Hollow Base Bullets

When I bought my first K38 back in the early 1980s, my gunsmith "educated" me about reloading HBWCs. Bill advised that the hollow base was pressed into the grooves by the cartridge gases to form a seal which enhanced the bullet's accuracy potential. He also advised against pushing the velocity envelope, because the "skirt" of the hollow base could literally separate from the wadcutter, and leave a lead ring obstruction in the bore. For that reason, I never pushed them hard for velocity, since accuracy was the goal with bullseye matches.

If you have to reach a minimum velocity "floor", I would be very careful. If I were you, I would aim more for hardcast, RN or SWC, for reliable feeding. I believe that the hollow base provides a greater benefit for swaged bullets as opposed to cast bullets.
 
I bought a couple of boxes of the Berry's .45 ACP equivalents and they were my preferred bullet before I started casting my own. I mainly shot light loads but they were very accurate and functioned flawlessly.

These plated bullets are a completely different animal than the typical swaged 148 grain 38 special bullet. I think the first thing that will come to mind when talking about HB bullets will be the old school wadcutter and not Berry's product. Both work great for there intended applications.
 
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The Berry bullets.....

.......MAY get some of the effect of the hollow base wadcutter by sealing the bullet against the bore by it's internal pressure. I don't know how soft the Berry bullet it, but hollow base wadcutters are VERY soft.

It's interesting to note that the Minie ball of the Civil War had a hollow base for this purpose and was extremely effective.
 
HB bullets can also be helpful in revolvers with mis-matched throats and bore. They work well in Remington and Winchester loads in some 45 Colts for example.

Larry
 
I both cast and swage .38 Spl bullets.My accuracy tests(and lots of my friends'testing)have confirmed that if shot in a good revolver (cylinder mouth and barrel groove matched),there is no difference at 25yds(WC cast vs HBWC swaged).Of course,you have to cast good bullets and sort them out by weighting them.Sizing and lubrication are also very important.But if done properly,cast is as good as swaged.
Now at 50 yards,that's a different story!Swaged tends to group better.
Since I shoot mostly at 20 and 35 yards,I shoot cast and now swage only a few ones here and there when I want to experiment some new things.
Qc
 
The feedback sounds like it is something I want to try. I will primarily shoot them from my sigma 40. I have Apex trigger and spring kit on the way. So some new bullets to try with that kit sounds like a win win!

One last question.. Crimp or no crimp? It sounds like to get the most benefit a good crimp would be best.
 
Hollow-base wadcutters are regarded as slightly more accurate. But with a sufficiently soft DEWC, you're more or less splitting hairs.

Plated bullets are not regarded as being terribly accurate, compared to either soft lead or a proper JHP. However, again it's 25/50-yard BE shooters calling it so. If you're only shooting 7-10 yards with a .40 S&W, you likely won't notice any difference.
 
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