I have read about HBWC's being stripped of their "skirt" by being pushed too fast. I figure that there are likely too many variables but at about what velocity does this happen? Would 32 caliber HBWC's strip their skirt at about the same place?

I picked up an Uberti 1849 Wells Fargo copy with a conversion cylinder for .32S&W ("shorts"). The only thing I had loaded up were some 71gr LRN over a modest, even for the cartridge, load of Trail Boss. They keyhole at 7 yards. Not surprising considering the .312" projectile rattling down a .330"(?) bore. Some surfing and reading indicated heavier weights pushed harder work well with spotty results using HB bullets. As I have a large amount or .32 HBWC's, I thought I'd give 'er a go.

As always, Thanks!

What are the cylinder throats and groove diameters ??? Is the other cylinder a 32H&R ??

A bore of .330" would be completely incorrect for a true copy of that particular C&B revolver.

Sorry. Going from something I read a while back coupled with a fading memory. I can slug the bore and throats when I get the chance but I know they are badly disparate...between the conversion cylinder and bore anyway.

Still interested to know if it can be predicted at what velocity will I start seeing skirts being stripped off HBWC's...

The gun, as issued, came with a proper BP cylinder. The conversion cylinder is a Krist Konverter which allows the use of .32S&W. Scuttlebut on the 'net indicates the use of heavier slugs and higher velocities will stabilize the bullets. I would prefer to work up verrrry slowly..... I was wondering if .32 HBWC's might "bridge the gap".

of the bore and cylinder mouths before going off half-cocked. Until you know these dimensions you will probably just be shooting blindly in the dark.

I d bet the skirt stripping is a pressure thing not a velocity thing. Might try a fast burning powder like red dot or bills eye to open up that skirt a bit faster.

I've done a bit more surfing on this topic. One theory holds that pressure blows the skirt open as it hits the forcing cone and it becomes easier to tear the skirt off than to swage it back down to bore size. Ken Waters wrote about a happening where he found a skirt lodged in the forcing cone of a .38S&W. I need to dig out that article.

There were (surprise!) other theories where the pressure vs. the surface area exceeded the strength of the lead leading to "blowing out the core". One poster warned this could happen no matter which way the WC was loaded and that's why a gas check was recommended on the backwards-loaded HBWC's.

I have not tried anything yet, other than the 71gr LRN. The article on the conversion cylinders indicated success with heavier bullets nearing 1000fps. I have a bunch of 90gr swaged in both WC and SWC as well as a big pile of cast SWC's in various weights. I just got to wondering, first, does this same potential problem exist for the .32HBWC (assumed: yes) and, secondly, at about what velocity, or pressure, would it occur? The above reading points to velocities above 800fps for the .38's start to give trouble. There was also commentary about the HBWC design and the depth of the cavity.

Haven't had much time to load recently so no further experimentation has been done. Soon though, soon. This little popper is just too danged cute not to shoot.