Why full wadcutter in .38 Special?

[beeser]

A full wadcutter bullet in .38 Special, hollow based and others, is well known and used by bullseye shooters. There are even automatics like the S&W Model 52 that were designed to use it. But why is the full wadcutter only used on the .38 Special case? Is it because the bullet is best suited for the long case length? Are there other full wadcutters in different calibers?

[Guesser]

I use HBWC in 32 S&W Long & have used WC in 44 Special, 45 Auto/auto rim and even played with them in 45 Colt.

[beeser]

I use HBWC in 32 S&W Long & have used WC in 44 Special, 45 Auto/auto rim and even played with them in 45 Colt.
I forgot about the 32 S&W. Where can I find full wadcutters in .45? Will they feed in a 1911?

[country gent]

Thhe wadcutter was desighned for several reasons and to accomplish a certain set of goals many years ago. The light charges used by target shooters could sometimes be sensitive to position and the log bullet seat into the case left alot less airspace in the case. An accurate bullet with low recoil was needed for bullseye and the target shooting of the day, A bullet that cut full caliber clean holes or close to it helped alot with scoring. Round nose and swc dont always give a clean hole. Another plus to double end wadcutters is loading on a progressive goes faster since the bullet can be inserted either end. Used mainly in 32 and 38 calibers, There are also moulds available for 44, and 45. I have shot wadcutters in 45 acp, 44 spl 38 spl 357mag with good results. For many years the go to bullseye load was 38 spl 2.6 grns bullseye and a 148 grn hollow based wadcutter. They also make great small game takers, and can even be used effectivly for self defense. Most are cast or swaged from almost pure lead and very soft.

[Maximumbob54]

I've only ever seen factory loaded WC ammo in .32 and .38 but you can cast and load your own in about anything these days.

[Dusty Bannister]

225 grain wad cutter in 45 cal.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/646715/saeco-2-cavity-bullet-mold-453-45-caliber-452-diameter-225-grain-wadcutter

[Green Frog]

The wadcutter bullet was designed for use shooting revolvers in Bullseye competitions. Since the only revolvers used to any great degree in recent years for this purpose are chambered in 38 and 32, these are the factory rounds available. The old 44 revolvers in target mode are long obsolete for this purpose, but the moulds are still out there, and the same can be said to a lesser degree about 45 (ACP or Colt.) For all calibers, the SWC seems to be pushing out the WC for all but purely Bullseye applications because they are almost as accurate and much more flexible in their possible uses.

Froggie

[mdi]

Excellent answers above. While I haven't used all of them, wadcutters are available in .32 caliber, .38 caliber, .45 caliber, and I have used wadcutters in my .44 Magnums. As mentioned above, .38 Special was the "go to" target revolver for most Bullseye shooting so the .38 wadcutter gained great popularity. I believe the .32 is/was popular in Europe for the same reasons; a light recoiling, accurate round. FWIW, I use double ended wadcutters loaded kinda hot for my "house gun"...

[fredj338]

WC designs are available in any revolver caliber you like. The main purpose, to punch a nice clean hole. A SWC will accomplish the same thing & be more stable at great distances. Still, the full wc remains popular for paper punchers.

[shtur]

The wad cutter was always desired for the "complete cut" in the paper when it touched the next higher scoring ring in bullseye shooting.

[gwpercle]

Another plus for the wadcutter is the deep seating , in a large case , like the 38 special , it takes up some of that unneeded room for the small 2.5 to 2.7 grains of Bullseye normally used. You get better accuracy when the powder is kept near the primer...or that's the theory at least.
The 38 special was originally loaded with black powder, that's why it's on the generous side.
Gary

[paul h]

It never caught on in the larger bores for a few reasons. The 41, 44 and 45 revolvers never caught on in target competition likely due to the slightly larger dia hole advantage being over shadowed by the greater recoil. In the 45 acp, even a highly modified gun is unlikely to feed a full wadcutter and the case is so short you'd end up with a button bullet so as not to bulge case. Long way of saying for the 45 the 200 gr swc is the preferred target bullet because it feeds from the mag and produces a full caliber cut in the target while also providing great accuracy with mild powder charges.

In the 38 you really need to stuff the bullet into the case to allow consistent powder burn with small charges of powder.

[stillwell]

I made one for a 12ga. 585gr shoots good out to about 75 yards, but you pay for it in recoil.

[Geezer in NH]

As an old ML competition shooter edge hits mean nothing it is the center of the shot that counts. Modern shooters needed a crutch using the edge. :kidding::bigsmyl2:

[tazman]

Why would you need the center only? As a competitive archer, we scored inside out for tie breakers. This is where if you touch the scoring line it is scored out. The arrow must be completely inside the scoring ring.

[blikseme300]

Not all pistol brass play well with WC CB's. There is a difference between regular and WC brass in 38 Special in that the brass for the WC has a constant thickness much deeper than the regular brass.

[tazman]

Very true. There are also wadcutters designed to accommodate that problem. Lyman 358432 for one. It has the same distance from the crimp groove to the base that the 358477 semi wadcutter does. It can be used with the same powder charges that the 358477 uses and it still gives the same accuracy properties as the full wadcutters other than confining the powder to a smaller space.
It can be used in any brass without having the base swaged.

[Geezer in NH]

Center of bullet is the exact measurement disregarding all calibers and is for each shot not just tie breakers that you twangers use. That is in the Rule book for competition per the NMLRA. That way every one competes FAIRLY.

[Wayne Smith]

I really don't know how early the wadcutter came into being but remember that the 44 Russian was known for it's accuracy. It may predate the .38's if the design is that old.