Uberti 1851/61 paper cartridge size

[shooter13]

For any of you who roll your own for these pistols.  Does the added thickness of the paper impact the size of the ball you use with the cartridge?  What size have you had the most success with? (Yes, I want to stick with roundball and not use a coned bullet of any type).

Thanks for your consideration.

[ShotgunDave]

Shooter13,

The paper makes no difference at all. Roll em' up, stuff em' in and burn em'.

As to ball size, Pietta guns usually take .375 balls and Uberti .380 balls. But you're better off checking to see which fit best in your gun.

[mike116]

.380 works for both Pietta and Uberti.  As long as the lead is soft it doesn't matter what size ball is used as long as it's oversized for the chamber.

[G Dog]

The paper makes no difference at all. Roll em' up, stuff em' in and burn em'.

True words.

I burn a fair amount of home roles and will always choose to use .380 & .454 in my Piettas.  Those, for me, group tighter than the smaller balls.

[shooter13]

Thanks, guys - I wasn't sure if the thickness of the paper affected the ball size by any kind of "overlap".  I know, a little over cautious, but I just wanted to be sure before ordering a Manley cartridge former (or 2)

[bigted]

No problems for size. Reason the larger balls be more accurate is because when shaving off the ring on the larger balls, the drive band (flat area that rides the cylinder walls) is wider the larger the ball begins with.

The paper gets shaved as the lead ring is shaved off upon loading. As mentioned above tho ... only the softest lead should be used for these revolvers.

Roll em n shoot em ... have a ball ... pun intended.