hbwc seating depth

[coltandsw]

38 special hbwc 148 gr bullet , my old reloading manual burned up along with my shop, new manual says to seat at 1.317 when I used to seat almost flush with case mouth. Which is correct ?

 

[MichiganScott]

I've always seated them flush with the case mouth.

 

[Sevens]

Well I can't tell you that I remember the nominal case length for .38 Special brass, but the HBWC has always been designed to seat completey flush with the case mouth, thus the true COAL might vary as your case lengths might vary slightly.

If you don't seat them flush... a S&W 52 won't like them! If you really don't seat them flush or near, you'll lower the pressure of what is already a very low pressure round as the combustion space will have increased. That's a horrible idea in a revolver as you definitely will run the risk of sticking a bullet in your bore.

If we are talking HBWC, load them flush -AND- keep powder charges at a target level. 700-800 fps range.

 

[coltandsw]

manual was for a wc not a hbwc, thanks for the info, I though they should be seated flush

 

[J. R. WEEMS]

SEATING

I've always seated them flush with the case mouth.

I have always seated WC's FLUSH with case mouths, 38's or .32's, so has anyone I ever knew. Just another reason to make sure cases are ALL the same length. JMHO of course.

 

[joeintexas]

I agree with seating the wadcutters flush. Loaded thousands and never had a problem.

 

[coltandsw]

why does the Lyman manual show 1.317 in. ( that must be a miss print in the manual ) for the wad cutter ?

 

[Nevada Ed]

Actually the HB or BB lead WC bullet has a round shoulder that leads
to the body cylinder that is usually around .358" in dia.

The bullet can stick out past the case a little bit and have the case
closed in on the bullets full size diameter, for the final OAL setting and any crimp that is applied.

In my revolvers. I have even tried a OAL of 1.25" to get accuracy
but the 1.16" OAL worked pretty good in all of my weapons
be they HB or BB design.

 

[nicky4968]

I believe the 1.317 is for the 35891 (or 358091, both correct), a button wadcutter with a crimp groove, not a hollow base.

Or, whoever wrote the manual was just feeling that way that day.

 

[stansdds]

1.317" OAL for 38 Special wadcutter is for a cast lead, button nosed wadcutter bullet seated to the top crimping groove, which leaves the button nose and the first driving band exposed. Wadcutter bullets without crimping grooves are best seated flush with case mouth.

 

[coltandsw]

if wc has a crimping groove does it have to be crimped in the grove or can it be seated flush with case mouth?

 

[mikld]

I have seated HBWCs from flush to 3/8" out of the case, as an experiment. I used the "classic" load of Bullseye and for all intents and purposes, in a revolver, the accuracy did not improve, so I settled on 1/8" out. I used to be a pretty good pistol shot and often could tell minor differences in load performance, but no longer. I now use DEWCs seated to the crimp groove and I don't measure OAL (Lyman 150 DEWC mold).

You can seat a wadcutter to any depth you want as long as it fits the cylinder (you may get some bulges at the end of the bullet). A bullet with a crimp groove does not "have to be" seated to the groove. If you want it deeper just push it in a bit more, or if you want it a bit longer, don't push it in as much. The Lyman wadcutters I cast have a crimp groove so for uniformity I seat to the groove, and because this depth is what I used when working up the loads...

 

[Nevada Ed]

+1 with post #12;

I no longer try different OAL with a bullet.
I set it where it is designed for and call it a day but for best accuracy.........

I try several powders that will put out the fps of a factory load
to see what my weapon prefers and then, fine tune the load.

 

[ontargetagain]

I have some experience with both HBWC's and DEWC coated with crimp groove.
HBWC's I loaded flush, at the time was using them in a model 52 so no other option I no longer have that gun but have shot the HBWC out of my revolver with 6" bbl no issues.

DEWC coated from Bayou,Missouri and Summers I load to first crimp groove, the problem is that it appears most all data is for the hollow base WC's. So I have loaded my DEWC's at the recommended max for hollow base and have had no issues ever and that accounts for lots of them being shot with Bullseye, HP38, Titegroup, WST, BE86.

*At your own risk as this is what has worked for me in my guns.*

Karl

 

[Wise_A]

What does your gun ask you to do? It will tell you.

My K-38 doesn't like flush-seated WCs. Dunno why. Don't care either. They don't chamber or extract as easily, so I seat them into the groove and forget about it.

Your gun may prefer something different. If it expresses no particular interest, go with whichever looks prettiest to you. It's reloading, not brain surgery.

 

[stansdds]

What does your gun ask you to do? It will tell you.

My K-38 doesn't like flush-seated WCs. Dunno why. Don't care either. They don't chamber or extract as easily, so I seat them into the groove and forget about it.

Your gun may prefer something different. If it expresses no particular interest, go with whichever looks prettiest to you. It's reloading, not brain surgery.

Possibly a combination of chambers that are at or near minimum diameter (good for accuracy, not so much for loading and unloading), and brass that is bulged from deep seating the wadcutter bullet. Not all 38 Special brass is created the same. Remington 38 Special brass is thinner and the transition to the thicker case head area is located much deeper within the case than many other brands of brass, making it easier to flush seat wadcutter bullets without bulging the brass.

 

[BigMoneyGrip]

I've always seated mine about 1/16 above the case and never a problem.

 

[Wise_A]

Possibly a combination of chambers that are at or near minimum diameter (good for accuracy, not so much for loading and unloading), and brass that is bulged from deep seating the wadcutter bullet. Not all 38 Special brass is created the same. Remington 38 Special brass is thinner and the transition to the thicker case head area is located much deeper within the case than many other brands of brass, making it easier to flush seat wadcutter bullets without bulging the brass.

I measured the brass once. I suspect the slight crimp over the top of the wadcutter does it. But again--Mr Target Masterpiece told me what he wanted, the same ammo works great in everything else I own, so I just do that.

 

[StrawHat]

When the posters say “ let the firearm tell you”, they are right. Self loaders require a different col than revolvers. And my PPC revolver may prefer a different depth than my M36-1. But, you may be able to load to a compromise depth and have it work in multiple firearms. All I use are revolvers. When I shot competition, I was able to seat DEWC ‘s just proud of the cartridge mouth. This gave me acceptable accuracy in the three revolvers with which I competed. Others were able to seat flush, one fellow loaded the HBWC below the case mouth.

The bottom line is my closest competitor bought factory ammo so...

Kevin

 

[rwsmith]

I don't always.......

I don't always seat them flush, I've experimented with having them out like an SWC. I'm not sure if it's better or worse but they shoot just fine.