With the low velocity and pressure of true target wadcutter loads, I doubt that leading would be an issue unless the revolver had problems such as undersized chamber throats, pitted throats, oversized bore, pitted bore, or rough forcing cone.
Wadcutters still relevant?
- Thread starter otis24
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Excellent and short read. Thanks for posting the link.
gwpercle
Member
I've been shooting cast lead wadcutters since 1967 ...
I cast them and lube with Lithi-Bee bullet lube .
What is leading of the barrel ?
You need better bullets or better lubricant ...
Leading can be overcome in this modern day and age .
Gary
StrawHat
Member
Ed Harris wrote about full power wadcutters.
Ed Harris: Revisiting The Full Charge Wadcutter. – www.GrantCunningham.com
When I carried a small bore revolver, these are what I used. And yes, they can take deer.
Kevin
Ed Harris: Revisiting The Full Charge Wadcutter. – www.GrantCunningham.com
When I carried a small bore revolver, these are what I used. And yes, they can take deer.
Kevin
max503
Member
Why wouldn't they be? It is kind of curious that a box of factory wadcutters is hard to find on the shelves. I haven't seen any for years. They used to be the standard. Guess that's the reason for the question.
This is true, but a plated boolit or powder coated boolit doesn't require as much work or thought to solve issues and doesn't have to be fit to each gun. You load it and move on.
Rosewood
BLACKHAWKNJ
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Before WWII they sold lead WCs for 22s.
Yes, a hit with a 38 WC hurts a lot more than a miss with a more powerful round.
I loaded 38 S&Ws with HBWCs for my Enfield No. 2 Mk1, worked fine.
Yes, a hit with a 38 WC hurts a lot more than a miss with a more powerful round.
I loaded 38 S&Ws with HBWCs for my Enfield No. 2 Mk1, worked fine.
Educmacate me on this. My Enfield shoots .312 caliber bullets. Is that a handgun? Or bored out rifle?
Rosewood
BLACKHAWKNJ
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The Enfield No. 2 Mk1-basically a copy of the Webley Mark IV-was adopted by the UK as their service revolver in 1927. Caliber 380-38 S&W to us.
OK, I'll be the naysayer here. The typical factory loaded wadcutter is lucky to be going 800 fps out of a 2" barrel. So there's not much power there. If it hits something vital, great, but you better have precision shot placement. Otherwise, you've just carved a .358 hole in the guy that has little chance of actually stopping his aggression. Just look at why Teddy Roosevelt dropped the .38. And no, I don't believe there's much difference between a flat bullet and a round bullet in this instance.
It's your life, so it's your choice. Feel free to use a slow wadcutter to protect you and yours. However, there are literally hundreds of better options.
It's your life, so it's your choice. Feel free to use a slow wadcutter to protect you and yours. However, there are literally hundreds of better options.
SnidelyWhiplash
Member
No one is saying a wadcutter is the only option...just that it's an option. Everyone has their own specific set of needs and preferences and each case is unique. We each have to determine our own needs and what best suits those needs.
True, but I don't really see how a wadcutter ends up being the best option if one is choosing a bullet for specifically for self defense.
Is it a bad choice? No.
Are they the "best" choice? No.
Are they a good choice? They'll probably work as well as anything else in most scenarios...
The bullets and most load data is geared towards being used as target rounds.
SnidelyWhiplash
Member
I agree...not necessarily the best option...but it is an option. It all comes down to mental preparedness...tactics...use of verbal commands...the ability to think and act accordingly and accuracy.
Bullet designs are constantly changing...what might be best today might be tomorrow's second rate design.
Choose an effective round that one is competent with...practice...practice...practice. Two quick hits with a wadcutter may be better than one miss or peripheral hit with a more effective round that recoil too much for some.
The least effective .38 Special round may be the 158 grain lead round nose or the 130 grain FMJ round duplicating the military M41...and both have been used for decades effectively...and also non-effectively. There are no guarantees...you can use .38 Special JHP +P+ and do everything right...and still die.
DWalt
Member
For use in a lightweight snubby, and for most people in most defensive situations, a FWC load will be in the running as a top choice.
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I'm fine with them.
Yeah, but other than that, what do they have going for them?
Sistema1927
US Veteran
Let's get real here.
If you knew that you were going to need a gun tomorrow, you wouldn't leave the house without a rifle or shotgun and probably take along a buddy with rifle or a shotgun. Every easily concealable handgun is a compromise. Every. One. If you carry a concealed handgun, then you should know this. None of them are magic blasters.
However, 99.9999999% of us won't need a gun tomorrow, but on the off chance that we do, we carry a concealed handgun. Sometimes, it is a small handgun, like a J-frame, that is hard to shoot, especially in a high stress encounter. That hollow point probably isn't going to expand at snubby velocities, and if recoil is stout you might not shoot accurately. In this case, wadcutters with proven penetration and minimal recoil, might just be the ticket. You are more prone to get multiple hits on the vitals, with bullets that will cause damage without needing expansion, and with adequate penetration.
If you knew that you were going to need a gun tomorrow, you wouldn't leave the house without a rifle or shotgun and probably take along a buddy with rifle or a shotgun. Every easily concealable handgun is a compromise. Every. One. If you carry a concealed handgun, then you should know this. None of them are magic blasters.
However, 99.9999999% of us won't need a gun tomorrow, but on the off chance that we do, we carry a concealed handgun. Sometimes, it is a small handgun, like a J-frame, that is hard to shoot, especially in a high stress encounter. That hollow point probably isn't going to expand at snubby velocities, and if recoil is stout you might not shoot accurately. In this case, wadcutters with proven penetration and minimal recoil, might just be the ticket. You are more prone to get multiple hits on the vitals, with bullets that will cause damage without needing expansion, and with adequate penetration.
First, hollow points not expanding from snubbies may have been true 20-30 years ago, but that's no longer the case. It's demonstrably true that that will expand from snubbies if you choose the load designed for snubbies, of which there are many.
Second, if you want to cause the most damage without needing expansion, then carry the largest diameter bullet such as a .44 or .45 instead of a .38. Otherwise, go with expansion.
I would guess with WCs cast of Lead with 5% Tin and reasonable charge for snubby, you wouldn’t have to worry about coating, plating or lubing. I shot 10 Lyman Button Nose 242 gr WCs out of 25-5, running approx 650fps. They were shot as cast with no lube or size. Clean as a whistle. This out of same gun that Speer 250SWC had lead creeping out the muzzel, with same charge.
