Hi,
Question: I think from what I have read here so far one of you folks can answer my question. I have a S&W 38 special 637 Airweight with power port. I have been using reloads in it with no problems. The other day I picked up a box of 50 reloads, not knowing they were wadcutters. They appeared to work fine, until I went to clean the gun. WHAT A MESS. Every hole of the wheel was full of lead. What caused this?
Thanks in advance for any and all help,
Bill T.

I reload a lot of wadcutters for target/practice ammo....most of them have a wax coating on them, but those that don't will scrape a lot of lead off in the barrel. It is just the nature of the beast. Just make sure to use a good solvent while cleaning...like Butch's Bore Shine or equivalent.

Thanks for the reply,
Cleaning was a bear to say the least. Only 5 holes thankfully.
I just never had that problem with the round nosed bullets,
(lead) I had to just keep going in and out, over and over with
a bronze brush and using Hoppes #9. I was told, after the
fact I could have removed the wheel and used the bronze brush on a cordless drill. Oh, by the way, the barrel wasn't the problem. Just the wheel. Does that "Butch's Bore Shine" cut lead?
Thanks again,
Bill T.

On steel parts like your revolver cylinder, Chore Boy pot scrubber pads (copper) work great for cutting lead out. They work about as well as a Lewis Lead remover at a fraction of the price.

Just use some of the CB wrapped around an old brush, and the lead will come out in flakes.

Thanks,
I'm all done this time. I don't plan on using
wad cutters in the future. Just regular round
nose (lead) reloads. They weren't any trouble.
Your info will go into my info box, should I
have problems at another time.

On another note, how did you get those wings
after your name? That for the Air Force?

Have to get up fairly early tomorrow, heading
for the crib. Catch ya later.
Bill T.

Hi,
I have been looking at purchasing Factory Ammo Wadcutters...Are these the same as far as hard clean-up and all?
Thanks!

I have a 638 and have fired it fairly extensively with wadcutters with no problem. I usually put a lot of rounds through it each practice session, fast, from the holstger at close range. A lot of lead goes through the bore. I have a Lyman 2 cavity wadcutter and I've just switched to a SAECO 4 cavity 148 gr (I think) wadcutter. No problems. I use a fairly soft alloy, one part type metal to two parts lead. And I lubricate only the top groove, just under the crimping cannelure. No leading. Works for me.

I'm guessing it wasn't the Wadcutter profile that caused the problems but the lead used in them. I load Wadcutters all the time and shoot them in all my revolvers inducing a M642 and 638 and never have a leading problem. Who made the ammo you shot? I'm guessing they used an alloy that was incorrect for the velocities they loaded them to do.

I shoot thousands of wadcutters annually. Mine do NOT lead, period.

I shoot the H&G #251 double ended wadcutter with WW's + 2% tin, sized .358" with 3.5 grs of Bullseye and lubed with Lars White Label Carnauba Red. I seat the bullet with the first band out of the case and taper crimp on the last part of the first band. I seat the bullet with the sprue showing (that way I have PERFECT bases - and the base is the steering end of the bullet per Harry Pope).

These loads will shoot well under an inch at 25 yards from a variety of .38 Special and .357 magnum revolvers (all loaded in .38 Special cases).

They are terrific practice loads in my 642 and 638 pocket guns, also.

Dale53

I don't know a lot about this, being VERY new to shooting.
I wondered if this might be the problem. The lead used. I
called the guy that loaded them to see if I could return them
and get the round nose bullet in place of them. He said not
a problem, and then apologized for the problem, without
taking any blame. He is a small local gun shop that loads
for other stores. This may get him to change SOMETHING
in the load. OH well, really not a big deal. I'm retired and
have plenty of time and kind of enjoyed cleaning this NICE
little gun.
Thanks for the input,
From ALL you folks, appreciated,

Bill T.

Drew,

Really can't help you there, me being very new to this
shooting. Only been at it since August this year. Ask the question again and I'm sure someone will pick up on it
with some excellent input. GOOD LUCK.

Bill T.

Thanks Dale,

BUT, I am very new to this and really don't have the words/jargon down yet. Most of what you wrote went
OVER MY HEAD. I will get it eventually.

Thanks very much for the input though, appreciated.

Bill T.

I've shot many many 1000's of soft HBWC, both factory (Federal) and hand loads (mostly Hornady) and have no leading issues.

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Common sense isn't so common.

H&G #251 -- the mould for the bullet he's using (he casts his own bullets); it apparently produces a wadcutter bullet that has the same shape on both ends ("double ended") which makes loading them into casings easier (no need to worry about which end is up)

WW's + 2% tin -- this is the composition of the lead alloy he's using: wheel weights, and he adds some tin into the mix

sized .358" -- the diameter of the bullet is .358" (or 358/1000ths of an inch). This bullet is slightly over-sized, but since it's soft lead it will be squeezed down to the correct size in the barrel and make a good seal for the propellant gases behind it.

3.5grs of Bullseye -- he's using 3.5 grains of a powder called "Bullseye". 7000 grains to a pound, so he's using 1/2000th of a pound of this powder for his load.

lubed with Lars White Label Carnauba Red -- he uses this lube for his bullets. The use of non-lubed lead bullets will eventually leave a lot of lead deposits in the barrel, forcing cone, and cylinder chambers that are a pain to remove.

seat the bullet with the first band out of the case -- this is how far he's seating the bullet into the case

taper crimp on the last part of the first band -- the crimp is used to hold the bullet in place under recoil (you don't want bullets moving around in the casings before you shoot them), and to hold the bullet in place for the first few milliseconds after ignition to maintain pressure as the powder burns behind it. Once enough pressure builds, the crimp no longer holds the bullet and the bullet starts moving out of the casing.

seat the bullet with the sprue showing -- with cast bullets, the lead is poured into the mould through a little hole; this little hole causes a bit of extra lead to be cast on the bullet (the "sprue"), and this extra lead can be inconsistent. Seating the bullet with this sprue up means that the clean end is facing the powder, giving a consistent surface for the propellant gases to push against.

Hopefully I got everything (and got everything right; I don't cast my own bullets).

I'm finding out that this is the truth; I've got some semi-wadcutter bullets with beveled bases, but the bevel is inconsistent from bullet to bullet (and the weight/density of each bullet seems to be inconsistent as well), and for the life of me I can't seem to get these bullets to group well at 50 yards through any of my revolvers with any load. On the other hand, I have some flat-base semi-wadcutters (that also seem to be very consistent in density and weight) that group very nicely at 50 yards with the same loads.

Those show up based on info you supply in your user profile. Military branch, LE, NRA etc.

Well done valkyriekl, you gave the OP (original poster) a very good explanation of all the short cut terms we use as reloaders. I'm sure it will help him in the future.

Bill T
Don't hesitate to ask about anything you aren't sure of. We were all new at this one time or another and we were all helped along by someone who had more experiance that we did. Sharing out love of the sport is part of what we all do as shooters and reloaders...

Welcome aboard!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you,

Very much appreciated. Dale's words help a lot. Me, myself, I don't plan on reloading. I will in the future buy reloads though, after what I have heard here. I am retired but still
have a lot to do, family, home, yacht club etc. etc. OH, and
my little Mustang conv. (1987 GT) Busy Busy.

Bill T.

Thanks PDL,

Do I have this right? If I post in my user profile that I am a Army Vet. it will show up? NRA member, it will show up?
I Did and it Did. THANKS AGAIN

Bill T.

THIS S&W SITE ROCKS, BIG TIME
THANKS TO ALL THAT HELPED ME OUT

Glad you're here, Bill T.

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