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View Poll Results: How fast do you push your .38 Special Wadcutters?

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  • 799 and Below

    228 47.90%
  • 800-875

    179 37.61%
  • 876-950

    54 11.34%
  • 951 and Up

    26 5.46%
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Thread: How fast do you push your .38 Special Wadcutters?

  1. #41
    Boolit Buddy TMenezes's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WRideout View Post
    I don't know the actual velocity, but I load my 38 WC (35891 Lyman) with 3.8 gr Red Dot. It's funny but the Lyman manual shows you can go up to 4.1 gr RD, while the Lee manual shows that to be above the "never exceed" load.
    Wayne
    Yes I have noticed load manuels vary allot more on wadcutter loads than on other loads. I assumed it was because they were just going for low pressure target loads and weren't loading them up to full pressure. Which I am fine with for the most part.

    Here's the rub, my wife is small and very recoil sensitive. She think 9mm in a full size handgun recoils too much. So I was looking at loading up 38 wadcutter for her personal defense. Lyman's data came in useful as it was more potent than most.

  2. #42
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by TMenezes View Post
    Yes I have noticed load manuels vary allot more on wadcutter loads than on other loads. I assumed it was because they were just going for low pressure target loads and weren't loading them up to full pressure. Which I am fine with for the most part.

    Here's the rub, my wife is small and very recoil sensitive. She think 9mm in a full size handgun recoils too much. So I was looking at loading up 38 wadcutter for her personal defense. Lyman's data came in useful as it was more potent than most.

    Does Lee differentiate between the hollow base and the solid base wadcutters? Many of the Lee customers are beginners. A lot of their loads run to the conservative side.
    The man who invented the plow was not bored. He was hungry.

  3. #43
    Boolit Master



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    Rhead just looked in my Lee Second Edition for 38 Special and 357 Mag they do not specifically list the HBWC. Alliant Powder Catalog has loads for 38 Special HBWC. (Free from Website)
    Ruger RedHawk 357 Mag 44 Mag GP100 Davidson Exclusive 5" Security Six 2 3/4", Speed Six 4"
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  4. #44
    Boolit Master
    44Vaquero's Avatar
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    rhead:

    I think it would be safe to say Lee Manual's ignore the existence of HBWC's, for the simple reason that they do not make a mold for them. Nor do they mention them in their glossary of bullet types.
    My hero's have always been Cowboys!

  5. #45
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Just ran across my load notes for PPC loads using a swaged 148gr swaged HBWC, velocity was 679fps for my open gun, took 720 fps to stabilize it in a stock S&W. My 158gr loads were zipping along at a blazing 740fps. PPC loads only need to be stable and accurate to 50 yds.
    Endowment Life Member NRA, Life Member TSRA, Member WACA, NRA Whittington Center, BBHC
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  6. #46
    Boolit Buddy
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    RCBS 38-148WC over 5 grains of Red Dot in .357 cases for around 1050fps. These are my EDC rounds that I load in both a 4" GP100 and a 2.25" SP101.

  7. #47
    Boolit Grand Master



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    I shoot both the original H&G #251 dbl ended w/c and the original H&G #50 BB solid wadcutter in my various .38 Special and .357 revolvers. They are loaded a bit hotter than the old "normal" HBWC charge of 2.7 grs of Bullseye. My preference is 3.2 grs of Bullseye for target use (I will shoot several thousand of these this year). My preference for field use is 3.5 grs of Bullseye and I can testify that they do yeoman's work on edible small game. Instant stops without destroying more meat than necessary (point of impact IS important).

    I shoot rabbits in the head if close and in the slats at longer distances. No real meat damage but they stop right there. If I were going to use the .38 Special in a handload for self defense, I would simply load up to maximum allowed and have at it. Ed Harris' article is spot on (as a feller or gal would expect considering his experience). He has another great article on target loads with the .38 Special wadcutters. It is excellent, also. Unfortunately, I don't have the link for this. Maybe someone else does?

    I have had the privilege of using a Ransom Rest for a number of years and my personal experience tally's with his recommendations.

    FWIW
    Dale53

  8. #48
    Boolit Buddy
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    Here's a ton of Ed Harris material, including his article on the full power wadcutter:

    http://www.hensleygibbs.com/edharris/backcreekdiary.htm

    Enjoy!

  9. #49
    Le Loup Solitaire
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    Like Dale 53 I use the H&G #251 and the #50 a great deal in my target guns namely the 52 and a couple of Smith 14's. The bullets for the 52 have to be seated flush to function, but work very well. I have worked with various Bullseye loads successfully, but for the 52, I settled on 2.6 grains of 700X and that has worked best for me. Never had a Ransom Rest or or Chrony which would have helped a lot, but sometimes we have to do without. LLS

  10. #50
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    Back when I had access to a chronograph I recall measuring HB wadcutters at less than 800fps and they may have even been < 750. I wasn't casting in those days and those bullets were likely Speer HBWC. I never had any problems with those loads. The Speer HBWC is a great bullet if you don't cast. A friend of mine has a very old Colt that he likes to shoot at family gatherings but he doesn't want to stress the gun. I load low pressure HBWC cartridges for that gun that will reliably get the bullet out of the bore and to the target but I doubt those rounds are even going 750fps.
    Now that I'm casting I use solid wadcutters but I find they do better when pushed a little harder but I no longer have a chronograph around.
    Most of my 38 Special shooting is with SWC but I like having WC's available. Just another tool in the tool box.

  11. #51
    Boolit Master roverboy's Avatar
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    I don't shoot many wadcutters now but, I used to shoot a lot of Hornady hollow based with 4.0 gr. Herco. It shot awesome, with very good groups at 25 yards. I found out if you push hollow based wadcutters to fast they'll come apart in the bore. Freaks your shooting buddies out. Because it will sometimes leave two holes on target with one shot.
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  12. #52
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    A couple of friends from work met me at the range one day. I was using my .38 snub with 148 gr wadcutters over 2.7 gr of Bullseye. They were off to the side a little bit, with the sun at just the right angle... it shocked them to discover that they could see the boolit moving toward the target. I still get ribbed about that. Funny how people assume that no one can ever see a boolit in mid flight.

    They were also surprised at how accurate those rounds were.
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  13. #53
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    A friend taught me to load 148 gr WCs with 2.3 grains of Bullseye back when primers were well under a dollar/hundred. In a 6" .357 it was like shooting a .22lr. I think I prefer the more solid feel of 2.7 grains. We used to shoot at the numbers on the targets, when I was much younger. I think I need to cast a batch of WCs!

    David
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  14. #54
    Boolit Buddy
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    "Some years back, Terry Murback wrote an article on full charge wadcutters in the 38 Special and 357 Magnum. This got me started with the effort. A couple of years back, Terry told me that he always keep coming back to the charge of 3.5/Bulleye for this purpose (38 Special) as it did the best over and over again. I don't think it surprising that Ed Harris came to the same conclusion. I follow suit and do the same. "

    I too think 3.5 gr of Bullseye is the ticket for "full power" .38 Spl wadcutters. But...since I have a jug of 700X and only a little Bullseye left, I've been loading 3.7-3.8 grains of 700X behind any of 4 wadcutter boolits for about 875 fps in my revolver. Excellent accuracy and should be very effective against groundhogs, etc. -Ed

  15. #55
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  16. #56
    Boolit Grand Master
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    EdS, likely 3.8 grains of 700X is a bit Plus P with a wadcutter seated to the usual depth. Just thought you might like to know.

  17. #57
    Boolit Master
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  18. #58
    Boolit Master 40-82 hiker's Avatar
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    Soft SOWWs +2% tin, 2.7grs. BE, H&G #50, sized 0.359".

    Very accurate load for me. Not sure about the velocity, though.

  19. #59
    Boolit Master


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    Quote Originally Posted by RedHawk357Mag View Post
    Rhead just looked in my Lee Second Edition for 38 Special and 357 Mag they do not specifically list the HBWC. Alliant Powder Catalog has loads for 38 Special HBWC. (Free from Website)
    Buy more manuals

  20. #60
    Boolit Master


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    My last 38 HBWC are loaded in 38 cases at recommended powder amounts but I screwed up. They end HB up. They work great for small game (always shot under 20 yards) They will work for 2 leg varmints further as they are bigger.)

    Rabbits and such no diff from other WC bigger = coon fox, coyote nice expansion and penetration. Way better tan a 22lr or 32.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
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