Making Boxer .550 Cartridges for the P-53 Enfield Rifle

Introduction
At least three different versions of Enfield cartridges were made during the service life of the rifle, which we might call the “Pritchett cartridge,” the “Hay Cartridge,” and the “Boxer cartridge” respectively.  Here we will limit our discussion to the making of Boxer cartridges, which used the undersized .550 Boxer-style bullet.

Enfield cartridges are quite complex by comparison with some types of paper cartridges (although the design was common in Europe), which tended to be simple tubes to hold a bullet and powder.  Three types of paper are used:  A stiff paper tube forms the base of the powder chamber, which is wrapped with a thicker paper to complete the powder chamber.  The powder chamber is mated to the bullet and both are rolled together into a very thin paper, the outer wrapper, which is tied off at the base of the bullet with twine.  A “gummed band” is then used to secure the powder chamber inside the outer wrapper.

Tools and Supplies

Well-made Enfield cartridges are extremely dependent on the materials used.  The paper used must be of the correct thickness or the cartridge will not fit the bore of the rifle correctly, and the twine used to tie the cartridges must be thin or the choked end of the tube will not tie off securely, but it must be strong enough so that it does not break while being tied.

I cast my bullets using a mold from NOE bullet molds.  The original Boxer bullets had plugs made of boxwood, but these were later switched to clay plugs.  These can be made today from Sculpey, a type of clay widely available in craft stores.

The first Boxer cartridges were greased with a mix of 5 parts beeswax to one part tallow, which was later changed to pure beeswax when they discovered that over the long term the tallow reacted with lead to form a crust that made loading difficult.  Pure beeswax can be used today for Boxer cartridges, but unless the shooter intends to store his cartridges for very long periods there is no real reason not to use the original formula.  Since I use a beeswax and tallow mix for all my cartridges, and since I don’t store them long enough for the tallow to react with the lead bullets, I use that mix for my Enfield cartridges as well.

The paper used in period is no longer available, but through trial and error I found that 100% cotton rag paper of 16-pound weight works well for the outer wrapper, plain computer paper works well for the inner wrapper, and construction-type paper works well for the stiffener.  The twine used here is 3-ply linen twine of the type used by bookbinders.  These papers and the twine can be purchased online.

The gummed band used to secure the powder tube to the outer wrapper was originally just a strip of paper painted with glue, but for modern purposes half-inch masking tape serves admirably.

In period troops were issued three templates for cutting the paper, a mandrel for wrapping the cartridge, and a former for securing the end of the powder chamber so that the nose of the bullet could rest inside it.  We are fortunate in that Steve Sheldon of Forth Armory (forth-armoury.com/cartridge-template-kits.html#/) sells a set of formers and templates patterned precisely off the originals, and it is these which are shown here.  Note that the Forth Armory set comes with two mandrels, one of which he calls a “cheater” mandrel used for forming the cartridge without the bullet, which is then inserted separately.  This method is not historically correct, and I actually find that it gives a sloppier result, at least when I use it (although it seems to work well for Mr. Sheldon), so it is not demonstrated here.

Here is a list of all of the supplies necessary for cartridge making (See page XXX):

1. 16 lb. 100% cotton rag paper,

2. printer paper,

3. heavy paper,

4. 3-ply linen twine,

5. Forth Armory mandrel and former,

6. Forth Armory templates,

7. Boxer bullets,

8. plugs made from Sculpey,

9. 1.5F black powder,

10. half-inch masking tape, and,

11. grease (tallow and beeswax or just beeswax).

Procedure

Forth Armory kit.

1. Cut out all of your paper using the Forth Armory (q.v.) templates and a razor knife, not forgetting the three slits on the outer wrapper.

2. The board I use for making cartridges, with a choking cord and a supply of twine for tying off the cartridges.

3. Lay the stiffener as shown with the mandrel aligned with the long edge of the paper.

4. Roll the stiffener around the mandrel, taking care to keep it absolutely straight and tight.  Pull it toward yourself with sharp jerks to tighten the wind as you roll.  Stop when about half an inch of the short edge remains, as shown.

5. Lay the inner wrapper on top of and inside the edge of the stiffener so that about half an inch of the end extends past the edge of the mandrel.

6. Roll the inner wrapper and stiffener tightly together to form the powder chamber.  As with the stiffener, jerk the mandrel toward yourself as you roll to help ensure that it rolls very tightly.

7. Hold the end of the inner wrapper on the mandrel with the thumb and forefinger of one hand while pinching and twisting the end that extends past the mandrel.  Twist it in the same direction the paper was wound onto the mandrel.  Then push the end of the paper into the hollow end of the mandrel.

8. Use the bullet-shaped end of the former to drive the end of the paper from the inner wrapper fully into the hollow end of the mandrel.

9. A view of the hollow end of the mandrel with the end of the inner wrapper pushed inside.

10. Lay the powder tube (the inner wrapper and stiffener still on the mandrel) on the outer wrapper, positioned as shown, and lay the bullet as shown, with the nose of the bullet in the hollow.  The base of the bullet should be aligned with the end of the three slits cut in the outer wrapper.

11. Roll the bullet and powder tube inside the outer wrapper, then pinch the end of the mandrel with a thumb and forefinger to hold it together.

12. Pull the choking cord under the outer wrapper on the mandrel, aligning the cord with the bottom edge of the bullet.

13. Wrap the choking cord back over the top of the outer wrapper, then change your grip so that the tube is held with the thumb and middle finger while the index finger goes over the end of the paper.

14. Choke the end of the paper tightly (being careful not to cut the outer wrapper).

15. Remove the choking cord and wrap the  twine for tying around the end of the fleurette twice, then tie it off with two half hitches.

16. Cut the twine so that the ends do not extend past the edge of the cartridge.  Press the paper fleurette flat, and if any of the fleurette extends past the edge of the paper, trim that back, too.

17. Wrap a piece of half-inch masking tape (the green here would indicate civilian manufacture while the official arsenal used white, but both were issued to soldiers) around the seam where the end of the outer wrapper meets the inner wrapper in order to fix them together.  Remove the mandrel; it may be tight, so hold the outer wrapper end firmly and rotate the mandrel slightly back and forth until it will come free.

18. Place the cartridge in a rack and add your powder.  The original government charge was 2 1/2 drams, or 68.3 grains, of rifle powder.  I use 1.5Fg Swiss.

19. Pinch the end of the inner wrapper above the stiffener to squeeze it shut, then twist in the same direction the inner wrapper was wound onto the mandrel, and push downward to seat the tab thus formed in the upper end of the powder chamber.

20. A finished cartridge, showing how the tab is pushed down into the powder chamber.

21. Melt the grease and dip the bullet end of the cartridge into it up to the edge of the shoulder of the bullet.  Set aside to cool.

A finished Boxer cartridge.

After making the cartridges, they will need to be wrapped for carrying.  Watch this blog for a post about how to do that soon.

A wrapped arsenal pack of ten Boxer cartridges and a wrapped package of 75 percussion caps, both copied from originals.