Read an article recently about Custer. His men had leather amunition belts and copper/brass cased rounds for their 45-70 Carbines. The article stated that they had very little money budgeted for target shooting. It said that they often used the ammunition slotted for training/target practice for foraging while on patrol. This practice resulted in a decrease in readiness and markmanship. Also, ammunition stayed stored for long periods in the trooper's acidic leather ammo belts versus being rotated . After the battle they found a great number of knives with broken tips. Apparently the verdigris which formed on the ammuniton while stored in the belts baked the cases into the breech when they fired. The report said the broken tips were the result of soldiers using their blades to try and dig out the baked in cases. Again according to the article, that finding was a major motivation in the army switching to canvas looped ammuntion belts.
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