wadcutter in snubbie

[Paul Blackburn]

You know this is a 10 year old thread, yes?

The issue with BB’s 148 grain wadcutter loads vs standard velocity is that the heaviest hottest load we can find is not as effective as a soft shooting accurate round. Particularly in light weight J frames. At a certain point harder recoiling rounds cost time and increase the risk of missed shots.

BB 148 WC is also almost guaranteed to exit the body except on humans due to construction and velocity, which may or may not be a problem for you.

The results of the standard velocity WC shootings I have seen leaves the bullet lodged on the far side of the torso.

Could you shoot those +P 158 SWC loads in a steel J frame like a model 36 ? Yes. Would I want to ? No.

In a bigger gun for outdoors use? Sure.

Can you clarify what you mean here?

[HCM]

Can you clarify what you mean here?

The good things about a .38 target wadcutter bullet for defensive use are A) it penetrates well. So you can load that bullet in a 38 case with a relatively mild charge /velocity and it will Still give you adequate penetration of 12-18” to reach vitals on a typical human and dump it’s energy without exiting the body. B) it provides adequate penetration with a lighter charge, which means less blast and recoil making it easier to shoot well and get good shot placement out of a lightweight snub revolver.

Buffalo bore, as Buffalo bore does with most of their offerings, loads their 38 wadcutter loads to significantly higher velocity. It’s essentially a wadcutter loaded to +p velocity.

MOAR ! Is not always better.

In this context, it’s is self-defeating because A) it will cause the bullet to over penetrate, passing through the body, and simply poking a hole through a typical human; and B) creates additional recoil and blast, which makes it harder to shoot well out of a lightweight, snub revolver resulting in poorer shot placement.

[Dog Face Gremlin]

Too fast....too slow...so what's all this about BB Wadcutters......shoot fine out of my Model 36....it's what I carry.