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Thread: 75 grain wadcutter?

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold Yonk's Avatar
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    75 grain wadcutter?

    Does anyone have any experience shooting 75 grain wadcutters? I think this would be good for 38 short colt loads.

    https://www.mattsbullets.com/index.p...roducts_id=231

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master
    Mk42gunner's Avatar
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    There was a thread a few months ago down in the mold section about 75-80 grain WC.

    I finally figured out how to cast with mine, but life has gotten in the way of testing...

    Robert

  3. #3
    Boolit Mold Yonk's Avatar
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    Thanks, found that thread. I am probably not going to mess with them.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    Yes, shot them cast 100% lead by Matts. Mostly out of curosity. If doing it again I would try something a bit heavier. Also tried lead round balls pushed through a sizer to provide a small flat surface. No reason I can figure to try these again. I was using an old but very decent S&W 38 Special. Really a waste of time providing no reason to use it. If trying something light again something about 100 to 110 grains loaded light would provide slight recoil and probably much better accuracy results. I don't recall anything from the 75 Grain wadcutter and the round balls were completely a waste fo time as far as accuracy.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master


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    I was loading two roughly 70 gr cylindrical boolits on a 38 special for fun. At the 7 yd range they would impact about an inch apart and be a little high. I think they would be a stopper. I drilled out the cavities in an old broken down mold to make the slugs. It was kind of a hoot to shoot 5 shots and get 10 holes in the target.
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  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    Back in 1973 I got motivated to start casting boolits for myself. While visiting a LGS one of their clerks told me he was ready to sell his casting tools so he could take up swaging. He had a furnace, sizer and about 13-14 sets of mold blocks. I looked at everything he had for sale and bought all of it for $115. One of those mold block sets was for the Lyman 358101 pattern and it was a 4-cavity mold. I eventually got to using it and learned that it was really slow to get it up to working temperature, but these boolits grouped as well as any other WC pattern. Sizing and lubing them was a pain, got a lot of pinched fingers on those efforts. Have not used that mold for a while but it is still among my favorites. Like any other mold it has its place for when and how to be used.

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master

    gwpercle's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yonk View Post
    Thanks, found that thread. I am probably not going to mess with them.
    A good light weight boolit that is easy to cast is the Lee 358-105-SWC , easy to load in 38 special and works like a charm in a 9mm luger light load .
    I cast mine with a 2-cavity Lee mould .
    Gary
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  8. #8
    Boolit Master



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    Quote Originally Posted by gwpercle View Post
    A good light weight boolit that is easy to cast is the Lee 358-105-SWC , easy to load in 38 special and works like a charm in a 9mm luger light load .
    I cast mine with a 2-cavity Lee mould .
    Gary
    Ditto - I use a Lee 6-banger, and tumble-loob...
    Echo
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  9. #9
    Boolit Master



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    Quote Originally Posted by gwpercle View Post
    A good light weight boolit that is easy to cast is the Lee 358-105-SWC , easy to load in 38 special and works like a charm in a 9mm luger light load .
    I cast mine with a 2-cavity Lee mould .
    Gary
    Ditto - I use a Lee 6-banger, and tumble-loob...
    Echo
    USAF Ret
    DPS, 2600
    NRA Benefactor
    O&U
    One of the most endearing sights in the world is the vision of a naked good-looking woman leaving the bedroom to make breakfast. Bolivar Shagnasty (I believe that Lazarus Long also said it, but I can't find any record of it.)

  10. #10
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    In the 70's Dean Grinnell wrote about using that mold for multiple bullet loads, 2-3 in a 38 and 3 in a 357. Probably the best use is to bet the number of hits on paper with the fewest shots.
    [The Montana Gianni] Front sight and squeeze

  11. #11
    Boolit Man
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    Quote Originally Posted by gwpercle View Post
    A good light weight boolit that is easy to cast is the Lee 358-105-SWC , easy to load in 38 special and works like a charm in a 9mm luger light load .
    I cast mine with a 2-cavity Lee mould .
    Gary
    I started to load these in 38s back after Sandy Hook, to shoot instead of non existent 22lr. They're a hoot, and save your lead supplies.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    I have a 75 grain wadcutter mold to save using all my irreplaceable lead supplies just to shoot paper targets.
    They are very accurate with 2 grains of bullseye at 25 yards.
    The slow bullet travel down the barrel really teaches follow-thru to the shooter. Any movement after pulling the trigger and your grouping is all over the target.

  13. #13
    Boolit Bub
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    I just ordered some from Matt's Bullets. Are you all loading these 75 grain wadcutters flush?

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Yes, seat them flush and crimp firmly. I have done a lot of experimenting with the 358-101, 2 boolit, and light trainer loads in the 38, 3 boolit loads in the .357.
    For training purposes, I now no longer load anything lighter than 2.5 grains of Bullseye, except 2.4 grains of titewad, which works very well. ( After removing 5 of them from my daughters model 36 barrel, I upped the load a bit.)

    The 3 boolit load in a .357 is seemingly a pretty lethal combination. The bottom boolit should be sized .356, the upper two .358, and seated so the case crimps into the bottom band of the top boolit.
    The cartridges on the left are loaded in this fashion. IIRC, they were loaded with 4.2 grains of Unique.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Last edited by rintinglen; 10-28-2021 at 11:45 AM.
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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