Question About a Revolver Round

38 special with full wad cutter ammo. It's a target round, don't know why they would be loaded hot, or why under cover cops would use them.

Sorta sounds like wadcutters to me. Some guys used to figure they would be a nasty round if the bullets were loaded backwards in the case, leaving the hollow base at the top to expand. This was even proven over and over to not be true. I think the guy fed her some misinformation.

It sounds like wadcutter ammo and a neat story. If in doubt, use a known good .38 Special revolver and fire a round or two. You should be able to tell if it is something super hot (though I doubt it is). In any case, I would recommend not firing any "hot" .38 Special ammo in that Charter. They are not made for anything much above standard .38 Special loads.

Jim

The Undercover .38 is a decent gun, especially if made before the mid-1990s' or after about 2005.

The older ones can handle +P ammo, but the maker recommends against use of it due to the lack of the revolver's ability (due to its short barrel) to optimize the round's potential. A steady diet of "hot" ammo is likely to hasten wear, perhaps even faster than with other makes.

I agree with others in that the ammo might be a handloaded wadcutter.

Pics would help.

Sounds like a story to me, too.


Without pictures of the rounds there's no way to guess what you have beyond the fact that you're describing a wadcutter, a basic target round.

The seller said he special ordered these by the case for the undercover cops and only had one box left or he would give her 2 more.

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Down here Texas way, we got us some world class BSers.

Many years ago wadcutters in .38 special were considered a good defensive round. This is back when round nose lead .38s were the SOP loads. Now with jacketed .38 wonder-rounds that expand to 3/4 inch and penetrate 10-13 inches of ballistic gel the wad-cutters are back in bed with the lead round nose.

skoro said:

Down here Texas way, we got us some world class BSers.

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We notice that when winds come from the east.
Common bullet weight for wadcutters is 158grs, not good for the Charter when loaded hot. Pics will help a lot.

In the East, wadcutters are 148 grains. The ones in Arizona must be a bit fatter!

Unlike Texas, every thing in Arizona ' IS ' bigger, better, faster and every thing else.

Let's get it back on topic folks.

Why, every one needs to smile once in a while, even old grouches like me. But if it is a woodcutter it would be hard cast 148 Gr., I can't think of anything else that fits that description. The gun shop guy may have believed what he what he was saying. I have seen some far out people that believed their own message.

Those older Charter Arms aren't made to handle a steady diet of higher pressure loads, or hot as it was put. Don't know much about the WC's though, I only shoot +P jacketed stuff, and from sturdy framed firearms.

GS

Having shot Charters for a few years I would say that any load that is painful for most people to shoot is going to beat the gun loose in short order. Use only moderate loads and just shoot it enough to be proficient and then just carry it. Also get some screwdrivers that fit the frame screws and check them every time you shoot the gun. They WILL loosen up. (you Harley riders know what I'm talking about). Loc-tite helps but check them regularly. Charters are great carry guns but not very good guns to take to the range and shoot a lot. Cooper described them as "good guns to shoot a little and carry a lot" and "a great design poorly executed". He was right.

At one time hollow based wadcutters loaded backwards were considered a pretty good short range self defense load. I probably still have some I carried in a snub nose revolver in the 70s.

Might be a harder lead 'hogging' round too. Either way, unless someone is hunting wild pigs or bad guys from the 70's, modern hollowpoint rounds are pretty consistent for carry ammo.

Ron James said:

Unlike Texas, every thing in Arizona ' IS ' bigger, better, faster and every thing else.

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"bless your heart"

If the undercover cops were shooting these up by the case, it would make more sense that they are target/practice loads.

When I was a dealer, I had nothing but problems with the Charter Arms. Not only do I think +Ps were hard on the gun, I think regular ammo loosened them up over time. I had a .38spc Undercover that worked for awhile, but it eventually developed binding problems with standard ammo. I eventually got a Rossi stainless 3-incher, which was a great value. I also eventually developed binding problems with my Charter Arms .44 Bulldog. I loved the feel of the gun, despite the horrendous trigger pull. But the guns, even with their solid frames, were strictly lightweights. Taurus revolvers also gave me problems. They were beautiful guns, nice fit and polish -- very reliable, but not very accurate. There were many guns that had poor chamber reaming and just about every chamber I dropped a .357 125 JHP in just fell right on through (as though someone had just drilled holes). Don't know whether they ever improved the problem, but the Rossis were very good guns; and the extra inch in their 3-inchers made me feel a lot better. The Smith Model 60 back then was impossible to get and cost upwards of $500. I always hoped they'd add another half-inch or two to the barrels, but most were sold before they could be put on display. They're really magnificent guns, though no longer relevant. I don't know how well it would stand up to +P ammo, but probably better than the Charter Arms. If I had a Charter .38, I'd probably leave it loaded with +P in a desk drawer and forget trying to shoot it.

A flat-ended bullet flush with the case is a wadcutter. The sharp edge cuts a clean round hole the same size as the bullet in a paper target, something important when a bullet hole is very close to a scoring ring line. This is usually a light load for lower recoil, but there is nothing to prevent one from loading it hotter (within safety limits). There is a school of thought that holds that the wadcutter increases wounding effect in a defensive handgun load. This load of yours could go either way. If it is a "hot" load, it would be imprudent to shoot a lot of it in a Charter Arms.

Well, the wadcutters I've seen were 148 grains. The semiwadcutters were the 158 grains.

Wadcutters loaded hot, special order for undercover cops; sounds like the seller was more bullslinger than gunslinger.