8/12/2019 Making Cartridges

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MAKING CARTRIDGES

By Patrick Reardon

After receiving some kind compliments at Avoncroft on the quality of my cartridges I was persuaded by KC to write some notes about the techniques 1 use.

Firstly let me make one point very clear. Whilst I have studied the War with obsessional interest for most of my life,I am the freshest of fresh fish when it comes to living history. voncroft this !ay was my first ever event. It hadtaken several years of being a reenactment "groupie" before I plucked up courage and put aside my feelings ofe#treme self consciousness. $owever having taken the decision to enlist I was determined to make every effort toachieve as accurate and authentic an impression as my enthusiasm and the guidance of e#perienced friends couldcreate.

In the matter of infantry arms and accoutrements I am fortunate in having a reasonably e#tensive collection oforiginal pieces against which I can %udge the fidelity of currently available reproductions. I am striving to ensure thatthe muskets I use are as close in appearance to the originals as it is possible to get. &his can be a frustrating 'ande#pensive() business as, when one compares an original to a reproduction, the inaccuracies in the latter are all tooapparent. $owever that is not the sub%ect of this note, e#cept to say that accuracy in the appearance of arms andindeed all kit, should be matched by the accurate appearance of a cartridge.

In the conte#t of my aspiration for accuracy, before attempting to make my first cartridges I set about reading and re*reading anything I could find on the sub%ect. Without a doubt the two best sources I discovered are the following+

"ROUND BALL TO RIMFIRE, A HISTORY OF CIVIL WAR SMALL ARMS AMMUNITION" P R& - / 0 &$1! 0 P2B3I0$ - B4+ &$1! 0 P2B3I5 &I1/0, P.1. B16 787 , 9 &&40B2R9, P . :7;