.38 Special match bullets
- Thread starter Buzzsaw
- Start date
Buy a sample of each swagged lead, cast lead, Plated, powder coated, and jacketed. Load with your favorite most accurate powder, about 25 rounds each. Get access to a Ransom rest and shoot each sample at 25 yards. Measure the groups then decide what you want to shoot.
For just paper punching I prefer swagged lead, win 231, Fed primers.
For just paper punching I prefer swagged lead, win 231, Fed primers.
Protocall_Design
Vendor
They are going 920 fps.
I'd like to elaborate on my comment in post #13, re plated wadcutters.
Wadcutters, being what they are, have a tremendous amount of bearing surface for their weight. Also, lacking an aerodynamic nose profile, they have a very low ballistic co-efficient. Taken together, a wadcutter requires a rather narrow, and low, velocity range to stabilize properly for acceptable accuracy. Generally, that accuracy range for a 38 cal 148 gr wadcutter is about 740-870 fps.
At this velocity range, a jacket or plating is not only unnecessary, it's potentially dangerous. The large bearing surface greatly increases bore friction, increasing the possibility of a stuck bullet in the barrel. In a revolver, it's all too easy to miss this. Pressure is low, so in the event of a squib, excess gas just vents off in the barrel/cylinder gap. Recoil is low, so it's hard to feel the difference. And, due to the manual operation of a revolver, a malfunction generally doesn't occur, unless the squib is stuck in the forcing cone.
I think most people who cast, and even many who don't have slugged the barrel of a gun. Pretty easy to do with a soft lead slug. Try it with a plated bullet (or, better yet, don't) and you'll get an idea how much resistance the plating adds!
If you want the shooting qualities of a wadcutter, I suggest sticking with a lubed, soft lead bullet.
If you prefer a plated bullet, choose the appropriate velocity range, (say over 900-1000 fps as the lower limit?) and go with the appropriate bullet design like a SWC or roundnose.
Hope this helps save someone some hassles or trouble.
Thanks,
Jim
Wadcutters, being what they are, have a tremendous amount of bearing surface for their weight. Also, lacking an aerodynamic nose profile, they have a very low ballistic co-efficient. Taken together, a wadcutter requires a rather narrow, and low, velocity range to stabilize properly for acceptable accuracy. Generally, that accuracy range for a 38 cal 148 gr wadcutter is about 740-870 fps.
At this velocity range, a jacket or plating is not only unnecessary, it's potentially dangerous. The large bearing surface greatly increases bore friction, increasing the possibility of a stuck bullet in the barrel. In a revolver, it's all too easy to miss this. Pressure is low, so in the event of a squib, excess gas just vents off in the barrel/cylinder gap. Recoil is low, so it's hard to feel the difference. And, due to the manual operation of a revolver, a malfunction generally doesn't occur, unless the squib is stuck in the forcing cone.
I think most people who cast, and even many who don't have slugged the barrel of a gun. Pretty easy to do with a soft lead slug. Try it with a plated bullet (or, better yet, don't) and you'll get an idea how much resistance the plating adds!
If you want the shooting qualities of a wadcutter, I suggest sticking with a lubed, soft lead bullet.
If you prefer a plated bullet, choose the appropriate velocity range, (say over 900-1000 fps as the lower limit?) and go with the appropriate bullet design like a SWC or roundnose.
Hope this helps save someone some hassles or trouble.
Thanks,
Jim
StakeOut
US Veteran
I buy hard cast bullets from Summers Enterprises because they are a quality bullet and the cheapest I can find.
Sad they don't have a 158gr .358" SWC but their flat point is an good alternative.
Sad they don't have a 158gr .358" SWC but their flat point is an good alternative.
Punching paper.......
Speer or Hornady 148 grain swaged hollow based bullet. I think this edges out about any bullet because the skirt swells to fit the barrel exactly. The only drawback is that they are limited to low velocities because the skirts can blow off if pushed to hard. Up to about `1000 fps they are fine. Usually mine run between 800 and 950 fps with the low end being best with 2.7 grains Bulleye or a few tenths more.
Speer or Hornady 148 grain swaged hollow based bullet. I think this edges out about any bullet because the skirt swells to fit the barrel exactly. The only drawback is that they are limited to low velocities because the skirts can blow off if pushed to hard. Up to about `1000 fps they are fine. Usually mine run between 800 and 950 fps with the low end being best with 2.7 grains Bulleye or a few tenths more.
Qc Pistolero
Member
For paper punching,the H&G no 50 does a great job when pushed at around 675 to 700fps(2.6 gr 700X).Cast out of range scrap and NOT quenched,they come out quite soft(around 6BHN).
Since I cast for a few friend,I simply do not remelt the ones with slight surface defects and put them aside.When I have a few hundreds,I swage them in HBWC form and use them as my match bullets.Same 2.6gr 700X load.At .358,my old faithfull model 14 spits them much tighter than I can hold!
Qc
Since I cast for a few friend,I simply do not remelt the ones with slight surface defects and put them aside.When I have a few hundreds,I swage them in HBWC form and use them as my match bullets.Same 2.6gr 700X load.At .358,my old faithfull model 14 spits them much tighter than I can hold!
Qc
Brandon
Member
Toolguy,
Mind sharing your load data and what gun its out of? I have a 6" 686 that is very...."particular" and I'm always on the lookout for a better 50 yard load!
Mind sharing your load data and what gun its out of? I have a 6" 686 that is very...."particular" and I'm always on the lookout for a better 50 yard load!
They also offer a .358" 148gr hard cast DEWC
gwpercle
Member
NRA Bullseye Match....wadcutters , usually 148 grain.
Jackcpat
Member
.38
I use Summers 148gr DEWCs and Acme coated 148gr button nose WCs.
I use Summers 148gr DEWCs and Acme coated 148gr button nose WCs.
