Quick load tubes

M

Missoura Don

New member
howdy all..was just readin some of the other threads,,,,saw where steve had quick load tubes...I know those are probablly pretty common to most of ya, byt Ive never seen em before,...they kinda like the old time paper powder and ball tubes huh?..Anyways...Ive never seen those at cabellas...and im pretty interested in gettin some..just exactlly how do they work? how do ya open the closed end to put in cyl?..can they be homemade? Ill be goin up to cabellas today..gonna double search to see if i can find some...gawd..the neat things I learn here!!!!!!
 
Don, I ordered mine from Dixie Gun Works. They have several different styles of quick load tubes but the ones I like for revolvers are made from some type of vinyl material which is only open on one end. You can pre-measure the powder charge, pour it in the tube and put the ball on top of that. The vinyl stretches a little around the ball, holds it tightly and makes a pretty weather proof seal. A couple of months ago, just for grins, I put three loaded tubes down in a glass of water and left them there for about 24 hours. They all fired the next day but I could tell they were not as potent as the other three chambers. I may have not dried the mouths of the tubes good enough and had some residual moisture there which got into the powder or it may have made it's way past the ball, can't say. Anyway, they wouldn't be fazed by a little rain.

To load from one of them, you just squeeze the sides behind the ball and it pops out. Pour the powder in the chamber from the tube and then seat the ball. My empty tubes just go in my pants pocket or somewhere like that to keep from getting them mixed in with the loaded ones. If you like to use a felt wad, one of those will fit into the tube on top of the ball and stays there until you squeeze the ball out.

The Remington .44 I have has a lot of clearance to pour the powder into the chambers from the tube but my pocket navy Colt .36 is quite a bit tighter. I had to cut the mouths of my .36 tubes off at an angle so I had a spout of sorts to enable me to get all the powder into the chamber.

It's much more convenient for me to use the tubes when I'm hunting than trying to carry a powder flask and possibles bag of some sort. I don't remember what Dixie charges for them but it's not too much and I don't think you could wear them out.

Steve
 
Hey steve,,,,,Yea,,,went to cabellas today...and I saw they had some...but they were mostly for the big caliber guns.....Gonna shop around ad find some though...I think they be pretty neat little gadgets,,,and like ya said....easier than luggin around a possibles bag full of stuff...Thanks Steve.
 
Gary.....Now that is a cool thing...I think even I can do that...the pics really tell the story...So I guess the paper doesnt have to be soaked in nitrate huh?..Im gonna start practicin this...would be way cool iffn some of the tech tips in here were as picturesque as that thread!!!..thanks Gary.
 
No need to soak cigarette paper as it has already been nitrated. Hmmm.... zig zags. It's the only reason why I have some of that stuff around the house as I hate cigarettes but love black powder. Enjoy.
 
Zig Zags are soaked in nitrate??? Gawd...anyways,,,got some today....gonna practice...but not now...dont think rum and blackpowder would mix. Just a quick question...wouldnt the paper bunch up on the cylinder walls when bein pushed down?
 
I posted the ones in French on THR. I now have all the makings so am going to try some thgis week to shoot on Sunday so will be posting more info and pics early next week. As far as the paper rucking in the chamber goes I don't think it would be a problem because the tubes are slightly tapered so the paper would only rupture when the ball was rammed home and the wad will seat the powder.
Cheers
Duncan
 
Missoura Don, Paper bullets are nothing new and they work great if you do it right. They were used in the Civil war a lot and you could buy them already rolled.
You had to have good teeth so that you could bite off the twisted paper on the bottom before loading. The best way is to make your bullet and then cut off the twisted bottom but leave just enough to hold the powder in. When you seat the ball and shove down on the paper containing the powder it will bust. Still, just to be safe some guy's like to stab the end with a nipple pick before priming the nipple.Most of the time all the paper will burn up but there are times when it doesn't .Make sure you clean the cylinders real well before reloading.
 
Don,

Go to your auto parts store with the balls you use and try out the Tygon plastic tubing. Go to the 3/8 diameter, see if you can shove a ball into it, and it be tight. 7/16, if they have it, the same for .44, or mebbe 1/2 inch, the stuff has to expand to seal on the fitting.

Cut to length and seal the other end, whether by plugging or melting. A yard would be, probably, 20 or more. Cheap.

Cheers,

George
 
I make and use the paper cartridges now and swear by them (as you can see by my posts in the Highroad article). I can load and cap my BP Remingtons and Colts almost as fast as any regular cartridge gun now. Less time spent loading and more time spent shooting!

The time it takes to make these paper cartridges isn't important- I make my paper cartridges while watching the normal garbage on TV.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top