paper cartridge

A paper cartridge, in early firearms, was a unit of gunpowder wrapped in paper, used to load muzzle-loading weapons. Soldiers would bite off the end, pour some powder into the pan, the rest down the barrel, and then ram the ball and paper down after it.1

Later, cartridges evolved to contain both the powder and the projectile in a single unit. These could be made of various materials, including paper, linen, metal, and rubber. Early breech-loading firearms often used cartridges that required external ignition, such as a spark or a percussion cap. The development of the self-contained metallic cartridge, which housed the primer, propellant, and bullet in a single case, revolutionized firearms by allowing for faster and more reliable loading and firing. Shotgun cartridges are now commonly made of paper or plastic.12