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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%
Multiple Choice Poll.
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Thread: How fast do you push your .38 Special Wadcutters?

  1. #101
    Boolit Buddy
    one-eyed fat man's Avatar
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    My favorite was Remington 148 grain hollow base wadcutter over 2.8 grains of Bullseye. 755 fps out of my S&W model 52-1. Seems like no one sells a good hollow base wad cutter anymore.

  2. #102
    Boolit Master Rodfac's Avatar
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    I load Lyman's 358091, using straight wheel weight alloy with a pinch of tin for mold fill out. My standard load in .38 Special brass with light taper crimping in the first groove, is 3.5 gr of Bullseye. This chrono's at 823 fps from my 4" M-66 Smith. I size to 0.358" BTW. Best regards, Rod
    Rod

  3. #103
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rodfac View Post
    I load Lyman's 358091, using straight wheel weight alloy with a pinch of tin for mold fill out. My standard load in .38 Special brass with light taper crimping in the first groove, is 3.5 gr of Bullseye. This chrono's at 823 fps from my 4" M-66 Smith. I size to 0.358" BTW. Best regards, Rod
    Like Most here... I have burned probably more than my share of Red Dot, and quite a bit of Bullseye, especially in 38 wadcutters!!
    Recently acquired a Lee 358-148 wadcutter mold.. Button nose one. Fooled with "hotter" wadcutter loadings.. even 357 mag hot, well over 1000fps!! Not for me.. Youngest owns a stainless 3" 85 Taurus..the one with ported barrel... we found that not much gass gets out with Red Dot, at 700fps. Decided on more powder bulk, and Trail Boss is Not the answer with wadcutters..3.7 grains of Unique works about as well as anyone could expect...while delivering some bit of gass out the ports, maybe even helping control...(I doubt it)
    more than a couple comparisons show a bit under 800 fps with 3.7 grains of Unique.. and some excursions pushing 830fps at 4.0 grains..
    Probably going to leave it at 3.7...and just enjoy it!!
    Oddly it feels the same as that guns Favorite load, the Lee 358-158 RF, over 4.2 gr of Trail Boss at 730-740 fps..
    Just an aside from Bullseye and Red Dot... etc...

  4. #104
    Boolit Master

    Electrod47's Avatar
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    For my " down on my clanger range", all my single action .357's and a few double actions are 90% shot with .38's. 148 DEW's purchased in bulk from the usual suspects. Loaded with 3.5 grains RED DOT. launched from 2"-7 1/2" barrels. I get good "enough" results. That's also my carry load for the Charter Undercover .38 spl. circa 1972.
    “You should tell someone what you know. There should be a history, so that men can learn from it.

    He smiled. “Men do not learn from history. Each generation believes itself brighter than the last, each believes it can survive the mistakes of the older ones. Each discovers each old thing and they throw up their hands and say ‘See! Look what I have found! Look upon what I know!’ And each believes it is something new.

    Louis L’Amour

    The Californios

  5. #105
    Boolit Mold
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    I found a load for my 6" Model 66 today that shoots very well out to 25 yards, which is as far as my eyes work with handgun iron sights. it is 2.5gr. Competition in Winchester brass with federal match primers. I'd feel comfortable with head shots on bunnies at that range. I haven't chronoed it, but i'm sure they are moving slowly.

    Old70.

  6. #106
    Boolit Mold Jcm800's Avatar
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    Oct 2021
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    I use a precision delta 148 hbwc in my Davis model 10. These groups were with 2.9 Bullseye but I get similar results with WST and Titegroup. They are around 750 fps.
    Click image for larger version. 

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  7. #107
    Boolit Grand Master Good Cheer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by one-eyed fat man View Post
    My favorite was Remington 148 grain hollow base wadcutter over 2.8 grains of Bullseye. 755 fps out of my S&W model 52-1. Seems like no one sells a good hollow base wad cutter anymore.
    A tumble lube HBWC mold would seem like a natural seller.

  8. #108
    Boolit Buddy
    LabGuy's Avatar
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    I recon I could crono them, but they are well below max, more like starting loads.
    NRA Training Counselor - Instructor
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  9. #109
    Boolit Buddy
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    I've never had any problems doing this:

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    In fact, results have been pretty decent, considering I hate buckhorn sights. (I've pushed them harder.)

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  10. #110
    Boolit Master
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    Dec 2021
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    I've not shot wadcutters much but did recently buy a Lee 148 grain TL mold. I shoot it in my Uberti Stallion in 38 Special with 5" barrel using both 3.2 and 3.6 grains Red Dot. The 3.6 gr load gives about 890 ft/sec. Oddly the lighter (3.2 grains) load started about 820 ft/sec when firing a string of shots recently with that load, and each successive shot was faster than the shot before until it got to about 900 ft/sec. The leading was horrendous. I think the velocity was due to the bore becoming more fouled with each shot and that in turn increasing pressure. The rear couple inches of the bore looked like it had molten lead washed around 360 degrees. Obviously, I must have a bad fit issue and I need to do some measurements.

  11. #111
    Boolit Master
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    Dec 2021
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    I do like the idea of full power 38 Special wadcutter loads. They make sense for self defense. For any cartridge/gun combo where you don't have enough velocity to guarantee expansion, a wide meplate is the obvious way to go at least for defensive loads which will be used up close. In spite of the terrible leading, I've gotten good accuracy with the 3.6gr Red Dot load for 50 or more rounds without cleaning.
    Last edited by 35 Rem; 03-13-2024 at 03:14 PM.

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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
GC Gas Check