Ammo Pritchett Cartridge Question

[ConfederateCanuck]

Hi folks. With shooting season rapidly approaching, I am considering making Pritchett cartridges primarily for my 1841 Mississippi (which was rebored to .58 caliber during the ACW; Leman alteration). My question is....assuming a .577 bore, which was the standard British caliber for the 1853 Enfield, what was the diameter of the final wrapped cartridge? There is so much talk on various forums about the original .568 ball, later reduced to .550, but there is (quite frustrating-ly! ) nothing out there on the final diameter of the wrapped paper cartridge. Would it have been .575 so that it would be easy to ram or was it some other dimension?

I need to order a Pritchett mold size that factors my actual bore diameter (known), the paper thickness (known), AND the ramming tolerance (for lack of a better term; perhaps some might better understand it as the windage between the cartridge and the bore?) which I do not know and need your help with.

Thanks!

 

[johan_steele]

Using Pritchett in an M1841… I don't t see any reason why it wouldn't work. But the dimensions with paper will be a bit difficult to find. I believe their is a Brit document that details it but I'm not finding it among my library at the moment.

My own thought would be .5745 but I don't know the accuracy of such as it's just a WAG because I can't find my references to Brit military ammo.

This sounds like a fun experiment and I expect it will be a lot of fun.

 

[Don Dixon]

Canuck,

I don't have data on the Enfield/Pritchett combination. I do have data on the Austrian Army's (k.k. Army) System Lorenz bullet which was also paper patched, using mutton tallow as lubricant. The 1857 k.k. Army manual for the Muster 1854 rifle musket describes the bullet as having a diameter of 6 Linie 3 Punkte [0.540 inches/13.72 mm]. Assuming an ordnance standard bore of .547 inches, there was windage between an unpatched bullet and the rifle bore of 1 Punkte [0.00717 inches/0.182 mm], which was largely filled with the greased paper cartridge wrapper. U.S. Army foreign materiel intelligence exploitation of the Austrian "bullet" [i.e., the bullet in the greased paper wrapper] indicated it had a diameter of .545 inches. So, it would appear that a reasonable final windage for your paper patched bullet should be in the range of .002 inches or just a bit less based on the Austrian experience.

Have glass of Candian Club for me.

Regards,
Don Dixon
2881

 

[ConfederateCanuck]

Thanks to you both! Now can you please talk to Trump and tell him to lay off on the tariffs......all US alcohol off the shelves here in Ontario (i.e. not being sold). And if you drink Canadian Club in the US. its gonna get tariffed to hell. Why can't we all just get along and focus on our ACW weapons.

P.S. The .577 Enfield bore is based on a land-to-land measurement, right? Just wanna make sure....

 

[VMI88]

I recommend visiting the Paper Cartridges website (papercartridges.com). The owner sells shooting supplies, but he has an active interest in shooting original weapons, especially Enfields. He has a lot of information posted on how to make authentic Pritchett cartridges. It'll be interesting to see how a paper-patched Pritchett ball performs in a Mississippi rifle!

 

[BillO]

I recommend visiting the Paper Cartridges website (papercartridges.com). The owner sells shooting supplies, but he has an active interest in shooting original weapons, especially Enfields. He has a lot of information posted on how to make authentic Pritchett cartridges. It'll be interesting to see how a paper-patched Pritchett ball performs in a Mississippi rifle!

I suspect it will do quite well once properly sized

 

[ConfederateCanuck]

I recommend visiting the Paper Cartridges website (papercartridges.com). The owner sells shooting supplies, but he has an active interest in shooting original weapons, especially Enfields. He has a lot of information posted on how to make authentic Pritchett cartridges. It'll be interesting to see how a paper-patched Pritchett ball performs in a Mississippi rifle!

Yes, I have watched his videos....but perhaps not his website. I'll check it out, thanks.

My 1841 is a Harper's Ferry rebored to .58, with 3 grooves. Internet says its 1:48 twist rate...just checked and it does look like the twist is faster than in my 1853 Enfield. I don't see any reason why a Pritchett wouldn't work well in it. The 2-Band Enfields had a 1:48 twist and they used the Pritchett.

 

[ConfederateCanuck]

UPDATE: I ordered a Pritchett bullet mold. Can't wait to get it and test it. I will post results when I do.

 

[HobnailJohn]

This image from "Rifle Ammunition" which I pulled from Paper Cartridges website puts the final diameter for the .550 "Boxer" bullet cartridge at .560. It should be noted that all but the original Pritchet balls were designed and sized for use with a plug in the base to aid in expansion. Wood or clay were the most common. If used without the plug you may not see satisfactory expansion into the bore of the rifle when fired, which may reduce accuracy and leave more fouling in the bore after each shot.

 

[ConfederateCanuck]

No worries. Already know how to make the plugs (Paper Cartridges has a "how to" video).