OIF2
Member
Anyone have personal experience with these Remington wadcutters? Bought about 500 rounds awhile back and never shot any.
Excellent stuff. In a heavy-barreled PPC revolver it'll shoot 12-shot 1.5" groups at 50 yds all day.
Bob
Wadcutter Questions
- Thread starter HarrishMasher
- Start date
Excellent stuff. In a heavy-barreled PPC revolver it'll shoot 12-shot 1.5" groups at 50 yds all day.
Bob
Dale53
Member
HarrishMasher;
Here is a MUST read for those interested in the .38 Wadcutter:
Ed Harris: Revisiting The Full Charge Wadcutter | Reloading, Ammunition, Hunting | GrantCunningham.com
As a matter of record, one of my most shot loads is a home cast H&G#50 wadcutter (cast of WW's+2% tin) and sized to .358" ahead of 3.2 grs of Bulleye or equivalent. It shoots well under 1" at 25 yards off a rest in several of my .38/.357 target revolvers.
I LIKE this load (here is a target I shot standing at 25 yards with my 6" Model 686):
Ed Harris is a former NRA Technical Advisor and a Ruger Developmental Engineer of GREAT experience.
Dale53
Here is a MUST read for those interested in the .38 Wadcutter:
Ed Harris: Revisiting The Full Charge Wadcutter | Reloading, Ammunition, Hunting | GrantCunningham.com
As a matter of record, one of my most shot loads is a home cast H&G#50 wadcutter (cast of WW's+2% tin) and sized to .358" ahead of 3.2 grs of Bulleye or equivalent. It shoots well under 1" at 25 yards off a rest in several of my .38/.357 target revolvers.
I LIKE this load (here is a target I shot standing at 25 yards with my 6" Model 686):
Ed Harris is a former NRA Technical Advisor and a Ruger Developmental Engineer of GREAT experience.
Dale53
zelda
Member
Wadcutters are just about all l shoot in my M-15 snubbie. Dad casts and loads them for me. l get mine a bit cheaper than $13.50 a box.
Been using 38SP FWC since I can't remember. Another added benefit is your barrel will last forever with proper loads.
Very happy I fell upon this thread. Georgia Arms has the 45ACP 200gr SWC. I like these for range shooting with the 1911 also.
Very happy I fell upon this thread. Georgia Arms has the 45ACP 200gr SWC. I like these for range shooting with the 1911 also.
I like Penn Bullets 44 185 gr wadcutter. One quirk, in my new Smith 69 I had lead shaving till I increased the COL so the bullet jump in the chamber was essentially zero. Bullet diameter matches throat, .430".
That bullet at 900 fps would make a potent self defense load with low recoil, flash, and non-deafening, too.
Haven't seen a gel test on YouTube with wadcutters. Any body know of a well done test?
Edit, I found a gel test, target load out of short barrel. Bullet punched a clean hole through 4 layers of denim and 18" of gel, was recovered from a phone book backstop. Minimal expansion, denim still on face of bullet.
That bullet at 900 fps would make a potent self defense load with low recoil, flash, and non-deafening, too.
Haven't seen a gel test on YouTube with wadcutters. Any body know of a well done test?
Edit, I found a gel test, target load out of short barrel. Bullet punched a clean hole through 4 layers of denim and 18" of gel, was recovered from a phone book backstop. Minimal expansion, denim still on face of bullet.
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Hornady 148 gr HBWC + 2.7 gr VV N310 is my favorite target load. Since N310 is so hard to find, 2.8 gr Bullseye is a close second and what I use now.
cherrypointmarine
Member
I have been shooting GA wadcutters & semi wadcutters for years. I have never had a problem with them or any of their other ammo. I shoot their .44 mag, .44 spec, .38, .40, .45, & 9x18. I have nothing but good to say about them.
WaMike
Member
At one time I had an NEI wadcutter mold for my 45 Colt. Can't remember the weight, but it looked like a small oil drum and was very accurate.
I cast and shoot .358" Lee's wadcutter; it's tumble-lubed and accurate in all my 38 Spl. revolvers. Based on its performance in rotted stumps (hard on the outside, soft inner) it would be a great SD load as well.
Double-O-Dave
US Veteran
The 148gr. wadcutter is a good antipersonnel round, but they can be difficult to load under stress due to the lack of a bearing surface as found on a conventional round. If you load your carry piece with the wadcutters, you may want to think about carrying something else to reload with. I've shot many thousands of 148gr. wadcutter rounds in my lifetime until introduced to the 158gr. semi-wadcutter - aka the "Keith" bullet. This is my favorite projectile in the .38 Special/.357 Magnum loadings. I reload and use the 158 gr. Keith bullet to load everything from target and plinking loads, up to those for use in the field.
Regards,
Dave
Regards,
Dave
PA Guns & Ammo
Member
How do you think they would do in a 8 3/8 barrel?
Target velocity
At target velocities, wadcutters can be soft lead. Some companies swage them whereas hard bullets have to be cast. The hollow base is the most accurate but any WC is good for punching a nice round hole in the paper. There is no reason to lead the barrel with a good fit. HB wadcutters make their own fit by the expanding base and are about as accurate as anything you can get that shoots well in most any gun. I'd guess that 12 brinnell hardness is the max you would want and less would be better.
At target velocities, wadcutters can be soft lead. Some companies swage them whereas hard bullets have to be cast. The hollow base is the most accurate but any WC is good for punching a nice round hole in the paper. There is no reason to lead the barrel with a good fit. HB wadcutters make their own fit by the expanding base and are about as accurate as anything you can get that shoots well in most any gun. I'd guess that 12 brinnell hardness is the max you would want and less would be better.
Full wadcutter.....
The Hollow Base jobs can't be pushed very fast because the skirts blow off, but a full WC, double ended, bevel base, whatever, can be mean defense loads. If used as defense a little harder lead is desired so velocities can be 1000 - 1100 fps. I doubt this can be had out of a snub, but it's a decent round and a little longer barrel gets more velocity. Hollow point semi wadcutters are pretty vicious, too.
Update - Buffalo Bore indeed makes a .38 HP +P SWC round that tops 1000 fps out of a 2" barrel. (according to them). A 4" barrel gets well over 1100 fps. I would consider that a very good defense round.
The Hollow Base jobs can't be pushed very fast because the skirts blow off, but a full WC, double ended, bevel base, whatever, can be mean defense loads. If used as defense a little harder lead is desired so velocities can be 1000 - 1100 fps. I doubt this can be had out of a snub, but it's a decent round and a little longer barrel gets more velocity. Hollow point semi wadcutters are pretty vicious, too.
Update - Buffalo Bore indeed makes a .38 HP +P SWC round that tops 1000 fps out of a 2" barrel. (according to them). A 4" barrel gets well over 1100 fps. I would consider that a very good defense round.
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Bill Douglas
Member
I've got crazy good accuracy out of my model 36 snubbie with my hollow based lead wadcutters. I'd have to check my reloading book but I think they are 158gr with 2.8gr of Titegroup.
silentflyer
Member
My 14 8 3/8" is super accurate with wad cutters, as is almost every K frame I ever shot.
Nice clean holes in paper, and also great for squirrels, rabbits with head shots.
Did the reverse hollow base wad cutters years ago, most impressive when shot into a wet phone book. Not much penetration, but the heavy wet books went tumbling backwards. Metal gallon cans filled with water just exploded.
Nice clean holes in paper, and also great for squirrels, rabbits with head shots.
Did the reverse hollow base wad cutters years ago, most impressive when shot into a wet phone book. Not much penetration, but the heavy wet books went tumbling backwards. Metal gallon cans filled with water just exploded.
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Harley Fan
Member
HarrishMasher;
Here is a MUST read for those interested in the .38 Wadcutter:
Ed Harris: Revisiting The Full Charge Wadcutter | Reloading, Ammunition, Hunting | GrantCunningham.com
As a matter of record, one of my most shot loads is a home cast H&G#50 wadcutter (cast of WW's+2% tin) and sized to .358" ahead of 3.2 grs of Bulleye or equivalent. It shoots well under 1" at 25 yards off a rest in several of my .38/.357 target revolvers.
I LIKE this load (here is a target I shot standing at 25 yards with my 6" Model 686):
Ed Harris is a former NRA Technical Advisor and a Ruger Developmental Engineer of GREAT experience.
Dale53
Thank you Dale53 for bringing that excellent article on .38 WC to everyone's attention. I "kinda sorta" was aware of the self defense aspect of this bullet.
And... great shooting!
I'm a beginner shooter, and a beginner handloader as well. Without knowing all the science around the WC's accuracy, I can point out to my relative successes. The target below was the result of my attempt to work up a nice range load using a DEWC and some obsolete Hungarian powder I'd recently gotten my hands on. I'm absolutely no marksman, but was very pleased with the result out of my 10-5 snub.
I might point out to the OP that the price of his ammo is indeed good. But what motivates this handloader is the per shot cost- I can reload this cartridge with my brass for 11 cents. Folks who cast their own bullets can cut that to less than half that.
ironhead7544
Member
The wadcutter was designed for target shooting. It is much easier to score a target with clean holes in the paper.
IMHO, the factory wadcutters are too slow and the bullets too soft for self defense. The hard wadcutters at 900 fps from Buffalo Bore would be my choice. Especially from a snubbie.
IMHO, the factory wadcutters are too slow and the bullets too soft for self defense. The hard wadcutters at 900 fps from Buffalo Bore would be my choice. Especially from a snubbie.
USMC(Ret)22408
Member
I have fired many (1000+) GA .38 spl wadcutters. They are accurate and have never failed to go bang. They are, however, a pretty dirty load.
OP
HarrishMasher
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I just received my Georgia Arms ammo order. It's my first time ordering from GA.
$13.50 for 50 148gr wadcutters 700 FPS.
$15.00 for 50 158gr plated semi-wadcutters 800 FPS.
Here is what one of each looks like:
It really looks great and the price is fantastic...especially on the wadcutters. I will try to get out this week and run some of it through a few guns to see how it performs. I'm particularly hoping it does not lead up the barrel. If not and it is fairly accurate, looks like I found a new practice load
$13.50 for 50 148gr wadcutters 700 FPS.
$15.00 for 50 158gr plated semi-wadcutters 800 FPS.
Here is what one of each looks like:
It really looks great and the price is fantastic...especially on the wadcutters. I will try to get out this week and run some of it through a few guns to see how it performs. I'm particularly hoping it does not lead up the barrel. If not and it is fairly accurate, looks like I found a new practice load
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OP
HarrishMasher
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Does it lead up the barrel or chambers much?
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