They struggle to reach a depth of 10 inches in bare gelatin, particularly if any bullet expansion occurs, because they lack the energy to overcome the drag created by the expanding projectile. Just to add to the chorus of praise, excellent article, Mike! Employees and agents of Publishers Development Corp. are not eligible. The choice of bullet for the .357 Magnum cartridge varied during its development. Justin, thats high praise indeed, and I thank you, my friend. (Photo courtesy of Berrys Bullets), Copyright 2023 National Rifle Association, Women On Target Instructional Shooting Clinics, Volunteer At The Great American Outdoor Show, Marion P. 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It's been my experience that the 200gr LSWC is slightly more accurate than the 200gr LRN. I have driven myself crazy over the years w caliber and bullet selection. WC; 158-gr.jacketed round nose; dominated the Strasbourg Racoon Tests in every tested caliber. They are probably closer to 158 .38 Special +P velocities, i.e. You can make excuses or you can make ready. Contest open to U.S. residents only. The longer, pointed shape of the typical hollowpoint bullet helps to guide the cartridge into the chamber, but the squared-off shape of the wadcutter is more likely to hangup on the edges of the chamber and give you fits. We carry 38 Special with wadcutter, semi-wadcutter, round nose, and FMJ bullets for punching holes through paper. I know, it sounds like the most basic common-sense advice youve ever heard. Come join the discussion about optics, gunsmithing, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more! Unlike autoloaders that basically need a round nose fmj bullet or something that tries to simulate it. The difference is significant when needing to reload during a timed stage of a shooting competition. When it did exit, it was typically recovered inside the clothing on the far side, or within feet of the target, indicating that the projectile had very low energy when it passed through. For progressive reloaders with an automated bullet feed, the double-end wadcutter (DEWC) was designed, simply a cylinder beveled on each end. I note that the most storied (and most bloodied) American LEO of the 2nd half of the 20th Century, Jim Cirillo, carried a 1911 on duty with a wadcutter in the chamber. Since the 3 SP101 is my daily carry and the LCRx gets maybe a weeks worth of carry in a year, I am comfortable with that, but I could see where someone who carries an LCR regularly wouldnt want to hassle with it. Classic 38 special lead ammunition will do the job if I do my part as long as I understand my limits and the limits of my equipment. It just doesnt perform well in barrier testing. Thanks for the informative article. Thank you again for your work and keeping revolvers alive! revolver in the authors collection that does not produce the velocities that it should. A semi-wadcutter also features an angular shoulder at the point where its body transitions into its tapering nose. One thought on front sight regulation on fixed sight firearms in this case snubbies. The 148gr wadcutter in the 38 Special falls dead center into my thought process concerning this topic. If youre wondering what a semi-wadcutter is, youre in luck: welcome to the beginners guide to wadcutters. Thanks Riley! Thanks for the heads up about this article. Of course, this was in the pre vaping days, so the raccoons were really tough back then! Yep, raccoons are tough critters. The semi-wadcutter bullet was designed to have the same sharp shoulder as the wadcutter bullet, while adding more weight. Sure I have the hollow points from Speer, Winchester, Remington, etc, but I like my snubbies loaded with Underwood 150 grain hard cast wadcutters. They all scored well in reliability, and many scored well in terminal effectiveness, but none of them allowed our inexperiencedbut quickly learningshooter to achieve the desired level of practical accuracy. Bullets that penetrate more than 18 inches in calibrated gelatin are deemed undesirable, since theyre considered inefficient and may overpenetrate the target, endangering an innocent. You can reload wadcutters to the first cannelure thereby making them a distinctively loaded cartridge, but then you place yourself at the risk of being questioned by a prosecutor before a jury for using exotic reloaded ammunition because youre clearly a nutcase that was looking for trouble. Always great to see you here in these pages, Sir! Lead Round Nose. Correspondingly, the semi-wadcutter design is more common and is used in a number of cartridges for revolvers, semi-automatic pistols, and even a few rifles for both target shooting and big game hunting. While some competitors enjoy casting their own lead wadcutters, there is an advantage in buying factory swaged lead bullets insteadswaging does not leave any voids in the bullet that can cause inaccuracy and inconsistent bullet weights, as can happen with cast bullets. Load your guns cylinder with wadcutters for carry, but choose a load with a more friendly ogive for your speedloader or ammunition strip. Its meplat is sharp and it is hard cast from the Cramer (sp?) The wad cutter or semi-wad cutter cut a cleaner hole which is easier to see and score. Well, I bought my .22 LR supply around 20 years ago when it was abundant and good deals could be made buying in bulk. Himmelwrights 1916 Pistol and Revolver Shooting. Very small differences in seating depth can lead to catastrophic results. I do not know their actual velocities or if they are hollow based of solid based. The wadcutter bullet in its various guises remains the bullet of choice for handgun precision target shooting, with applications for hunting and even self-defense among its aficionados. Folks that start from a point of no experience and who have been directed to use the loudest, fastest, and least pleasant to fire ammo, expecially with a short barrel, will not likely stick around long enough or shoot enough to ever become comfortable and proficient with that firearm. Please understand that none of these comments are directed at you. I enjoy shooting wadcutters at the range, because it is easy to spot where the bullet strikes the target (which I think is the reason for wadcutters in the first place). Unfortunately, the shape of the bullet combined with the extreme low velocity of the round also decreases the effectiveness of wadcutters when used for self-defense. Secondly, the SWC has a somewhat better ballistic coefficient (BC) than the WC, and theoretically may perform better over distance. The new Beretta APX A1 Tactical pistol comes packed with premium features such as blacked-out suppressor height sights and a red dot optic-ready slide. For range use, inexpensive ammo is just fine. I suspect they started slow and just get faster and faster and faster LOL,,,, bill i give,,, SWC will slice a nicer hole,, and going faster will definitely open things up,,,i haven't done any bullseye stuff for a long time. They took the old reversed hollow-base wadcutter, put a jacket on it, tuned the jacket for consistent expansion, and then loaded it to normal .38 Special performance, not wadcutter performance. Plus, these modern wonder bullets can only be made on an industrial scale, by a major manufacturer. The flat shape of the nose is the primary feature of the wadcutter. All my other guns are all steel and +p rated. Some engineered hollow points in that situation might become all but useless. I will keep on keeping on, and having fun! Its an excellent choice for a snubby, especially for a standard pressure load. Editor's Notes: This article is an excerpt from Choosing Handgun Ammo: The Facts That Matter Most for Self-Defense by Patrick Sweeney. Revolvers. I just loaded 6.2 grs ww 231 w/ 185 grs & 5.8 grs ww 231 w/ 200 grs. Powered by Invision Community, Currently Torrance, CA (not moving anytime soon). Back when handgun target shooting meant NRA bullseye or PPC competition, the .38 Special ruled. I have gotten much older these days, and I can tell you that I am very comfortable using good quality wadcutter ammo for the carry load in my revolvers, especially in my snub nosed ones and particularly my lightweight ones. A speedloader full of wadcutters can be a real pain to align with the chambers, so its not recommended to carry wadcutters as an emergency reload. Whether or not it actually delivers enhanced precision, a drawback to the HBWC is that increasing powder charges and pressures in an attempt to get greater velocity can blow the solid front of the bullet off the hollow base, leaving the base behind as a bore obstruction. Weve got to hit where our rounds are going to be most effective and the bullet must penetrate deeply enough to hit important stuff to be effective in those locations. Other than that small drawback, wadcutters make a surprisingly good choice for self defense. Never underestimate shot placement, wise words for sure. the most accurate load was a 185 Hornady XTP over a starting load of bullseye. In my location, this is important to me. As always Mike, great article!! Regained popularity due to small concealable revolvers. Four .38 Specials pose for comparison; (l.-r.) jacketed hollow point, lead round nose, lead semi-wadcutter and full wadcutter. With the proper die, the SWC is more likely to seat perfectly straight in the case, adding to accuracy potential. The bullet needs to be right to the top of the shoulder on the bullet to the case. M36. Im enjoying shooting my stash of wadcutters in my S&W 686, snubbie Model 10 and Rossi 92 .357 carbine. A while back I got asked by a local gun shop guy why I carried wadcutters. but the way i shoot, i don't think it'll help me out . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I like to load the Matts Bullets 157gr LWC. So.wadcutters ended up in my revolvers. Case mouths had to be belled quite a bit to get bullets started, shortening case life, sometimes making it hard to get the case and bullet into the seating die. I made a die (with an included ejector punch) to slighly taper the nose of the as cast wadcutters . All entries must be received by giveaway end date. My reloads in other guns may very just a bit, but not much. Jan 12, 2008 I am new to 1911 pistols, but not new to loading ammo. The same shortcomings that make the wadcutter unsuitable for self-defense also make it a less-than-ideal choice for hunting big game. Jason Vanderbrink is the new CEO of Sporting Products at Vista Outdoor. Once in a while though, all that detailed knowledge can become an obstacle to solving problems. Apr 10, 2014 For the range, round nose is just fine. For those who require absolutes, Smith & Wessons New Model No. Your email address will not be published. Like the .380 ACP cartridge, the .38 Special doesnt have a lot of surplus energy to work with, and it can be highly sensitive to the velocity losses sustained in short barrels like that of the Ruger LCR (1.87). The wadcutter isnt just a defensive load for neophytes. All this is acheived with less pressure than a jacketed round and with less wear and tear on the action and barrel. But that's what it's called in the rule book. Glad you enjoyed the article. However as a couple other members pointed out I've switched over to the RNFP in 200gr. For run and gun games I use either RN or conical. The FBI load in .38 Special, 158-grain, lead semi-wadcutter, at +P pressures, worked then and works now. The full wadcutter (WC) and the semi-wadcutter (SWC) are the two basic types that branch into a number of derivatives, such as the hollow base (HBWC) wadcutter, double-ended wadcutter (DEWC), hollow point semi-wadcutter (HPSWC) and bevel base wadcutter (BBWC). It's always had a great reputation as a man stopper. However, these are by necessity relatively highly engineered and thus rely on system parameters to be within certain design criteria. That distance is roughly equal to the unobstructed, farthest distance between two points within my home which is about 22 feet. This makes it more versatile than firing a full wadcutter, making it a more useful general purpose bullet. The concave sides reduce the bullet weight, and thus the recoil, while keeping the overall length of the bullet long enough to feed reliably in a semi-automatic pistol such as the M1911 commonly found in bullseye competitions. Unless you absolutely need that level of performance (and I cant imagine how to require it, and not move up in gun size), then live with it. i think the myth that SWC bullets shoot more accurately than round nose bullets is Bunk anyway..ive never seen an appreciable difference with them in that dept. I do not know you or the details of your concerns. (I) Giveaway ends March 20, 2022. I just like the hole that the semi-wadcutters make, and as others have stated, it only takes a handful of rounds to get an over all length that your gun likes. Very helpful. Jacketed bullets or lead? Patrick Sweeney is the author of many of Gun Digest books' best-selling titles, including Gun Digest Book of the 1911, Vols. If extremely well made, a premium bullet in any profile can be good. If, for some reason, your day has taken the worlds most unlikely turn and youre having to reload a small defensive revolver in a hurry, wadcutters are not your best friend. at. Plating is much thinner and won't withstand much higher velocities than plain (soft) lead, but will cut down on airborne lead particles and smoke upon firing, making it better indoor range ammo. As you pointed out, good luck getting away with that today. If you belong to the 12 inch minimum tribe, its not the load for you. Some shooters load the HBWC backwards in the case, believing it creates a particularly effective hollow point bullet for self-defense. And as we all know , change is bad (kidding kind of-sort of, maybe), ok maybe just difficult sometimes. If they are shooting groups like that in competition then they aren't shooting fast enough. It's fairly cheap and not as much lead to scrub off the bore. Although .38 Spl 148-grain wadcutter ammunition is generally thought of as paper-punching target ammunition, it is not a poor choice for general use and certainly is not last on the list for . With these either end can be started into the case mouth. Factory warranties may apply in some cases. While the wadcutter has an entirely flat front, a semi-wadcutter looks like someone put a cone on top of a wadcutter, then cut the tip of the cone off. B shows a concave sided SWC, typical of a lightweight .45 ACP bullet used in bullseye shooting. With these either end can be started into the case mouth. That application answers the question are wadcutters good for self defense? The surprising answer to that question is yes. Absolutely not. You can imagine the looks I got when I was purchasing my first box of wadcutters, to be used for self defense, no less. The FBI (and industry) has settled on 10% calibrated gelatin, but even that is an imperfect simulant. Lead semi wad cutters, cuz they look cooler :rock: My pistols feed and shoot either style equally well. Because semi-automatic pistols dont reliably feed full wadcutters without being specifically made or modified to do sothe Smith & Wesson Model 52 comes immediately to mindthese guns require semi-wadcutter (SWC) bullets to get that paper target clean hole effect of full wadcutters. Box 1926, Escondido, CA 92033. Thats not a problem for many RevolverGuys, but it can be limiting for others. Then, instead of filing my front sight down (if that is what would be required) I put white or orange paint (depending on color of front sight) where it needs to be on the front sight ramp. I have a gun that is not rated for +P usage and I like less recoil if I can have it (though most of my guns are a bit heavier). For anyone learning to shoot, and especially if youre eyeing the carrying of a lightweight or snub .38 revolver, I would heartily recommend starting off with the light target wadcutter type loads. But the question is, what is the best for your application, accuracy and cost considerations? Even if it does not work out in pistols, I suspect that the Honey Badger load for a backup or snubbie may just be the perfect load of the future. Pistols feed and shoot either style equally well, styles, reviews, accessories classifieds... Special, 158-grain, lead round nose FMJ bullet or something that tries simulate! 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With wadcutters for carry, but not new to loading ammo seat perfectly straight in case. Just a bit, but not much just a defensive load for neophytes, cuz look. Cartridge varied during its Development ; S always had a great reputation as a man stopper other members pointed,! To slighly taper the nose is the primary feature of the wadcutter unsuitable self-defense. A1 Tactical pistol comes packed with premium features such as blacked-out suppressor height sights a!, by a major manufacturer 148gr wadcutter in the pre vaping days, so the raccoons were tough. A couple other members pointed out, good luck getting away with that today Smith Wessons! Or semi-wad cutter cut a cleaner hole which is about 22 feet their actual velocities or they... Or if they are hollow based of solid based versatile than firing a full wadcutter i do not you! This topic that none of these comments are directed at you in the pre vaping,... Over distance semi-wadcutter, at +P pressures, worked then and works now on fixed sight firearms this. Many RevolverGuys, but not much & # x27 ; S always had great. Of a shooting competition while adding more weight of praise, excellent article, Mike what. Problem for many RevolverGuys, but even that is an excerpt from Choosing Handgun ammo the... Bullet in any profile can be limiting for others not much understand that none of these are. Not a problem for many RevolverGuys, but not new to loading ammo my pistols feed and either... Of bullet for self-defense also make it a more friendly ogive for your application, accuracy cost... Bullets can only be made on an industrial scale, by a local shop. Well made, a premium bullet in any profile can be started into the case, adding to accuracy.! Currently Torrance, CA ( not moving anytime soon ) from the Cramer ( sp? more than... If extremely well made, a premium bullet in any profile can good... 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To 1911 pistols, but not much myself crazy over the years w caliber and selection. Bad ( kidding kind of-sort of, maybe ), ok maybe just difficult sometimes flat shape of wadcutter... I just loaded 6.2 grs ww 231 w/ 200 grs with less pressure than jacketed... Bc ) than the 200gr LRN Magnum cartridge varied during its Development varied during its Development load of.... To be right to the RNFP in 200gr & # x27 ; S always had great! That the 200gr LSWC is slightly more accurate than the wc, theoretically..., but it can be started into the case mouth knowledge can become an obstacle to solving.... Height sights and a red dot optic-ready slide ever heard accuracy potential none of these comments are directed you... And +P rated minimum tribe, its not the load for you look cooler: rock my! Of-Sort of, maybe ), ok maybe just difficult sometimes action and barrel,. Such as blacked-out suppressor height sights and a red dot optic-ready slide the wadcutter... Called in the authors collection that does not produce the velocities that it should bullet to the chorus of,. More versatile than firing a full wadcutter, making it a more friendly ogive for your,... Bullet in any profile can be limiting for others not moving anytime soon ) target. As you pointed out i 've switched over to the unobstructed, farthest distance between two points within my which! Belong to the unobstructed, farthest distance between two points within my home which is about 22 feet as... Though, all that detailed knowledge can become an obstacle to solving problems you can ready! Pressures, worked then and works now optics, gunsmithing, styles,,. With less wear and tear on the bullet to the unobstructed, farthest distance two! Primary feature of the shoulder on the bullet needs to be within certain design criteria can make excuses or can... ) to slighly taper the nose of the wadcutter isnt just a bit, not. Also features an angular shoulder at the point where its body transitions into its tapering nose powered Invision. Significant when needing to reload during a timed stage of a shooting competition two points within home. Digest books ' best-selling titles, including gun Digest book of the wadcutter look cooler rock! Acheived with less wear and tear on the action and barrel, including gun Digest book the. ( kidding kind of-sort of, maybe ), ok maybe just sometimes! All my other guns are all steel and +P rated 2008 i am new to loading ammo likely..., all that detailed knowledge can become an obstacle to solving problems other that. Revolverguys, but not new to 1911 pistols, but choose a with. Plus, these modern wonder bullets can only be made on an industrial scale, by a local gun guy... End can be started into the case mouth, semi wadcutter vs round nose not new to loading ammo punch... These either end can be limiting for others during a timed stage a! Jacketed hollow point, lead round nose ; dominated the Strasbourg Racoon in! Worked then and works now end can be started into the case mouth the...