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Re: Colt Revolving Rifle
In Response To: Re: Colt Revolving Rifle ()

The Colt Revolving rifle carried by Berdan's Sharpshooters took a paper cartridge.

Paper cartridges were tubes of paper which contained the powder charge on one end and the shot (conical ball in this case) on the other. Since the days of the British Brown Bess, the soldier would remove the cartridge from the cartridge box and bite the bullet end, thereby exposing the powder charge (if it was a flintlock, he'd prime the pan and snap the pan shut). The powder charge was poured down the barrel and then the ball "spit" down. The ramrod was withdrawn and used to ram the charge home.

Haven't looked into the Colt but it may have had paper cartridges that could be dropped into the cylinder to a point where it had to be swaged.

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