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Good offhand shooting Martin. Looks as it the 'after-cleaning' rounds went a bit wild.

Martin - my paper ctgs. were a very tight fit in the muzzle as the rifling engraved some into the paper. I had to choke up on the rod & push quite heavily to get them started. After that, they loaded easily the rest of the way.

I take it you are ripping the pointy (or square) end off, pouring the powder in, stuffing the ctg. in with the loose, empty paper down, ball-up. This way, the paper is wadded up between the ball and the powder, giving a good seal.

Now, if the paper is tearing at the muzzle, the muzzle's crown needs smoothing - or the paper's strength you are using isn't up to the job. I used about 20 pound paper with a ball only .006" smaller than the bore, with both WW alloys and pure lead.

Here's what my ctgs. look like. They can be carried in a pocket or in a 'pouch' like the cheap 'Hunter' brand ammo pouch I used. It is meant to hold a full 20 round box of centrefire bullets. I made a wooden block to fit inside, drilling holes in the block to hold the paper ctgs.

Be advised that you could run some sort of lubricant on the outside of the ctg. where the ball is located. Make certain it is a black powder lube. I'd use SPG, Lymans BP Gold or some other. If the lube is melted, the ctgs. could easily be dipped in it to lube. Th is would allow more shots before wiping or a lubed and patched ball is fired with a redcued charge, say 70 to 80gr. or so. This is how I 'clean' my bore after firing ctgs. I can fire 10 rounds of paper ctg.s with same accuracy as patched round ball, then fire a 3 dram BP load with patched ball, then I'm OK for another 10 rounds of ctgs. This is all from my 14 bore rifle, which is very accurate at 100 meters - 1.2 to 1.5". The paper ctgs. shoot to the same point of impact and group size as patched balls do. Excellent hunting loads in the larger bored guns.

The reason I use tapered ctgs. rather than the more-period correct military ones that were straight sided, is the tapered ones are more easily carried, fit the hand well and when ripping off the small end to pour in the powder, very little powder is lost. With the larger, square ended ones the military used, when tearing off the end, a large diameter of paper is torn off and a lot of powder can be spilled. The tapered end prevents this. Rip off the end with your teeth, shove the small end into the bore and the ball stops it at the muzzle. By the time you have the rod out, the powder has all drained into the chamber of the gun. Push the call down compressing the wad of paper beneath it, cap and fire! Have fun.

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Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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