148gr Wadcutters in a .357?

[TAROMAN]

Call me crazy. Just picked up my first .357 revolver (a Model 681). Anyhow, I have a huge supply of cast double ended wadcutters. Used them in 38s for years. as i didn't have any 357 rounds, I fired a few of these 38 loads in the 681 and surprisingly, they shot to point of aim. I'd prefer to stick with 357 cases (now on order) for this gun and started thinking about a dedicated 357 wadcutter load. Anybody done this? The manuals I have don't cover this, not surprisingly.

 

[boatbum101]

If your going to load them in 357 cases I'd just bump the load .2 or .3 grs . Since your using a cast bullet & not a HBWC don't have to worry about blowing the skirt of one .Try using 3.1grs 700X , 3.3grs BE , 3.3 grs HTG , 3.3 AA#2 , 3.9 W231 , 3.9-4.0 Unique .

 

[oldRoger]

I shoot 148 HBWC in my .357s with great results. Right now I am using 3.6.grs Bullseye with the bullet seated a 1.420" Your double enders will be somewhat diferent.

 

[bluetopper]

Yes, I've done it in my 686 quite a bit in 357 cases, both at 38 target velocities and at full house magnum velocity using magnum powders. For magnum velocity use DEWC of a brinell hardness at least a 17. It makes for a very hard hitting round...and a lot of fun.

 

[TSQUARED]

Call me crazy. Just picked up my first .357 revolver (a Model 681). Anyhow, I have a huge supply of cast double ended wadcutters. Used them in 38s for years. as i didn't have any 357 rounds, I fired a few of these 38 loads in the 681 and surprisingly, they shot to point of aim. I'd prefer to stick with 357 cases (now on order) for this gun and started thinking about a dedicated 357 wadcutter load. Anybody done this? The manuals I have don't cover this, not surprisingly.

The Alliant 2005 manual lists the following for 148 gr. LWC's:
38 Special - 2.7 gr. Bulseye = 785 fps
357 Magnum - 2.8 gr. Bullseye = 780 fps.
If you want the page from the Alliant manual PM me your e-mail address and I'll send it to you.

 

[Missionary]

Good morning
I would do as advocated above and enjoy them.
There are a few other loadings you can try... cut a few in half with a heavy duty razor knife and load the two pieces stacked. Use the same powder charges. They are real deadly up close on varmits, wabbits and other small crittters.
Let a friend shoot a couple out of your new shooter and chuckle at his facial expresions as he sees multiple hits on a target.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Apples to apples.

All wadcutters are not equal. A DEWC need more powder to exit a barrel than a HBWC. Longer barreled revolvers need more than the old 2.7gr of Bullseye to guarantee them exiting. In my opinion, 3.0gr of Bullseye is the minimum load for DEWC in any barrel longer than 4".

Some wadcutters have almost smooth sides, no real driving bands. If I was shooting them, I'd for sure use the 3.0gr minimum and shoot slow fire until I could make sure of velocity and consistency.

Just my 2 centavos.

 

[oldracer]

I shot DEWCs in 38 special cases for about a year or so with 3.3gr of W231 powder and a mix of primers which seemed not to have much affect. Out to 25 yds they worked well except for some leading. I started using 357 cases this year and bumped the load of powder to 3.6gr and they seem a bit more accurate although with the arthritis my shooting is not real great. I did find that the brand of DEWCs seems to make a sligght difference as the Missouri Bullet Co two groove cast bullets with solid lube have about 50FPS more velocity than the Lee Microgroove DEWC lubed with their liquid lube. BUT the Lee castings smoke much less and leave less lead?

Having said all that and being a beginner at this stuff, I would mimic a 38 special load in a 357 case or even add a couple extra grains of powder and do some testing. It should be plenty safe at low powder loads.

 

[cjw3]

I am trying to think that my old Lyman Cast Bullet handbook (45th ed.?) has some loads for what you wanting to try. I am not at home right now so don't have it available but will check and pass along, unless some of the other info above duplicates it.

I don't remember ever loading any, but I did consider it a while back. What with range scrounging and what not, I found myself with many more .357 cases than I would normally need for what most of us would call "routine" .357 duties. I only have one .357 and don't shoot it all that often....the .38's get the workout.

 

[moxie]

Why bother? The .38s will work just fine. Use the .357 mag cases for the hotter loads.

 

[m41]

148 gr Wadcutters

I use 148 gr wadcutters in my CCW 340PD. I haven't had any problems and it sure takes the bites out of the 12 oz gun. I was wondering if anyone else used the wadcutter for CCW or am I just crazy and need go to the +P 38?

 

[m657]

Don't know what the possible leading may be in the higher velocity FPS of the mag load.

This should be evaluated as well as other potential advantages of the longer case.

Be sure to post your results. I'm considering the same thing with DEWC 148s.

 

[cmj8591]

I loaded 148 hbwc for years in 357 cases with 3 grains of Bullseye. (Boy am I old!!) They worked great and I was able to avoid the dreaded lead ring of death that formes in the 357 chamber when using 38's.

 

[BE Mike]

I loaded 148 hbwc for years in 357 cases with 3 grains of Bullseye. (Boy am I old!!) They worked great and I was able to avoid the dreaded lead ring of death that formes in the 357 chamber when using 38's.

No need to load your wadcutters in .357 mag. cases. I've shot many thousands of .38 SPL's with 148 gr. HBWC out of .357's over the years with no ill effects. It is necessary to clean the charging holes in the cylinders very thoroughly after each range session to avoid the lead ring build-up, however.

 

[Iron Sight]

S&W 686, Burris Red Dot Sight, Rested on sand bags @ 25 yards. Target is a 3" Circle.


357 Cases, Missouri 148 G DEWC, 4 G W-231, Overall length 1.375

 

[TAROMAN]

Nice work! I've never used the Missouri bullets, but, as I'm now out of wadcutters, think I'll try a batch.

 

[Snapping Twig]

Been loading them from mild to wild in .357 cases for years.

Treat 'em like any other 150g bullet and you'll be OK.

A properly sized and lubed WC makes a nice round.

I like 5g W231 for a .38 spl. +P equivalent in a .357 case and the result is a smooth shooting accurate and hard hitting round.