Shooting cap and ball with paper cartridges

[kurt250]

i tried a new way of soaking the paper. i first cut my medium grade silk span into 1.5inch by 24 inch strips. i put them together with paper clips about 10 sheets. i then soak the whole bundle in salt peter and water. i let them soak for 5 min. then hang the whole bundle out in the garage from a nail. it hot out there and the next day there dry. then i just pull them apart cut and fold. it works fine. i'm doing it for my sharps, and colt 36 and 44 cap and ball. try it. kurt250

[Mako]

Sgt. Chapman,
I don't think you ever said where you get your potassium nitrate, are you buying good laboratory grade KNO3 or using a fertilizer or stump remover?

Oh, and thanks for all of the info and especially the tip about the coffee filters, that never would have occurred to me.

~Mako

[SGT John Chapman]

Mako,......I got mine from a pharmacy,.....the pharmacist was a big game hunter,....I explained what I was going to do and he said,...."Wow,....I want to see that,.....",.....so I went by and showed him my finished product,....I have been using off that bottle a LONG while now,....I have been looking twards E-Bay for resupply though....

Swamp Mouse,....I have done thes with balls also, and in 44,..36,..and 31 Calibers....works good,...I use the LEE Precision moulds for the 44 and 36 and an Italian Brass mould for the 31 Cal bullets.....

[Mako]

Thank you Sgt. Chapman!

I'm going to try it as well.

Swampmouse, tell us how your tests went.

~Mako

[Tsalagidave]

You can get both Potassium Nitrate and Sodium Silicate from a Chemical Supply warehouse. It can also be ordered in small quantities online.

It took me a while to get used to the best methods for making a round that was both historically correct and functional. Loading can be tricky at first depending on the size of your conical rounds. Since I use a .375 in my Navy Six, it trims while loading and allow little opportunity for bypassing gas to create a chain fire. I don't use pistol grease often. I follow historic accounts on how they used to "oil their tubes". I usually put a drop or 2 of gun oil on the tip of each round. This works its way down into the nooks and crannies. I also make sure each cap is fitted. The results so far is that none of my C&P pistols have ever chain fired despite thousands of rounds fired over a 20-year span. Regardless, I still load each round with the same care as if my life depended on it (because it does).

When I used to grease my chambers, I noticed that while riding mounted or walking through the scrub, all the grease would melt away in the desert heat leaving only a thin but still functional residue.  After the first shot or 2, all of the grease is blown away leaving only a thin residue anyhow. The goop also acted as a dust magnet. When I was alot younger, I ruined one barrel because a small grain of sand got stuck in the grease and gouged out a section of my rifling as the ball ripped over it.

Now, when I hand load, I only oil the chambers or use a greased wad behind the ball.

-Dave