.54 Pistol Cartridges

Unlike loading the .58 rifle musket, where the cartridge was torn open, the powder and bullet loaded into the barrel and the paper discarded, the older smooth bore muskets and pistols were loaded by tearing open the cartridge at the tab, dumping the powder down the barrel, then loading the front part of the cartridge, with the bullet still wrapped in paper, down the barrel. The ball and paper should allow that, as the paper was intended to reduce the "windage" or space between the barrel wall and the projectile.

Revolvers were loaded with combustible cartridges, but muskets and rifles were not. (They could be, but "back in the day" combustible cartridges were too fragile to carry around; even standard paper cartridges became broken, wet, or otherwise useless after a few weeks in a cartridge box, which is why officers ordered their men to obtain fresh cartridges from the ammo wagon before a battle, if possible.)

Jim
 
Thanks so much guys! So I thought I should ask, that when loading, after biting the cartridge open and dumping the powder down the barrel, do I load the rest of the cartridge down ball-first, or "powder chamber" first?

Also, if I were to use the proper cotton or linen paper, what kind would be most historically accurate? The 24 lb stuff I was using seems a tad on the thick side... certainly too thick for .530 balls, no doubt. I assume the .520 ball will be better, but I'll bet my paper/thread will still be too thick... so I guess now I'm wondering what would be the correct thickness/weight of cotton paper to use? Will I need to go to the smaller .509" balls? Would .509" balls be considered too small for a .535" bore?

I just have so many questions... sorry! I want to thank you all so much for helping me!!
 
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The 1839 Pyrotechnics manual above says:

Musket Cartridges
Charge of powder for single ball is 5/3 drachmes, or 48 charges to a pound.
Charge of powder for ball and Buck shot is 60 charges to a pound.
Charge of powder for twelve Buck shot is 60 charges to a pound.
Charge of powder for Rifle balls is 105 charges to a pound.
Charge of powder for Pistol is 130 charges to a pound.

1/48th of a pound equals 147 grains.
1/60th of a pound equals 119 grains.
1/105th of a pound equals 66 grains.
1/130th of a pound equals 54 grains.

But they note that the actual charge must vary depending on the strength of the powder.

As to paper, it simply says that the paper must be "thin, strong, and smooth." Later ordnance manuals give instructions for how to test the strength of the paper.

Steve
 
Thanks, seems like a stout charge for a pistol... I am assuming since that info is from an 1832 document, that said charge accounts for the priming needed on a flintlock pistol.

I am going to 'speriment with papers and balls. I'd like to use the .520" ball, but I'm not sure I'll find a paper thin enough yet strong enough for them. I just bought some of that 18/3 linen string you recommended. Thanks for the tip!
 
I am going to 'speriment with papers and balls. I'd like to use the .520" ball, but I'm not sure I'll find a paper thin enough yet strong enough for them.
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Try the general purpose masking paper from Lowes or Home Depot. It's about .002" thick so with a .520 ball would end up being .524, which should be fine in a .54 bore.

Steve
 
Awesome, I will swing by the Home Depot in town and buy some. Is the appearance of said paper authentic? Were the paper cartridges brown in color?
 
Is the appearance of said paper authentic? Were the paper cartridges brown in color?
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I believe so. Now there are some who will claim that the US cartridges were made using bleached paper that just browned over the years, but I do not think so. British Enfield cartridges of the period are still quite white, and they were specified to be made from White Fine paper.

I do vaguely remember some sources calling out different colors of paper for different types of ammunition but I can't remember the details. I think blanks may have had a special color paper, and the Williams Cleaner bullets were sometimes wrapped in a different color. Here is one:

http://westcoastcwc.com/images/stor...95CC5F31EC3C58 Williams Cleaner Cartridge.jpg

Here are some cartridges claimed to be originals:

http://www.gunauction.com/buy/8476744
http://midtenrelics.com/Thumbnail/crtrdge.JPG
http://midtenrelics.com/bullets/58calwrap.JPG
http://midtenrelics.com/bullets/69ballcart.JPG
http://midtenrelics.com/artillery/58calmbcart.JPG
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/cd/53/9d/cd539d8932f55556e4d49ec138192caf.jpg
http://www.westcoastcwc.com/cgi-bin/display_items_ref.asp?Cat=18&Sub=64&start=291

Here is one with the original wrapper:
http://www.picketpost.com/images/cartridgeStLouis.jpg

Notice the color of the wrapping paper also.

Here is a (claimed) original .54 caliber pistol cartridge:
http://midtenrelics.com/Thumbnail/cartridge.JPG

As you can see all of these cartridges have a tan color to them. The Lowes/Home Depot paper, while perhaps a trifle darker, I think looks very similar.

I think most cartridges were made out of plain brown paper, kind of like paper bags at the grocery store used to be.

Steve
 
Very interesting, I will probably get a roll from Home Depot and try it with the .520" balls. I am also going to try some of the Duck brand packing paper, as I like the way it looks and it seems nice and thin. I also will be using the linen thread, 18/3 ply, that you recommended. I think the Wal-Mart polyester stuff I used wasn't so good, it was quite weak and broke easily.

The other day at the range, I was able to shoot of most of the cartridges I made by first cutting the strings off them. I'd tear the paper with my teeth, dump the powder down the bore, squeeze the ball out of the paper and use the paper as a wad on top the ball. It worked pretty well, and is very fun to do!! I also found out the brass back piece of my ramrod is sharp! I'll have to knock back the edge a bit with some sand paper.

Once I get the right "recipe" down pat, I will be overjoyed to load my pistol in the historic manner. It should also increase rate of fire significantly, which is not necessary but will be fun for just plinking down in the creek back home and when casually shooting. :D
 
I have really enjoyed reading the posts on this pistol and your adventures with it! It certainly is an interesting reproduction and sort of makes a person want one! :)
 
I have really enjoyed reading the posts on this pistol and your adventures with it! It certainly is an interesting reproduction and sort of makes a person want one!
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Thanks for coming along for the ride! I've got many plans for this gun, and will be sure to keep everyone updated.
 
UPDATE!!

Hey everyone! :D

Hope you all had a great Christmas, and I hope the coming new year will be a great time for you.

I just made a batch of improved paper cartridges for my Harpers Ferry M1807 percussion conversion .54 caliber horse pistol. Here they are!

pc2.jpg


I originally didn't have much luck because the ball diameter/paper thickness ratio wasn't correct on the original dozen cartridges I made. So, by doing more research and reading the replies here, I decided to try a combination of .520" cast lead balls, Duck brand packing paper, and .6mm thick linen thread (thanks for the tip maillemaker!). The resulting formula fit perfectly down by bore, and the complete cartridge measures exactly .540" + or - .002".

I made 21 cartridges in total. I will be hitting the range hopefully this weekend, and will be sure to report back with an accuracy test vs. my normal patched round ball load.

Thanks so much for the help everyone, I really appreciate it!! :D
 
Very cool, looks just like originals to me!

Steve
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Great! I can't wait to test these. I'm just glad they fit down the bore. I noticed that on the tip of my ramrod it is concave and quite sharp above the threaded hole. I ordered the proper size round head brass screw and will screw it in to provide a nice rounded and smooth head for loading purposes. :)

I will keep everyone updated on the progress of this project. Hopefully, I can hit the range this weekend. It's getting mighty cold though, so we'll see! I also plan to film a first person loading sequence using the cartridges. That should be fun!
 
Okay gang, range report!

FAILURE!! :eek:

I had some major issues!! Okay... so I was using the .520" balls and the Duck packing paper. At home, the cartridges would slide down the barrel with mild hand pressure on the ramrod. They seemed about ideal.

But, at the range, the bore fouled after the first shot and I could no longer push the cartridge down the barrel with my pistol's ramrod. So, I had to use my much larger ball ended range ramrod. This worked okay for the next 4 rounds, but when I went to ram down the 5th... the ball would not go! I tried with all my might, but that ball was STUCK!!

But, that's not even the worst part. I actually somehow managed to crack the head off my range rod!! I was using a wooden pistol loading rod from Track of the Wolf with ball starter on one end, and a .54 cal concave jag made for round ball loading. So now my range rod went down and the ball was hopelessly stuck. So, after removing the nipple and draining the powder, me and the range officer were able to get the ball out after a huge ordeal.

So needless to say, back to the drawing board! It appears the fouling got so bad so quick it made it impossible to load and the ball and paper totally wedged in the fouling.

So, I've got some .509" balls... a lot smaller than the .520" balls. I am going to try those next. As far as paper goes, the Duck packing paper is very thin and somewhat fragile so I really don't think I can get much thinner paper that won't tear on me before loading.

So aside from trying the .509 balls next, am I supposed to be lubricating these cartridges? I see no mention of having to do that, but it seems to me that lubricating these would possible help with the fouling issues. But, I didn't think the military used lubricated cartridges in smoothbores?

Can somebody please help me!? I'm so upset I just... I just don't know what to do! :(
 
I think they did lubricate the catridges even for smoothbores. Dipping the bullet end of it in some sort of fat. Anyway, that should solve the problem.
 
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