Shot Wadcutters, wow, I’ve been missing out!

A .22 wadcutter is "interesting", I see it in the 1939 Stoegers as "Indoor Target, Sharp Shouldered."
But roundnose has been standard for a long time, largely because of the number of automatics in use. I can't see that Indoor Target working in anything but a revolver or single shot.
Although Eley Tenex is now a flat point with a pimple.

I know there were some S&W Model 52's made to only shoot 38 Special wadcutters.

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Some? I have not seen one that was not, unless you count the 52A which looks like a Model 39 except chambered for .38 AMU.

Skinny Pete said:

Wonderful
But if you really want your socks blown off, try some in one of these...

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Well this just goes to show what happens when one makes assumptions. I assumed that a semi-auto cannot shoot wadcutters because you need some sort of taper to feed the round into the chamber. However, I bet not all semi-autos will run wadcutters, so you have a great pistol if it can do wadcutters.

Wadcutters are truly a favorite of mine. I probably load 4 wadcutters out of every 10 .38 Spl. cartridges I make, 2 in 10 for .32 H&R Mag.

Stay safe.

Walkalong said:

Mostly a revolver thing, but there are autos meant for shooting WCs.
The S&W M52 mentioned.

This Benelli MP3-S .32 Long. (Erma Werke makes a similar one) Shoots that .32 Long WC I posted a pic of earlier.

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Gorgeous pistol! Even a shaky old man might be able to shoot that one well!!

aaaaa said:

Well this just goes to show what happens when one makes assumptions. I assumed that a semi-auto cannot shoot wadcutters because you need some sort of taper to feed the round into the chamber. However, I bet not all semi-autos will run wadcutters, so you have a great pistol if it can do wadcutters.

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The S&W 52 will only fire wadcutters, the magazines are designed so nothing else can even be loaded in them. The springs are specifically tuned for "mid-range" loads. As far as I know no other pistol was factory designed from new to run wadcutters, but there were a number of makers back in the day that did conversions of existing platforms, many of which did not run well. The Model 52 runs like a Swiss watch, it is truly an amazing firearm. Quite a price these days but worth every penny, if you ever run across someone shooting one, I recommend politely asking if you could run a magazine or two through it (offer to pay) as they are a treat.

Hornady's swaged 148 wadcutters are perfect things. The only real downside is that I've never been able to cast anything that works as well!

Just loaded up 50 for tomorrow. I have about 25 left. I don’t know if I’ll get any more. They’re a little more pricey and I found a load with a 358 caliber RNFP that shoots almost as well.

Here is my mid-1950’s 38 Super that has a 38 Special wadcutter barrel fitted to it. It is a work in progress as it will not feed the last round on the magazine. But the first four are a joy to shoot.

When I bought it, it had a 38 AMU barrel in it. It was before Al Gore invented the internet and it took a while to learn what 38AMU was. It is a rimless 38 Special.

The gun has gone through a few bartel changes and since I have othe 38 Super 1911’s, I’d like to make it work with wadcutters.

Anyway, a work in progress. Maybe I will get it working someday.

The barrel is a Kart 38 Special barrel.

What does one do to get Army Marksmanship Unit 38 Super brass?
Have a 52; snagged it on a lark, and shoot it from time to time. Yeah, it runs all the time with the 5 round magazines. Mine will only run with HBWC. You can dry snap with the 'safety' engaged. It feels great in the hand, and the trigger is wonderful.
There was a guy on another forum who was really bummed when he found that a ".38 Spl pistol" would only shoot wadcutters, and only held 5 rounds.
First ammo I ever handloaded was with DEWC 'bean cans'; they were easy to cast, had three large grease grooves, and shot really straight. They were sized/lubed in a Lyman tool, and used a bunch of lube. They also made a fair amount of smoke. Our old Bullseye league looked like the 3d day at Gettysburg.
Lately, been shooting 'full charge' wadcutters from revolvers; plated DEWCs loaded to the old 158 RNL specs. They are pleasant to shoot, even in alloy .38s.
Moon

Skinny Pete said:

As far as I know no other pistol was factory designed from new to run wadcutters.

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The SIG P240 is a dedicated wadcutter gun, first made in .38, then 32.

I don't know how to categorize the various European blowback .32 wad guns.
They aren't converted but they have a lot in common with the brands' .22s.

The Colt Gold Cup .38 Special is quite different from a gunsmith .38 Super conversion.

It’s weird. I can “smell” the bullseye and the wax from the thousands of wadcutters I’ve shot reading this thread.

halfmoonclip said:

What does one do to get Army Marksmanship Unit 38 Super brass?
Have a 52; snagged it on a lark, and shoot it from time to time. Yeah, it runs all the time with the 5 round magazines. Mine will only run with HBWC.

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38 AMU is esdentially ar rimless 38 Special. It was ddigned fir essier feeding in modified 1911’s.

Obviously, it fid not catch on.

The 38/45 Clerke is another roynd designed to shoot wadcutters from a 1911. Change the barrel and springs and you are shhoting the “same” gun in a different course of fire.

Again, not terribly successful. But, it can be driven to 38 Super velocities and it has some hunting applications. I have two 38/45 Clerke 1911’s.

The S&W Model 52 is designed for wadcutters. It is a good firearm but did not generate enough sales among target shooters. Hence, ammunition desighned to work
with the Model 52 may require some tweaking to get it too work reliably.

I've heard of people using them for deer at close range. Like 25/35 yards from 357's. I don't see why they wouldn't work.

sgt127 said:

It’s weird. I can “smell” the bullseye and the wax from the thousands of wadcutters I’ve shot reading this thread.

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That's good; After I am gone the greatest eulogy I can have is the Pawn Shop guy saying "Those gun aren't worth anything there all shot to the bores are smooth".

Thank you for the great thread and all the information!

You have inspired me to load some wadcutters for my Ruger GP-100. Our local vendor sells 148 gr. wadcutters for $42.00/500 coated lead bullets, so I am going to give it a try.

It is hard to tell from the previous posts whether the wadcutters generally work better with a taper crimp or a roll crimp. I guess it depends on the presence or absence of a cannelure on the bullet, and whether or not you load the bullet flush with the top of the case. I'd appreciate some advice on that please.

I use a very light roll crimp when loading them into 357 Magnum cases for shooting at 38 Special velocity. I'm using Lee dies, and I back the seating stem out of the way, then turn the die down until it touches then turn it 1/4 turn more and crimp. That's the same crimp I use on 357 loads too, but maybe 1/3 turn instead.

DMW1116 said:

I use a very light roll crimp when loading them into 357 Magnum cases for shooting at 38 Special velocity. I'm using Lee dies, and I back the seating stem out of the way, then turn the die down until it touches then turn it 1/4 turn more and crimp. That's the same crimp I use on 357 loads too, but maybe 1/3 turn instead.

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Thanks DMW, I have RCBS dies, and I imagine that would work for me too.

The old rule of thumb is roll crimp for revolver, taper crimp for semi-auto as I recall, but I expect to hear some folks disagree. I like complete powder burn so I roll crimp all my ammo firmly. I expect to hear disagreement with that also. It’s why the forum is fun and educational!

I have a 1960 Colt Super 38 Automatic that has been reamed for 38 HBWC. Runs off a 5 round magazine from the Colt 38 Special Mid-Range 1911. It shoots 148gr HBWCs in front of 3.0 grains of bullseye.

Wadcutters and bullseye make me happy.

I don't know how many thousands of that 3.0 WW231 under a 148 WC I have loaded and shot over the past 50 years, but I have never found a reason to change the formula. It has always been accurate in every .38 Special and .357 magnum revolver I have ever owned.

I have a lot of old school wadcutters purchased years ago. They are my favorite ammo for my 642 and Model 10. Low recoil and accurate target ammo.

I have shot more SWC's than HBWC's. I just started using HBWC's when I got the new NOE bullet mold.

All this talk made me send a few through my Blackhawk this weekend. The smaller holes are my 22 Victory doing it’s impression of a load of #4 buckshot.