Wadcutters...

[jdgabbard]

Alright, here a while back I purchased a Lyman 358495 mold. Haven't loaded with it yet, as I don't have any brass that is empty ATM. But plan on loading it over 3.0g of Bullseye. And have a couple of questions.

1) For those that have shot this combo before, did it prove to be an accurate choice of a WC?

2) Secondly just out of curiosity: Since wadcutters are made to cut a nice neat full caliber hole, any one ever used them for defensive/hunting purposes??? Seems that a full caliber, blunt hole would deal mighty damage inside 50 yards. What say you?

[lurch]

That is the bullet I originally learned to cast with under my father's tutelage using a single cavity mold when I was in my teens. We would shoot it with either 3 or 3.5 grains of bullseye and it was an accurate load in a model 27 using 38 brass. We didn't have access to a chrono so I have no concrete data on the velocities we got. I currently cast from straight WW and shoot them a little stouter over 4.5 grains of green dot (someday I'll use that dirty stuff up...my left hand is pretty black after a session from all the goo floating around) in a 6" 586 and 357 brass. That load clocks at around 1100 fps and is murder on the center of the target. I routinely get 5 shots touching or nearly so at 25 yards when I settle down and remember how to shoot. I don't think you will go wrong as long as the bullet fits the gun.

I don't know what to think of it as a fight stopper but flying fast, I would expect it to do some damage. At any rate, I would still use JHP's for that purpose, hoping and praying that the need will never arise.

[Bob Krack]

Alright, here a while back I purchased a Lyman 358495 mold. Haven't loaded with it yet, as I don't have any brass that is empty ATM. But plan on loading it over 3.0g of Bullseye. And have a couple of questions.

1) For those that have shot this combo before, did it prove to be an accurate choice of a WC?

2) Secondly just out of curiosity: Since wadcutters are made to cut a nice neat full caliber hole, any one ever used them for defensive/hunting purposes??? Seems that a full caliber, blunt hole would deal mighty damage inside 50 yards. What say you?
I have a Lyman 358495 - throws a beautiful boolit. I've never shot it myself (all my guns were lost in a boat accident) but understand that it is very accurate at short ranges.

I am such a die-hard big bore fan that I have a hard time addressing the "defense-hunting" portion, but for your use, I would think a 158 gr or larger SWC or HP SWC with more like 3.5 gr bullseye (or more if you have the ability to work up a hot load).

Hmmmm.... I guess you din't ask for alternate suggestions, so for target work, ya might have a hard time finding a better boolit/powder combination - up to 50 yds or a little more.

Alloy composition and lube will have a large effect on your results, too. Keep them fairly soft.

YMMV

Bob

[dale2242]

358495 and 3 gr Bullseye is my favorite plinking load in the 38 Special. I`ve shot 1000s of this load. It is extremely accurate.---dale

[Echo]

358495 and the H&G 50 are the two most popular WC boolits for the .38 Special, and both can produce outstanding accuracy. I like the idea of using them for defense loads, especially for distaff shooters. They can be loaded stout enough to provide a nice 38 caliber opening for the sun to get in and the fluids to exit, yet not hand-killers. I use the standard 2.7 gr BE load for my target work.

[Leftoverdj]

There is/was a considerable school of thought that WCs were as good as anything as a defensive load in .38 snubbies. Since you are not going to get enough velocity for reliable expansion, you might as well go with a 100% meplat to start with, especially in guns that shoot WCs to point of aim.

As to accuracy, you have to be a lot better shot than I am to find an accuracy difference between WCs at under 50 yards. They all shoot better than I do. Past 50 yards, the button nose designs seem to have an advantage, but I ain't really figgering on shooting WCs past 50 yards.

[beagle]

Great choice for a .38 wad. It was the second mould I acquired when I started casting and I still have several copies in my cabinet and is definitely a great bullet on small game and pests. I've killed no telling how many squirrels and cottontails with it and it does well on rats if you happen to have a place to shoot them. I killed a crow with one at 75 yards once out of a Colt Python.

I don't think you'll find it lacking for defense in a .357 case either. It tends to thrash around in a body cavity I've been told due to the fact that it's almost balanced and anything it hits tends to start it tumbling but what the heck, in defense, you're defending your life and the internal ballistics don't matter at that point./beagle

[WHITETAIL]

+1 on the wad cutter for defence.
As said before at short range
go for it!:redneck:

[StrawHat]

I have used the full wadcutter bullet for hunting quite a bit. Chipmunks to raccoons go down quick when hit. Bunnies and squirrels, same thing. My load was 2.7 grains of Bullseye when used in the 38 Special.

[cajun shooter]

The 2.7 load is a standard that goes back many years. When I first started shooting PPC matches that was the standard and that was in 1974. I found that the 3gr load was not as accurate for that purpose.

[Shiloh]

There is/was a considerable school of thought that WCs were as good as anything as a defensive load in .38 snubbies. Since you are not going to get enough velocity for reliable expansion, you might as well go with a 100% meplat to start with, especially in guns that shoot WCs to point of aim.


This is were a soft alloy shines. Soft wadcutters at low velocities will roll the meplat over some. I never tried it but heard so from an experienced caster familiar with snubbies loaded with wadcutters.

Shiloh

[jdgabbard]

Hrm. I figured that my 3.0g load was a little high starting load. But I didn't have data for a 358495, so I used Lyman data for a 358091, which seem to be pretty similar except in weight and that the 358091 has a bevel base.

It just seemed to me that it would be a good small game round, and might also be potent as a defensive round. I'll keep the idea of softer alloys in mind, as well as the 2.7g starting load.

[jdgabbard]

Great choice for a .38 wad. It was the second mould I acquired when I started casting and I still have several copies in my cabinet and is definitely a great bullet on small game and pests. I've killed no telling how many squirrels and cottontails with it and it does well on rats if you happen to have a place to shoot them. I killed a crow with one at 75 yards once out of a Colt Python.

I don't think you'll find it lacking for defense in a .357 case either. It tends to thrash around in a body cavity I've been told due to the fact that it's almost balanced and anything it hits tends to start it tumbling but what the heck, in defense, you're defending your life and the internal ballistics don't matter at that point./beagle

I just remembered that you did that piece on Castpics about the modern 38/44 loads. Went and checked it out, sure nuff. You used the 358495 in your testing.

Did you find that particular boolit to be more accurate or less accurate at the higher velocities?

[Dale53]

i have a six cavity H&G #251 dbl ended WC mould (kind of like shelling corn:mrgreen:) and shoot a lot of these in both my 6" 686 for target use and also use them in my 642 for defense practice.

The old 2.7 Bullseye load was really developed with HBWC's. The solid base wadcutters should be used with a bit more powder (some have reported sticking a bullet in long barrels with the 2.7 load). I have used 3.0-3.5 grs of Bullseye with great results. My present load is 3.5 Bullseye. Here is a recent target:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/img032.jpg

These were fired standing at 25 yards (the reason I only fired five is that I know when to quit:mrgreen:). However, I typically shoot in the low nineties slow fire with these loads. That is pretty much about as good as I do. These will shoot under 1" at 25 yards from a rest reliably.

Dale53

[Trey45]

I use an H&G50 mould. I load in 357mag brass with 3.5gr red dot. My Dan Wesson loves this load. I was using 3.0gr red dot with good success, but this 3.5gr just seems to shoot better.