Questions about Chas. Hahn Cartridges

Support for the 1863 shooter. Discussions of powders, loads, bullets, etc.
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Buffalo Bob
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Joined: Sat Jul 15, 2006 2:08 pm
Location: Woodbridge, Virginia

Questions about Chas. Hahn Cartridges

Post by Buffalo Bob »

I have four questions about Charlie Hahn’s cartridges. I got some 1.875” (1-7/8 inch) tubes and a bag of DGW/Rapine 475-grain ringtail bullets. The tube holds on to the ringtail.


1. What do you glue onto the back of the tube to hold the powder in? A piece of regular nitrated cartridge paper? If you use some of this paper, do you have to punch a hole in it when you load it?


2. What kind of glue do you use to glue the back piece onto the tube?


3. I slipped one of the 1.875” (1-7/8 inch) tubes onto the back of a DGW/Rapine bullet, around the ringtail, and put it into the chamber of my Shiloh NM 1863. About 0.0625” (1/16 inch) of the back of the cartridge stuck out the back of the barrel. Does anyone else have this problem? Was I doing something wrong?

4. If I cut the cartridge down to 1.75” (1-3/4 inch), it will fit in the chamber nicely and still hold 65 grains of powder. Can you get 1.75” tubes?
Randall
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:45 pm

Post by Randall »

You can use nitrated paper or cigarette paper if you want to. There is no need to punch a hole in the base for ignition since the musket cap has enough blast to blow through the paper. I've tried puching holes in the base of my cartridges in the past and it didn't seem to make any difference.

I use a glue stick to glue the base paper in but airplane glue or white glue would work also.

The bullet attached to the tube will affect the overall cartridge length and the tubes that you have can be cut down if you want to. The last time I talked to Charlie he said that he could order tubes in any length needed.

Keep us posted on your findings using Charlies' tubes.
Todd Birch
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Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:01 pm
Location: Somewhere in the Cariboo ....

Charlie's Tubes.

Post by Todd Birch »

Buffalo Bob

I have some of Charlie's tubes on order. When I talked to him, he asked me to seat a bullet in the barrel and measure from the base of the ringtail to the end of the chamber. That gave him the dimension to cut the tubes to length.

I'm hoping for a friction fit on the bullet to avoid the use of glue. To plug the end, I'll do what I've done with my own onion skin tubes - smear some white glue inside the tube and slide down a double thickness 1" square of paper towel on a dowel. This burns through with the cap flash with no problems.
You could also use TP. Different brands of TP and towel have different thicknesses and none would be wrong.

Incidentally, when I first began making paper cartridges, I tried nitrated and unnitrated paper - no difference. I've also made them up using computer printer paper and got almost complete combustion except for a bit of the glued seam double thickness. That blew out with a breath.

Todd
"From birth to the packing house, we travel between the two eternities ....." Robert Duvall in "Broken Trail"
Charlie Hahn
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Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:38 am
Location: Maryland

Post by Charlie Hahn »

Hi Bob,

Here in my emial, etb9601@aol.com. I can provide a process sheet and technical help with my tubes being used in your gun.

Basically, the chamber bullet combination makes having one tube for all impossible. I find that shooting alittle short is a better way if you are shooting rapid fire, if shooting steel targets, and you can brush the chamber between shots then you can shoot a tighter fit. One more thing you might consider chamfering your pressure plate to work like sliding press to force the paper cartridge home. No need to cut the tube here.

Some techincal help.

The base cap is made of hair curler paper, and glued in with finger nail polish. This combination allows for some load compression as the hair culler paper can stretch a little, and as this is the only part of the assemble that needs to burn, produces less crud in the chamber, however you are going to get some no matter what.

As for friction fit, the tube inside diameter is .47 inch and has a tolerance that may not be consistant for the friction fit, (personal experience). I secure the bullet again with finger nail polish. If you happen to be using a flat base bullet, the is another way.

Hope this helps.

Charlie
Charlie Hahn
1stregtengr

Charlie's tubes

Post by 1stregtengr »

I use lens paper for the end cap and carpenters glue. I cut lens paper to about 3/4" squares (if you stack about 10 sheets you get a lot of caps real quick), place a puddle of glue on a piece of paper, dip the end of the tube into the glue so that there is a slight circle of glue, move the tube over to a single square, center it and bring it in contact with the paper. then I qently push the square ends along side the tube. generally there is enough glue to do this. I have also applied a bit of glue to the inside with a swab and pushed the square into the tube with a dowel, eith way works good. I have made a drying rack which is made of #6 finishing nails driven into a piece of 2X4 about 3/4" on center a 12" piece will hold a lot of tubes, I place the tube over the nail to dry. When dry I use a drop tube to load powder then put pufflon filler between the powder and bullet. My Shiloh rifle uses the 1.875 tubes with the raphine ringtail, which places the rear of the tube about 1/16 from the breech face. Loading the tubes is quick once you get your system working, and accuracy is great. the tube fits the ringtail very well with a bit of twisting motion and I do not need to use glue on the bullet.
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boge
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Post by boge »

I'm going to try Charlie's tubes as soon as my ringtail bullets get here. :cry: I've never shot a percussion Sharps before so I am excited.
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