.38 Special: Best Wadcutter For Self-Defense ...

D

Data

Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2023
Messages
181
Reaction score
175
Greetings everyone,

I have a specific question for you ... Do you think all Wadcutters (Brands & Variations) are equal when it comes to Self-Defense? Why or why not?

i.e. Performance: Energy and Velocity, Wadcutter Design, Etc, etc.


Is there a specific brand you like best?

Please note,
I assume most of you if not all, regard shot placement as king when it comes to Self-Defense. As for myself, I do regard shot placement as King when it comes to Self-Defense.
 
Register to hide this ad
In my uninformed opinion, wadcutters are intended for making nice round holes in practice targets. For self defense, I prefer a good jacketed hollow point. That said, I know a lot of folks say wadcutters are just fine for self defense. Thankfully, I have no practical experience either way.
 
Buffalo Bore makes a highly touted defensive .38 wadcutter load. It is probably more effective than a RNL bullet of the same velocity and weight but don’t know if there has been any documented use for “social situations“. The debate regarding a full caliber vs. expanding bullet will probably never be settled.
 
Plus one for the 38 Special Federal 130 grain HST Micro out of short barrels!

Excellent expansion, decent penetration, and low recoil.

The problem would be finding some? Since the pandemic I have seen zero boxes available.
 
Nobody wants to get shot...by a wadcutter or anything else. The decision is a sound compromise.

We ALL are playing the odds, whether mortal troubles will visit upon us.

A bb gun may kill but unlikely. Having personally experienced a full power Crossman, I STILL bear the bb shaped mark from 1972. It incapacitated me for a few minutes. I "won" the dispute by shooting my brother in the face.

We were lucky, my brother-in-law lost an eye to his brother's bb gun.

My point is, a wadcutter is likely sufficient but I would unload on the target, to minimize the potential for return fire.
 
Last edited:
The 38 WC is usually dismissed for self defense but is there any real objective evidence ? The RNL lost effectiveness with the spread of drug use it seems. IMHO in its favor is that low recoiling target loads allow for better shot placement and follow up shots. Hits with Minors hurt worse than Misses with Majors.
 
Deming Police Officer Royce Bennett had a mix of 38 special wadcutters and semi-wadcutters in his service revolver when he fired all 6 at Billy Ray Gibson from arm's length; Gibson murdered Bennett with one shot from a 45/70 lever action. None of Bennett's rounds penetrated Gibson's pickup door.
 
Last edited:
We tend to gravitate towards ballistic tablets instead of field performance.

The benefits of the target wadcutter are great accuracy coupled with easily managed low recoil. The hot rod wadcutters aren’t as easy to manage as the target wadcutters so if you opt for Underwood or Buffaloe Bore wadcutters you’re missing the point of using wadcutters for self defense.

The optimal sd use of wadcutters is in small revolvers that can be very unpleasant to shoot with hot rod ammo regardless of the shape of the projectile.
 
Years ago when I goose hunted on the Texas Gulf Coast prairie, I carried a little Charter Arms .38 Spcl Undercover snubnose loaded with hollow base WC's loaded upside down, loaded to mid-range velocity, not target. I had a problem with armadillos and possums crawling through my blind in a drainage ditch. Those HBWC's made a real mess at short range into tough armadillos. I'm pretty sure they tumbled and upset in the dillos before exiting with a big spray of dillo innards. They probably weren't as good as modern bullets, but they did the job cheaply at short range.
 
If I could not obtain or lived where hollow point ammo is not allowed, I'd take either a full wadcutter or semi-wadcutter load rather than the round nose 38 Special load. As for which wadcutter load, all the low velocity, match wadcutters are all likely to behave exactly the same. I would expect higher velocity cast lead wadcutters to produce more recoil and penetrate deeper than a match wadcutter. I'd still prefer a modern JHP load designed for short barrel revolvers.
 
I would not expect WC and most SWC to penetrate a car, although a lot of cars now are built pretty lightly. For NON-LE use, I find them acceptable. I know that the BB WC loads are recommended by a pretty savvy (ex) cop who sometimes shows up here. (He got some to take to NJ years ago.)

The better answer for most LE use is a long gun.
 
Last edited:
I think the Federal Gold Medal Match .38 Special 148 grain wadcutter is the best choice in commercial loads and the most widely available in my area.

It is not realistic to expect vehicle door or windshield penetration from a .38 Special wadcutter, but they do have very good penetration in ballistic gel with very low recoil and high accuracy.

The chart below shows the Winchester 148 gr wadcutter with very consistent performance, and the Federal load will be almost the same as it is loaded to the same velocity.

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/revolver-ballistics-test/
 
Lead SWC was known to be an improvement over LRN before the era of magic bullets. I would think a WC would be moreso by some amount. They have been suggested for use in snubs and lightweights for recoil averse persons. Also the concern about HP expansion from snubs. Of course you can push that to the max but the downside is a handful to manage in a light snub. At worst a HP that does not expand probably is about the same as the SWC solid bullet for effect. Now most WC factory loads are pretty low power as paper is not very hard to poke thru. I and maybe most people handload WC bullets so you can push them over minimal target velocity but still don't want them too hot. I would say, for close range work they are better than anything that does not expand reliably probably if you need something that does not twist your wrist.
 
I don't see WC as a good option for self-defense. It makes sense under some conditions, but otherwise, not really. It will do the job at bad breath distances, but add heavy clothing and any barriers and power will be greatly diminished.

Then there's JHP 38 +p which doesn't penetrate all that well. I carry Underwood 158gr 38 special +p hard cast rounds for self-defense.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
Recommendations for .38spl Self-Defense Ammo
2
Replies
37
Views
2K
sniper
S
A
357 magum self defense rounds for model 27-2 . 5 inch barrel
2
Replies
36
Views
2K
agent00
A
D
Range verses self defense ammunition
2 3
Replies
50
Views
4K
biku324
biku324
Z
Looking for a .38 special target round recommendation
2 3
Replies
51
Views
2K
Rick H.
R
M
Cowboy .38 special ammo
Replies
1
Views
633
Valmet
Valmet

Latest posts

Back
Top