Wadcutter effectiveness

[Eastex]

I don't post much on here, mostly just try to soak in all the info you guys have. I know that many of you come from backgrounds where the real world, practical effectiveness,or lack of, of Wadcutter rounds may have been shown. I'm currently carrying Speer Gold Dots in my 642 and while they're not a problem to control I do feel like the 148grain Remington wadcutters I practice with do have some speed and controllability edges.
I'm also starting down the path of reloading my own wadcutters for practice but I would never be comfortable enough to carry them for self defense. I am looking forward to seeing how they work on the Armadillo currently tearing up my yard at night though.


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[Tinker Pearce]

In standard testing against denim and ballistic gel they tend to penetrate in excess of 18 inches and produce a wound-track comparable to other non-expanding .38 Special loads. On the other hand I recently read a report from a medical examiner that said he was quite impressed with the full wadcutter's performance in human tissue when fired from a short-barreled revolver. I'm guessing that at these moderate velocities a hard-lead bullet might out-perform a soft one, but that's a guess.

[Jim Watson]

Amost all you see now is Mid Range wadcutters at nominal 750 fps. I see people recommending them for self defense, I guess because .32s are not as popular as they used to be.
Once upon a time there were full power wadcutters at nominal 850 fps. Buffalo Bore sells a somewhat heavier load.

[DocGKR]

When fired at an unobstructed target, is there a difference in terminal effectiveness between a .38 sp wadcutter launched at 750 fps vs. one fired at 850 fps, given that both reach 12-18" of penetration with no difference in temporary cavity?

[Chuck Haggard]

I'm carrying wadcutters in my snubs now (for the most part I use 642s), the Remington wadcutters to be specific because I got half a case of them from a friend awhile back, for several reasons.

Dr. Fackler documented rather well that full wadcutters are better at wounding than other not wadcutter bullets that don't expand. They cut a full caliber hole from entry on. My observation of the few WC shootings that I have seen on the street, combined with having put a few deer down with my snub, gel testing, talking to guys like Tom Givens who have also seen a number of shootings where WCs were used, all combine to leave me rather comfortable with the wound ballistics of using WCs in my BUGs.

From my snubs the WCs hit to the sights, and they shoot nice tight groups. Recoil is easy to control.

In both FBI spec gel, and in Clear Gel, the Remingtons will go through four layers of denim and penetrate the full length of the block. I have not recovered one inside a 16" block yet, however I wouldn't be worried about this level of penetration being "overpenetration" as the bullet is pretty much out of steam when leaving the block.

The last two deer I put down with the Rem WCs I made a head shot and a side chest shot on. Both of the head shots penetrated the skull cleanly, left larger than .38cal entrance holes, noticeably pulped the brain and left brain protruding out of the entry wound. The side chest shots both centered a rib, leaving a hole through the rib larger than .38cal and with the bone splintered badly.
I took note of this as past use of Hornady Critical Defense from the same gun and making a shots from the same angle left a hole through a deer's rib that looked like it had been drilled cleanly with a .38cal drill bit. Both of the WC chest shots penetrated across the chest cavity through the heart and lungs and then penetrated through the rib on the far side and came to rest under the skin. I am pretty sure that one reason the bullets did not exit was that side being down against the dirt.

[GJM]

Chuck, any idea of the velocity of the Remington wadcutters?

[Jeep]

When fired at an unobstructed target, is there a difference in terminal effectiveness between a .38 sp wadcutter launched at 750 fps vs. one fired at 850 fps, given that both reach 12-18" of penetration with no difference in temporary cavity?

Excellent point. Might the 850 fps variety be somewhat more likely to over penetrate and hit the little girl down the street, or does the test data indicate basically the same penetration? Thanks.

[Jeep]

Chuck, any idea of the velocity of the Remington wadcutters?

It's advertised at 710 fps.

[Chuck Haggard]

It's advertised at 710 fps.

^That^

I need to crono this batch, but past batches of the Remington were in the 680-690fps range from my guns.

[Chuck Haggard]

Excellent point. Might the 850 fps variety be somewhat more likely to over penetrate and hit the little girl down the street, or does the test data indicate basically the same penetration? Thanks.

The Buffalo Bore hard cast WC in that velocity range gets through like 30" of gel IIRC, so yes, a non deforming WC can really fly downrange.