.38 Special woods ammo.... I want penetration

[Landric]

For anyone interested in some extreme penetration in .38 Special/.357 Magnum, we have a group buy going over at Cast Boolits for a 200 grain SWC mould. Its likely to close here in the next little while, as its on the production schedule for November. Here is the link:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=61896

 

[Dirty Bob]

I load the Lee 148-grain wadcutter and love it. It's accurate and pleasant to shoot out of an Airweight snubby. Out of a 3-inch .357 SP101, it's just plain fun.

I don't know the velocity, but I'm using data from the Lee manual and am using just over the minimum charge of Win 231. There's little leading, and it's even OK to shoot from my Taurus 85 with my minimalistic, homemade "string bean" stocks. I tumble-lube in a ziplock bag with Liquid Alox and seat the wadcutter so that the "band" at the end is exposed. My loads look a lot like the Buffalo Bore wadcutter. I found this out after working up my load. I wasn't trying to imitate the BB wadcutter.

Obviously, you could cast it hard, water-quench it, and work up to Lee's top charge. This is standard .38, BTW, not +P.

This bullet was fired from a 2-inch snubby and penetrated four 1-gallon jugs of water and was stopped inside the 5th. Recoil was mild. Here's the bullet:

Be safe,
Dirty Bob

 

[Diggers]

That bullet going through 4 jugs of water and into the 5th would be roughly the same as 12+ (ish) inches of live tissue.

Easy to load that up a bit and get in over 20 inches.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

And no need to harden it. A wad cutter cast from wheel weights and dropped onto a towel will run about 8 or 9 BNH, and with proper lube (and I note you're using the tumble lube design -- liquid Alox is fine) will shoot well right up to 800 fps or better.

 

[Water-Man]

Double Tap Ammo 158gr. SWC Hardcast

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Considering this thread is well over a year old I'm guessing the OP has already decided which ammo to carry in the woods!!

 

[springfield30-06]

Double Tap Ammo 158gr. SWC Hardcast

Yes, check these out. This is what I would go with.
http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_57&products_id=322

 

[wheelgunslinger]

Considering this thread is well over a year old I'm guessing the OP has already decided which ammo to carry in the woods!!

We stress the search feature for people here so they can read along.
A LOT of good info has been added here that the OP can add to his choices or use to modify his current load as well as inform any lurkers that are reading along and wondering the same thing.
So, stop rolling your eyes. Useful info is always a welcome addition here.