Wad cutter ?

[Dales66Ford]

I have seen hb wadcutters that were pure lead. If gas blowing by the lead causes inaccuracies, how is it that the gas blowing by in a revolver doesn't do the same thing. Wouldn't the thin lead skirt of a hb wc blow out as it leaves the cylinder and makes the jump to the barrel, causing inaccurate bullets and heavy leading?

[Blammer]

HBWC have the advantage of being shot at a lower velocity and still sealing the barrel well. Other's don't.

[pakmc]

I don't about you, but i loaded up some HBWC's in a 38-200 webley. they where a little too hot. I got 11 holes in the paper target at 10 yards, with 6 shots. yes, the skirt came off but all of the pieces left the barrel. (another learning experence)

[Piedmont]

I have seen hb wadcutters that were pure lead. If gas blowing by the lead causes inaccuracies, how is it that the gas blowing by in a revolver doesn't do the same thing. Wouldn't the thin lead skirt of a hb wc blow out as it leaves the cylinder and makes the jump to the barrel, causing inaccurate bullets and heavy leading?
Gas doesn't blow by the pure lead HB wadcutters. If they were hard and undersized then you could get gas blow by.

You could overload a pure lead HB wadcutters and get skirt damage and poor accuracy, but they are made for low pressure use. For that they are ideal.

Soft, hollow or cup base bullets will obturate and/or swage down to fit a multitude of cylinder throat and barrel dimensional variations. Factory lead .45 Colts, .44 Specials, and .38 specials are made this way, not just wadcutters. It is a smart way to make factory ammo.

[Char-Gar]

HBWC will indeed blow off the skirts if the pressure us to high. How much pressure needed depends on the skirt thickness and alloy and this varies from make to make.

[Jack Stanley]

An enigineer could explain it better I'm sure but consider what the cylinder cap of the revolver is . Maybe three or four thousanths of an inch , then consider the thickness of the lead at the base . I think the amount of pressure needed to push the lead through the gap would be large .

Jack

[Dales66Ford]

That was the reason I posted the question. knowing that cylinder gap is .003 or so, but .001 gap beside the bullet can cause gas blow by.

[dondiego]

The gas coming from the cylinder gap is not blowing by the boolit. The hollow base expands to seal the bore even as it passes from cylinder to barrel. A bullet that is too small will allow the gas to blow by the bullet causing leading.