[polishshooter]

Dixie Gun Works has a recipe for paper revolver cartridges in their technical section of their catalogue...it's worth the $5 for the catalogue even if that's all you read...

It uses gummed cigarette paper, and conicals and contact cement.


But when I tried it for my 1860 Army they WORKED, but the two problems I ran into, one minor, and one major, were #1, the powder capacity was a lot less due to the volume of the paper now in the chamber, and if you were not consistent with your folds and glue, it was easy to make one too big, which meant tearing it open and pouring the powder to make it work, which defeated the purpose...

And #2, they did not last even for a couple of weeks in any decent container I tried to store them in, eventually I ended up with a margarine dishe, pouch, metal container, whatever, with a mess of loose powder and paper and balls at the bottom, and that was just laying around the HOUSE and not jostled around in a pouch on my belt or worse, on a HORSE.

It made me conclude that the use of non factory made and controlled musket paper cartridges was a LOT less commonplace than we think, and people just carried another revolver....

....kind of like the myth of the "spare cylinder...."


I know also that one of the reasons Wilder wanted first the Henry and then settled on the Spencer Rifles for his "Lighting Brigade" was NOT mainly because they were repeaters, but from his experience with paper cartridges disintegrating in the ammo pouches, especially for mounted troops. Now I read that in several books, granted, possibly all from the same primary source, and it was obvious he was referring to factory made RIFLE cartridges, but the principle would be the same I guess.


My theory is that modern man has a tendency to get used to advances in technology, and then look BACKWARDS with the idea that the modern advances are so invaluable that ANCIENT man must have been striving to achieve them as well, so we "project" them backwards, while the truth is most of us don't know what we are missing and manage to live WITHOUT them if they are not available, whether it be indoor plumbing, microwaves, cell-phones....

....OR metallic cartridges, speedloaders, high cap mags for defense, etc.

The truth is metallic cartridges were sought after not only for quicker loading even as a SINGLE shot, but as much for water proof ammo, sealing the breech from gas escape which plagued any breechloaders to date, and the ability to load without standing UP....or on horseback.

"Repeaters" were GRAVY, but not necessarily earth shattering.....

The revolver would have been such a great technological leap over single shot muzzleloading pistols, 5 or 6 TIMES the rate of fire, that NO ONE, or at the very least, FEW shooters would have given a thought at all to "tactical Reloading."

IF you needed more than 6 shots with your pistol you were either probably a goner anyway, or you needed ANOTHER one, is probably the thought process at the time...