does it mean it I am carrying them around either way..???
Last edited:
And the un nitrated would be just regular papers with the powder on one end, a lead ball or conical bullet on the other with a thread tide between them. I do them like this as an alternative to using the plastic tubes. It keeps a ball and powder charge ready and neatly in the cartridge box...just rip the paper on the powder end and dump it in. Then rip off the rest of the paper from the ball and seat it. While it does the same thing as the plastic "speed tubes", it looks more "historical" than the plastic ones and honestly.....I like making them while I watch movies
like so...
I do apologize as these are really rifle cartridges...but you get the idea.
like so...
I do apologize as these are really rifle cartridges...but you get the idea.
duelist1954 did a really cool video (as are all of Mike's moving pictures) shooting an 1860 Army with pre made combustible paper cartridges he got some place. Wish I knew where he got them and if I could buy them...they are really cool. They were even in a period style paper carton.
shooting an 1860 Army with pre made combustible paper cartridges he got some place. Wish I knew where he got them and if I could buy them...they are really cool. They were even in a period style paper carton.I made them for my .45 single-shot muzzle loader, and they worked fine. First time, every time.
I made them with Zig Zags, formed over a mandrel to make them consistent sized. Lick them, roll, twist off the med, pur in 40 grains of Pyrodex, twist the end. Tiny dabs of white glue to keep the ends together.
I made them with Zig Zags, formed over a mandrel to make them consistent sized. Lick them, roll, twist off the med, pur in 40 grains of Pyrodex, twist the end. Tiny dabs of white glue to keep the ends together.
bushmaster65
New member
I used zigzags for my Walker. Used an old bolt I had in the garage.
First, rolled the paper with just the ball at one end then inserted bolt and continued as if rolling a cig.
Did make sure bolt diameter was less than ball. Added 30gr pyrodex,
twisted the hell out of powder end.
Bit the tail before placing into cylinder. rammed the HELL out of the ball and I got what I believe was a faster ignition. It's very time consuming but fun when time permits.
First, rolled the paper with just the ball at one end then inserted bolt and continued as if rolling a cig.
Did make sure bolt diameter was less than ball. Added 30gr pyrodex,
twisted the hell out of powder end.
Bit the tail before placing into cylinder. rammed the HELL out of the ball and I got what I believe was a faster ignition. It's very time consuming but fun when time permits.
Here's just one of many sources from googling "empty tea bags"
http://www.herbco.com/p-1090-press-n-brew-50-pk-small-82525-in-x-275-in.aspx
When I was using my cig paper cartridges I always kept a pair of tweezers handy to dig out unburnt paper and visually inspected each chamber before reloading.
http://www.herbco.com/p-1090-press-n-brew-50-pk-small-82525-in-x-275-in.aspx
When I was using my cig paper cartridges I always kept a pair of tweezers handy to dig out unburnt paper and visually inspected each chamber before reloading.
Have not had a .36 for years but all I shoot in my .44s is paper loads. Bugler paper seems to work pretty well for me. The trick is to get a taper to the things and clip the tail off as short as you can after twisting it. With a good taper they split at the rear when seated and go off every time. Tried folding the rear like some do and had ignition issues.
BerdanSS's idea will work fine, but the original revolver cartridges didn't involve tearing anything. You just dropped the cartridge (shaped roughly like an ice-cream cone) into the chamber and rammed it. Ramming broke the paper, foil or skin (cartridges were made of all three materials) to expose the powder. Cap the nipples and away we go!
Jim
Jim
Sam Colt created the idea of combustible cartridges in his revolvers, back in the 1850s. He first used tin foil, instead of paper, for its waterproofness and durability.
However, it hindered ignition more than nitrated paper. Also, Colt had a problem finding quality tin foil in this country. Too much of it produced here had tiny holes that let powder leak. He ended up ordering tin foil from Germany, one of the more technologically advanced countries in the world at that time.
This raised the cost of his cartridges, forcing him to use paper, or animal skin or gut. At one point, he mixed a thick liquid -- a colloidin -- with black powder and formed cones of propellant, to which the conical bullet was attached.
A lot of different things have been tried.
I used to make my own combustible cartridges, soaking onion skin paper in a solution of Saltpetre (potassium nitrate), then hanging the paper up to dry.
This was also done by bookies, who kept notes on bets on such paper. When the coppers busted through the door, they only had to apply a cigar or cigarette to the piles of notes on their desk and the evidence went up in seconds.
The combustible cartridges I made worked fine, but I decided long ago that it was more trouble than it was worth. I dispense from a flask into a smaller container, then pour from that into each chamber.
Still, making your own combustible cartridges is a link to history, and there's always pride in making something yourself.
Have fun with making your own. Just don't smoke or do it by candleight!
However, it hindered ignition more than nitrated paper. Also, Colt had a problem finding quality tin foil in this country. Too much of it produced here had tiny holes that let powder leak. He ended up ordering tin foil from Germany, one of the more technologically advanced countries in the world at that time.
This raised the cost of his cartridges, forcing him to use paper, or animal skin or gut. At one point, he mixed a thick liquid -- a colloidin -- with black powder and formed cones of propellant, to which the conical bullet was attached.
A lot of different things have been tried.
I used to make my own combustible cartridges, soaking onion skin paper in a solution of Saltpetre (potassium nitrate), then hanging the paper up to dry.
This was also done by bookies, who kept notes on bets on such paper. When the coppers busted through the door, they only had to apply a cigar or cigarette to the piles of notes on their desk and the evidence went up in seconds.
The combustible cartridges I made worked fine, but I decided long ago that it was more trouble than it was worth. I dispense from a flask into a smaller container, then pour from that into each chamber.
Still, making your own combustible cartridges is a link to history, and there's always pride in making something yourself.
Have fun with making your own. Just don't smoke or do it by candleight!