wadcutter in snubbie

[ILoveSigs]

Cool your jets.

Sorry, I fixed it (I think).

[Moonshot]

Slight thread drift coming...

I know Doc recommends a WC with a sharp cutting shoulder. I have access to both Remington and Black Hills WCs at a good price. Does one have a better cutting shoulder than the other ? I can't tell from the photos.

[Jeep]

Slight thread drift coming...

I know Doc recommends a WC with a sharp cutting shoulder. I have access to both Remington and Black Hills WCs at a good price. Does one have a better cutting shoulder than the other ? I can't tell from the photos.

I'd say that the Remington cutting shoulder is mediocre and it also has a slight (convex) bump in the middle. However, that bump is not nearly as big or round and many others I've seen. I have never seen Black Hills WCs. I also own some reloaded WC's that have a large cavity in the middle, which results in what I regard as a pretty good cutting shoulder. Unfortunately, I don't have any idea where they came from, and being (smoky) reloads, they are out for self-defense use. I wish others would load the same bullet.

[LSP972]

I also own some reloaded WC's that have a large cavity in the middle, which results in what I regard as a pretty good cutting shoulder. Unfortunately, I don't have any idea where they came from, and being (smoky) reloads, they are out for self-defense use. I wish others would load the same bullet.

No doubt a hollow-base WC loaded backwards. That was all the rage among "knowledgeable" cops who reloaded, back in the day. Communication wasn't nearly as wide-open back then, of course (no internet)… I spoke with a few guys who claimed to have used this combination in J frames and they said it worked as well as anything else. A slight lack of empirical data there, although I do remember one of them saying he used a healthy charge of Unique… don't remember exactly what charge weight.

At any rate, with several proven factory .38 Special loads available, loading your own carry rounds is strictly for the experienced reloader. Personally, I think it is a bad idea to carry reloads, of any stripe, for what the nimrods refer to as "serious social encounters"; a bad idea on several levels.

You'll find that the "big dog" wadcutters all feature a rounded front edge; it helps the bullet to self-center when entering the forcing cone. IOW, an accuracy thing, and these are, after all, special target bullets. By big dog, I mean the rounds loaded by The Big Three (Remington, Winchester, Federal/ATK). I have fired tens of thousands of these, from all three makes, and still have some of each. I just looked at them; the Winchester definitely has a more defined edge on the front of the bullet, while the Remington and federal are definitely more rounded.

Keep in mind, all of this ammunition is 20+ years old.

OTOH, I also have some Precision Delta wadcutters loaded in their new brass. Its reman, although some folks call such stuff "new"… but that's a topic for another discussion. The point is, the PD wadcutter has a quite pronounced sharp front edge. Dunno if it is a cast or swaged bullet, but it is definitely loaded a bit warmer than the other three. It was what Phillip Hemphill used at the long line; he gave me some after beating me- yet again- at the Dixie Nationals one year. Again, that was in 1991 or so. Anyway, that might be an option; call Lisa at Precision Delta and she'll be happy to chat with you about it. Sharp gal… and that sweet Mississippi accent will charm the… appendages... off of a brass monkey.

.

[Chuck Haggard]

If someone where to make a harder double ended WC loaded to 750fps or so that would be pretty bad ass

[Jeep]

No doubt a hollow-base WC loaded backwards. That was all the rage among "knowledgeable" cops who reloaded, back in the day. Communication wasn't nearly as wide-open back then, of course (no internet)… I spoke with a few guys who claimed to have used this combination in J frames and they said it worked as well as anything else. A slight lack of empirical data there, although I do remember one of them saying he used a healthy charge of Unique… don't remember exactly what charge weight.

At any rate, with several proven factory .38 Special loads available, loading your own carry rounds is strictly for the experienced reloader. Personally, I think it is a bad idea to carry reloads, of any stripe, for what the nimrods refer to as "serious social encounters"; a bad idea on several levels.

You'll find that the "big dog" wadcutters all feature a rounded front edge; it helps the bullet to self-center when entering the forcing cone. IOW, an accuracy thing, and these are, after all, special target bullets. By big dog, I mean the rounds loaded by The Big Three (Remington, Winchester, Federal/ATK). I have fired tens of thousands of these, from all three makes, and still have some of each. I just looked at them; the Winchester definitely has a more defined edge on the front of the bullet, while the Remington and federal are definitely more rounded.

Keep in mind, all of this ammunition is 20+ years old.

OTOH, I also have some Precision Delta wadcutters loaded in their new brass. Its reman, although some folks call such stuff "new"… but that's a topic for another discussion. The point is, the PD wadcutter has a quite pronounced sharp front edge. Dunno if it is a cast or swaged bullet, but it is definitely loaded a bit warmer than the other three. It was what Phillip Hemphill used at the long line; he gave me some after beating me- yet again- at the Dixie Nationals one year. Again, that was in 1991 or so. Anyway, that might be an option; call Lisa at Precision Delta and she'll be happy to chat with you about it. Sharp gal… and that sweet Mississippi accent will charm the… appendages... off of a brass monkey.

.

I wondered if these were some sort of hollow based loaded backwards, but the concave depression is far shallower than any HB WC that I've ever seen.

Right now I'm using Remingtons because they are "good enough" and of course the whole point to using a wad cutter is because it's good enough--or to put it another way, it is somewhat less bad than most other .38 ammo out of a snubbie.

I will have to check on Precision Delta, though, if only to hear that Mississippi accent.

[Moonshot]

The concern I have with Preciusio Delta is it doesn't follow Doc's advise to

consider 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.

Does anyone have any experience with BangItAmmo as an on-line retailer?

[1slow]

I seem to remember a jacketed full wadcutter in .38 special. I can't remember whose. If it had a sharp shoulder that would seem helpful.

[LSP972]

The concern I have with Preciusio Delta is it doesn't follow Doc's advise to

While that advice is sound, Joe has been in the reloading/bullet making business for a very long time, and pretty much has a firm grip on the processes. He has supplied target grade ammunition to several state police and local/municipal shooting teams- my old one, among others- and has sponsored more than one champion shooter. The afore-mentioned Phillip Hemphill has won the National Police Revolver Championship SEVEN times; and now, in retirement, has taken up NRA Conventional Pistol and placed second overall (right behind the legendary Brian Zins) in his first nationals at Camp Perry; all shooting Precision Delta ammunition.

People like that do not use ammunition of questionable quality... just sayin...

.

[Chuck Haggard]

I normally always stick to the Big Three when it comes to ammo for carry, but I'd make an exception for certain makers if I couldn't get what I wanted elsewhere, Black Hills and Asym being on my short list. I've not shot Precision Delta before, but I'd be willing to give them a try.