I see from several recent threads that many here have begun to carry (or perhaps always have carried) wadcutters, especially in airweights or lighter. I think I understand the reasons...
Expansion of HPs from a sub-2" barrel is iffy at best, especially if it's cold out, even with the newer, designer rounds (SBGD, CD, DPX).
A HP that fails to expand offers less wounding than a WC.
Recoil of these +P rounds in airweights can make follow up shots slower and less accurate.
In recent range work using my M-642, I find the SBGD to be plenty accurate, but recoil is not fun and fast follow up shots tend to open up more than I want. The CD and the DPX are a little softer shooting, but not significantly so. However, follow up shots do tend to be a little tighter. WCs are a breeze. Easy to shoot with fast and tight follow up shots.
One thing to note - the above results have not been universal for me. Earlier range work yielded less accuracy from the CD (did not have any DPX at the time). This time around, I shot everything better, even though it was cold, wet, and I have a shoulder injury. Go figure.
With this in mind, I've ordered some Federal 148gr WCs as well as some BB 150gr WCs to test, but I was wondering...
1) Does the increased velocity of the BB offer significantly better intermediate barrier penetration over the slower "target" WCs? How does either fair vs the FBI testing protocol?
2) Does the increased penetration of any WC (and especially the heavier BB) offer enough risk of over penetration and injury to a bystander to offset its softer shooting and increased accuracy characteristics?
3) Does the increased velocity of the BB WC round offer enough of an advantage over the slower Federal, Winchester or Remington WC to offset Doctor Roberts' admonition toconsider sticking with ammo manufacturers that have large government contracts and QC controls in place, as that ammo is likely to be built much better than the average boutique/small scale vendor or reloader. Typically that means sticking with duty/defensive ammo from ATK (Federal and Speer), Black Hills, Hornady, Remington, and Winchester.
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Originally Posted by Moonshot
