Who Makes a Good .38 Wadcutter Mold for Target Shooting

[HammeringHank100]

Hi Guys and Gals. I am new to casting and have a complete Lyman Casting setup I bought back in the 1970's. It has never been used. I also bought two Lyman molds with one set of handles with the kit. A .38 Special 158 gr. SWC and a .45 ACP 225gr. RN or 230gr. (I don't remember.) I would like to add a good .38 Special Wadcutter TARGET MOLD for my Python that will have at least three lube groves. Thanks, Hank

[TenTea]

358495

http://www.three-peaks.net/bullet_molds.htm

[David2011]

An old Saeco if you can find it. I've been using one since the early '80s and love its superbly accurate boolits.

David

[paul h]

H&G #50, but beware that they were produced in both .356" dia for 38 supers and .358" for 38 sp. In a 4 cavity it'll crank out bullets pretty quick.

[NoZombies]

The reality is, almost any wadcutter bullet will be accurate in an otherwise accurate gun.

Can I ask why you're wanting 3 lube grooves? Most people who have experimented, myself included, find that just lubing one groove is sufficient for wadcutters, and results in better accuracy than lubing 2 or more grooves.

[John Allen]

358495 This is still one of my favorites.

[BruceB]

Almost any wadcutter design will work.

After all, the various types are just minor variations on a cylinder of lead!

As mentioned, with today's lubricants just filling ONE groove will usually suffice, and in fact there IS (or can be) such a thing as "too much lube".

I've used 358495; nothing wrong with it. However, I have WIDE usage with the double-ended Lyman 35863 to the tune of about a quarter-million bullets the last time I checked. It is Bullseye-competition accurate, meaning less-than-three inch groups at FIFTY yards.

I believe you could special-order a 4-cavity version of either of these bullets.

[SwedeNelson]

We have this one:
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=35&products_id=136

Shameless plug
Swede Nelson

[Ed_Shot]

Totally agree with Lyman 358495.

[starreloader]

Totally agree with BruceB, the Lyman 35863 was the wadcutter I used during my days shooting Bullseye Competition, very accurate out to fifty yards... Put well over 100,000 down range over the years... The 35863 is a 3 lube groove, I only ever lubed the center groove.

[HammeringHank100]

TenTea, Who makes this mold? Lyman does not show this bullet mold on there web site. Hank

[williamwaco]

There is no inherent difference in accuracy.

I would recommend you go with Swednelsons

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=35&products_id=136

because I am not happy with the quality of the big name commercial molds.

[BruceB]

Lyman makes (made?) the 358495 design. I would be flatly amazed if they've dropped it, given its popularity for many decades.

Many Lyman 358495 moulds appear on the used market due to their wide use over so many years.

The bullet that Swede Nelson illustrated is VERY similar to the 358495, and I'm sure you could shoot them interchangeably and never know the difference. The quality of Swede's NOE-brand moulds is absolutely trusted on this forum.

[bhn22]

Here's a little more wadcutter reading material for you, in case you haven't already read them:
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_11_Wadcutter.htm
http://www.grantcunningham.com/blog_files/75f11fe4e235da7c69cabf94daa7dbd9-932.html

Ed & Glen both make some really good recommendations, and some excellent points. Personally, I use RCBS 82030 148 gr. DE wadcutter, and Lymans 358432 heavyweight, mainly because I already have them:-P

[MtGun44]

Most folks find that lubing only one groove on a WC will give the best accy, so don't
get too hung up on three lube grooves. H&G 50 molds are a bit of an overload on the market,
so they have not really gone up like most other H&G treasures. Strongly recommend this one.

Bill

[HammeringHank100]

Thank You All for the great information. Just one more question. Why does one grove get better accuracy. Hank

[PS Paul]

Thank You All for the great information. Just one more question. Why does one grove get better accuracy. Hank

That's a very good question. I do believe those who have achieved this have done so simply through tril and error, but perhaps someone out there has a good explanation cuz it sure beats the heck out of me.

I've played around with this a bit and it does seem to be an accurate statement about better accuracy at times....

Anyone?

[CAROCON]

Good topic HammeringHank100!! Actually, this deals with some stuff I am doing right now. I bought an old mould at a gun show a few months ago (.38 spcl 148 gr. full wadcutter) for around $15.00. It's got two lube grooves, so I'm gathering from this post, I only want to lube one grove? Does it matter which groove? Also at the top of the bullet, I am getting a small raised amount of lead from excess pouring at the snapp, do I flip the bullet to load in casing? The bullet is perfect other than that. I got several 52's and a 1911 NM that only function with certain brands of ammo, which is hard to find now days and kind of pricey, so I thought I would try my hand at this. Also, I haven't purchased any dies, what do you look for in a seating die for the full wadcutter? Just thought I'd ask while the topic was around. thanks

[captaint]

I also only lube one groove in a wadcutter. Too much lube is simply too much. It'll purge out at some point and cause inconsistency in performance. Mike

[paul h]

Most folks find that lubing only one groove on a WC will give the best accy, so don't
get too hung up on three lube grooves. H&G 50 molds are a bit of an overload on the market,
so they have not really gone up like most other H&G treasures. Strongly recommend this one.

Bill

The 10 cavity molds are pretty dear, but the 2's and 4's are fairly reasonable.

I scored 8 of the ballisticast version of the mold that were made as a set for a bullet master. If you have a drillpress and are handy it's fairly easy to convert them to use for hand casting.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/3/4/4/344100033/3031047671_224CAF7FD3B51FDE222DB4761CC25B00.jpg

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/3/4/4/344100033/1131047671_37CBCD34A86E5D36B4F2F6EDBD95BC29.jpg

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/3/4/4/344100033/3131047671_07927408BF08DCA15E00A9892A0DCBD0.jpg

The ones I got were bevel based and sized for a 38 super, but easily enough lapped to .358" and plainbased with a reamer. I sold a few off, cut the base down on one to make a 2 lube groove 120 gr wadcutter and am debating cutting another down to make a single lube groove wadcutter.

The 148 and 120 gr has shot a few one ragged hole groups at 50 yds. Great design and I follow the one lube groove advice. You simply don't need that much lube with a mild load in a short barrel.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/3/4/4/344100033/7031047671_98E535D4B9262A30FB8F5660F8F87E51.jpg

[rattletrap1970]

I have an Ideal 358091 that works well in my Smith & Wesson Model 52-2

[Boolseye]

The Lee standard lube groove .38 WC looks a lot like the 358495.
THose also shoot well as .357 loads in the 1000 fps range. May want to lube 2 grooves at that point.

[StrawHat]

I will second the recommendation of the Lee WC boolit. I used a pair of molds to cast the DEWC from Lee to feed my PPC addiction and it was accurate enough to keep me in the top of my class. For a long time, I would practice with the Lee boolits and load bought boolits for competition. until I realized my practice scores equalled my competition scores. I believe it is still available in a six cavity mold.

[rintinglen]

Sadly, the only Lyman WC mold still in production is the 358-091, which is bevel based. Not my favorite, by any means. I used a Cramer 16h until I stumbled onto a H&G 50 4 cavity for cheapsies.

Today, I'd jump on the Swede's NOE offering and never look back.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Most wadcutter designs can be made to shoot well and they have done so over the years. A classic article on the subject was done by Col. Harrison in the old NRA Handloading Book. Filling more than one lube groove even back then caused a lot of smoke and did crud up the gun. I have used H&G #251 and #50 and got good groups with both. On the Subject of bevel bases the controversy was discussed by Wayne Gibbs in a couple of his catalogs; it was and still is widely debated. LLS