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38
Special Wadcutter – Questions & Answers
©
2014 - Ed Harris
38 Special Double Ended Wadcutter
Cost
is a matter of demand and volume. Back in the day when all the police
departments carried .38 Specials and used wadcutters for training and practice
the ammo factories loaded wadcutters by the millions of rounds. Before about
1980 police departments didn't require use of full duty ammo for qualification
so .38 wadcutters were widely used for practice, qualification and NRA police
revolver competition. Before about 1980 the .38 Special was also commonly used
during the center-fire stages of conventional NRA style bullseye shooting, by
both civilians and the military teams at Camp Perry, so there was high demand
for quality ammo produced in large volume.
The military marksmanship units used to sample, test and then buy the very best
lots by the truckload. Civilian customers got the leftovers. I can remember in
the 1970s testing all popular brands of factory wadcutters off a machine rest
in an indoor tunnel. It was no trouble to select lots which would shoot
10-shots groups averaging an inch and a half at 50 yards. The best stuff
Remington-Bridgeport used to make would hover close to an inch from a heavy
test action and return-to-battery rest. Today I use a single-shot target rifle
with Unertl scope to test .38 ammo. Years ago it was impossible to handload
wadcutter which was as good as the best factory stuff. Today it is hard to find
factory wadcutters that average under 2 inches. I can do that well with
carefully cast Saeco double-enders assembled on a Dillon RL550B. A lot of
factory wadcutter you buy today won't do better than 3 inches, which is no
better than you expect with ordinary +P service ammo.
This is because today very few people buy wadcutters for serious match work
anymore. Conventional bullseye and PPC revolver sports don't have the large
following they once did. Most wadcutter ammo sold today is used for basic
training in CCW classes and sold to people who want to practice with a lower recoil
load in their .38 snubbie at 7 yards, so the only requirement is for the ammo
to go BANG!
Because factories don't load wadcutter constantly, but only to fill orders as
needed, with reduced demand, and no pressure from customers for quality ammo,
in smaller volume it costs more and it isn't as good as the old stuff you
bought 25 or more years ago.
Of the available soft swaged HBWC bullets available
today Remingtons are the best hands down. They fully equal the fine old
Winchester bullets you used to be able to get.
With current Alliant Bullseye it takes 3.0-3.2 grs. to reach the same velocity
you would expect to get with factory wadcutter loads. But accuracy deteriorates
with the Hornady, Speer or Precision-Delta HBWC bullets if you try to load over
2.8 grs. for 720+/- 30 f.p.s.
The former Hercules Bullseye powder took only 2.7-2.8 grains to develop 750 +/-
30 f.p.s. from a 6-inch PPC gun with a flush-seated 148-gr. bullet, but that
gets you only about 700-720 f.p.s. with current product which may not be enough
to stabilize the bullet in 18-3/4 inch twist S&W's or to reliably function
the S&W Model 52 or Colt Gold Cup with the standard factory recoil spring.
With TiteGroup there is some lot-to-lot variation, so start at 2.4 grs. and
adjust as needed for reliable function and velocity 750+/- 30 f.p.s. for the
blowback-operated match pistols. The Remington bullets will stand up to 3.5
grs. of Alliant Bullseye for 850 +/- 30 f.p.s. without the skirt opening up or
hurting accuracy if the revolver forcing cone is properly cut. This load can
also be used in the Colt Gold Cup as a good field load if you use the
full-power 16 pound .38 Super recoil spring.
SAECO
#348 Double Ended Wadcutter
I use the Saeco #348 double-end, bevel-base wadcutter
cast 10-11 BHN using indoor range backstop scrap. As-cast bullet diameter is
.360", the same as factory Remington 148-grain HBWCs. I load these as-cast
and unsized, lubricating with Rooster jacket full strength in a proportion of
1/3 cup to 1000 bullets, or alternately using a diluted solution of Lee Liquid
Alox cut 50-50 with mineral spirits in the same ratio. Both lubes work just as
well for target loads, but if you change lubes you must thoroughly clean and
dry the barrel and chambers of the cylinder and recondition the bore by wiping
with a patch lightly wet with lube, letting it dry, and then wiping with two
dry patches.
Cast double-end wadcutters require heavier charges to shoot well than
soft-swaged hollow base types. I load 3.5 grains of Alliant Bullseye with
Remington 1-1/2 primers for double-end wad-cutters and 3.1-3.2 grs. with
factory Remington HBWC bullets. I load the Remington bullet flush seated
similar to factory loads and the Saeco #348 double-end bullets with their
sprue-cut forward, to the crimp groove with the beveled base band exposed. I
taper crimp using the Lee Factory Crimp Die applying no more crimp than is
necessary to completely remove any mouth flare. Excessive crimp damages the
bullets and enlarges groups.
Loading
the SAECO #348 Double Ended Wadcutter (.38 Special)
For serious target work I use only cases which were
originally used for loading factory wadcutter ammunition. Wad-cutter brass has
thinner walls with a long cylindrical section which extends all the way to the
seated base of the wadcutter bullet, whereas +P and other cases made for JHP
service loads are thicker walled and have a faster internal taper intended to
increase bullet pull to improve ballistic uniformity with the slower powders
used for factory loading jacketed service loads.
If
your target revolver or match auto pistol has tight chambers, cases expand very
little so that .360 diameter bullets will hold friction tight in fired brass
until the shell head on the loading machine rotates to the final station in
which rounds should be full-length profiled and taper-crimped only enough to
remove all mouth flare. Unless your gun has sloppy service chambers, it will be
necessary to resize the brass to prevent bullets from dropping down against the
powder under vibration of the loading machine, which causes DANGEROUS
variations in seating depth!
By loading the "fat" factory Remington bullets or as-cast bullets in
unsized brass, and profile taper-crimping in this manner, case life is
improved, bullet deformation is reduced and bullet pull is more uniform,
because the brass work hardens and springs back much less when it is worked
only once in profile crimping, versus when being cold worked three times in the
usual method of full length resizing, expanding, seating and crimping.
Standard .38 Special loading dies work brass excessively because their
dimensions are intended to resize cases tightly enough to provide a tight
bullet fit with jacketed bullets. If you must load new brass or that which has
been previously resized use a .38 S&W Cowboy Expander plug of .358" to
reduce bullet base deformation during seating.
My loading method is to separately de-cap brass, tumble clean in clean corncob,
uniform primer pockets using a carbide tool with fixed depth stop, deburr flash
holes with a No. 2 long center drill the first time they are loaded, then hand
prime brass so primers are always seated carefully by feel in a clean pocket. I
use the Dillon RL550b for load assembly to flare case mouths, measure powder,
seat bullets and crimp. I use this same simplified process in loading .45 ACP
my match ammo as well.
Using the Lee Factory Crimp die sizes the bullet only if needed to ensure that rounds
do not exceed SAAMI Maximum cartridge dimensions. It does so by gentle
compression f the bullet inside the case instead of reducing it by radically
shear in a die. The un-sized, exposed bevel band of the DEWC ahead of the case
mouth enables a positive gas seal in revolver cylinder throats. My .38 Special
wadcutter reloads average sub 2-inch 5-shot revolver groups at 50 yards from
Ransom Rest in long series of targets. It takes a very good lot of factory
wad-cutters to beat this.
Q- I am setting up to cast
bullets for my Colt Officers Model Special .38 Special. I have slugged the
bore, which measures .3545. The ball end chamber on one chamber measured 356,
the others .357, so what size should I size the bullets to?
A - ALWAYS size cast bullets to fit
the diameter of the cylinder throats. When bullets are sized correctly you
should feel resistance in pushing a bullet when inserted from the rear of the
chamber and pushing it out the front, but you should be able to do so using
hand pressure only. If bullets cannot be readily pushed through by hand, it
raises chamber pressure and causes leading in the cylinder. If bullets readily
fall through and out the front of the cylinder of their own weight, this causes
forcing cone leading and poor accuracy due to asymmetrical bullet case
deformation.
If one chamber is tight, and the others are large, the best solution is to lap
out or ream the tight chamber to match the others. If you do not want to modify
the gun, then mark the tight chamber and don't use it.
If bullets are sized to fit the one tight chamber, they will fit too loosely in
the others and shoot loose groups. Bullets which fit properly in five chambers
and which fit too tightly in the one tight give you an
otherwise "good group" with a flier.
In my 1959 Colt Officers Model Match revolver I use the Saeco #348 double-end,
bevel-base wadcutter cast 10 BHN using indoor range backstop scrap. As-cast
bullet diameter is .360", which is the same as factory Remington 148-grain
HBWCs. I load these as-cast and unsized, lubricating with Rooster jacket full
strength in a proportion of 1/3 cup to 1000 bullets, or alternately using a
diluted solution of Lee Liquid Alox cut 50-50 with mineral spirits in the same
ratio. Both lubes work just as well for target loads, but if you change lubes
you must thoroughly clean and dry the barrel and chambers of the cylinder and
recondition the bore by wiping with a patch lightly wet with lube, letting it
dry, and then wiping with two dry patches.
Double-end wadcutters require heavier charges to shoot well than hollow base
types. I load 3.5 grains of Alliant Bullseye with Remington primers for
double-end wad-cutters and 3.1-3.2 with factory Remington HBWC bullets. With
the Saeco #348 I seat bullets sprue-cut forward, with the beveled base band
exposed. I taper crimp using the Lee Factory Crimp Die applying no more crimp
than is necessary to completely remove any mouth flare. Excessive crimp damages
bullets and enlarges groups.
For serious target work use cases which were originally used for loading
factory wadcutter ammunition. Wad-cutter brass has thinner walls with a long
cylindrical section which extends all the way to the seated base of the
wadcutter bullet, whereas +P and other cases made for JHP service loads are thicker
walled and have a faster internal taper intended to increase bullet pull to
improve ballistic uniformity with the slower powders used for factory loading
jacketed service loads.
If your target revolver has tight chambers, as mine does, so that fired cases
expand very little, .360 diameter bullets seat and hold friction tight in fired
brass until the shell head on your loading machine moves to the final station
in which rounds should be full-length profiled and taper-crimped.
With a close chambered target revolver or autoloader, it is unnecessary to
resize brass. By loading as-cast bullets in unsized brass, and profile
taper-crimping in this manner, case life is improved, bullet deformation is
reduced and bullet pull is more uniform, because the brass work hardens and
springs back much less when it is worked only once in profile crimping, versus
when being cold worked three times in the usual method of full length resizing,
expanding, seating and crimping.
Standard .38 Special loading dies work brass excessively because their
dimensions are intended to resize cases tightly enough to provide a tight
bullet fit with jacketed bullets. If you must load sized brass use a .38
S&W Cowboy Expander plug of .358" to reduce bullet base deformation
during seating.
But with a target revolver having correct chambers it is unnecessary to resize
fired brass. My loading method is to separately de-cap brass, tumble clean,
uniform primer pockets, deburr flash holes and hand prime brass so primers are
always seated carefully by feel in a clean pocket. I then use the Dillon RL550b
for final load assembly to flare case mouths, measure powder, seat bullets and
crimp. I use this same simplified process in loading .45 ACP my match ammo as
well.
Using the Lee Factory Crimp die sizes the bullet only if needed to ensure that
rounds do not exceed SAAMI Maximum cartridge dimensions. It does so by gentle
compression f the bullet inside the case instead of reducing it by radically
shear in a die. The un-sized, exposed bevel band ahead of the case mouth
enables a positive gas seal in revolver cylinder throats. My .38 Special
wadcutter reloads average sub 2-inch 5-shot groups at 50 yards in long series
of targets. It takes a very good lot of factory wad-cutters to beat this.
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