Casting 38 WCs Pls correct my ignorance

[TCLouis]

I have been casting since 66 and have never cast a WC boolit.

I want something to load up to sling out of the 38/357 and am at a standstill becayse of my ignorance on all things WC.

I have LOTS of pure or as pure as wall lining sheet may be.

Limited amounts of WWs, lino, and tin.

What do I need, to cast decent performing wadcutters?

[mooman76]

I use straight WWs just to make it easy but if you aren't going to push them too hard 50/50 WWs and soft lead will do.

[gray wolf]

Casting 38 WCs Pls correct my ignorance

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I have been casting since 66 and have never cast a WC boolit.

I want something to load up to sling out of the 38/357 and am at a standstill becayse of my ignorance on all things WC.

I have LOTS of pure or as pure as wall lining sheet may be.

Limited amounts of WWs, lino, and tin.

What do I need, to cast decent performing wadcutters?
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TCLouis

You say you have a lot of soft lead ( how much ? )
You also say limited on the WW and tin ( again how much ? )
If we new that, and a mix became necessary we could help a little more.
Did you slug your bore ? I would say if you are going to shoot the lead a little soft it would be very important to get that bullet the correct size for your cylinder throats and your barrel, also a good lube wouldn't hurt.
If all the conditions are right you could shoot soft lead in a 38 if you don't push it to hard.
I could say half WW half soft, or 20 to one lead tin or 25 to one lead tin,
and on and on. But we don't know what you have or how much of it you want to use in the mix. What powder are you planning to use ?
You have all kinds of options, I for one need to know a little more.

[Recluse]

My standard, never-changes load for .38 Spcl is 2.7 grains of Bullseye lit by a Winchester small pistol primer.

I've used several different 148gr WC molds, and quite honestly, couldn't tell a lick of difference in boolit performance from any of them.

That being said, if you're shooting standard WC velocity loads, soft lead should give you zero problems so long as you size them correctly (slug your bore, as has been emphasized here before) and lube them properly.

I've used plumbers lead, WW, Lyman #2, 50/50 (WW/Pb), I've water-dropped, air-cooled and heat-treated. . . and at the end of the day, couldn't tell a lick of difference.

These days for my 148grWC boolits, I generally use a 50/50 mix and then size .358 (which is what my bore diameter is), and in the lubesizer, I only lube the bottom groove. Works outstanding for me.

:coffee:

[oldracer]

I have been shooting home loaded wadcutters for about 1 1/2 years and recently started casting my own. I need to buy a hardness tester to compare the bought boolits to the ones I cast as I think mine are a bit softer since they are pretty much pure lead from large bricks. I have found my micro groove Lee molded ones with their liquid lube seem exactly as accurate as the bought ones with two solid lube grooves. The micro cast ones also smoke way less and leave less residue which is great when shooting. I use either 38spcl or 357 cases (accuracy is the same for me) Winchester small pistol primers and 3.5gr of W231 powder. I seat the boolit nearly flush with the case top and use a Lee 4 die set to do a final crimp and size.

[jdgabbard]

As long as it's size appropriately, and your lube is up to par, you shouldn't have any problems. That said, I drop 3.0gn of Bullseye and seat the WC to the set depth and go with that. And that's a standard load for jus about any 140-150gn WC

[StrawHat]

My standard, never-changes load for .38 Spcl is 2.7 grains of Bullseye lit by a Winchester small pistol primer.

I've used several different 148gr WC molds, and quite honestly, couldn't tell a lick of difference in boolit performance from any of them.

That being said, if you're shooting standard WC velocity loads, soft lead should give you zero problems so long as you size them correctly (slug your bore, as has been emphasized here before) and lube them properly.

I've used plumbers lead, WW, Lyman #2, 50/50 (WW/Pb), I've water-dropped, air-cooled and heat-treated. . . and at the end of the day, couldn't tell a lick of difference.

These days for my 148grWC boolits, I generally use a 50/50 mix and then size .358 (which is what my bore diameter is), and in the lubesizer, I only lube the bottom groove. Works outstanding for me.

:coffee:

For target work I too use 2.7 grains and soft lead. No need for anything harder. Works great and with a variety of molds. If I need something beyond target velocities, I harden the mix but for target work, only enough tin to make the mold fill out. If it matters, I have not tried any of the micro groove boolits. If it's not broke...