.38 wadcutter seating plug

[Savage30L]

I need to load up a bunch of .38 hollow-base wadcutters, and haven't done it before. In reading up on the subject, I discovered that a special wadcutter seating plug is recommended. Would some of you who have done this suggest one for me to get (along with any other stuff I might need), please?

Thanks.

Edit: Also, these are Speer 148-grain LHBWC. How deep should I insert the expander die before loading these?

 

[.38 Special]

I ground a standard plug flat, decades ago, and it still works. The only catch is that some stems might not be long enough, assuming that you're flush-seating them.

The only other thing to be aware of is that depending on which brand you are using, the bullets may be pure lead or close to it. Soft, in other words. So keep an eye out for lead shaving, and be prepared to flare your case mouths a bit more than usual, if the issue comes up.

 

[barnfrog]

I ground a standard plug flat, decades ago, and it still works. The only catch is that some stems might not be long enough, assuming that you're flush-seating them.

The only other thing to be aware of is that depending on which brand you are using, the bullets may be pure lead or close to it. Soft, in other words. So keep an eye out for lead shaving, and be prepared to flare your case mouths a bit more than usual, if the issue comes up.

I did something similar, but filled the recess in the end of the plug with J-B Weld and then ground that flat, thus not sacrificing length.

 

[epags]

.....The only other thing to be aware of is that depending on which brand you are using, the bullets may be pure lead or close to it. Soft, in other words. So keep an eye out for lead shaving, and be prepared to flare your case mouths a bit more than usual, if the issue comes up.

Yes

 

[Palladan44]

If the seater stem is reversible, the flip side could be a flatter profile and work better than the round nose profile.

Should be a pretty cheap and necessary acquisition to get the "Wadcutter" or "flat: seater stem. The other side of mine is even milled out in the middle for them "button nose" wadcutters.

 

[Palladan44]

I did something similar, but filled the recess in the end of the plug with J-B Weld and then ground that flat, thus not sacrificing length.

There's all these interesting bullet profiles available from Matt's Bullets, some of which I wonder how I'd successfully seat without deforming them.

I thought of coating a bullet in Vaseline, and filling a hollow seater stem with JB weld, and molding the new stem with the bullet nose in it. Trick would be to keep it straight.
Never did this though, but stealing the idea of how to snug up loose pistol stocks using Vaseline and epoxy...

 

[Blue68f100]

RCBS use to supply a WC seating stem lone with the RN with their 38/357Mag die set. If you have RCBS give them a call and they will probably send you one free.

 

[Savage30L]

Aargh. I cannot find my .38 dies. I'm not quite old enough to be having "senior moments" like this.

I hope I've just left them at my friend's house....I've done that before.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I need to load up a bunch of .38 hollow-base wadcutters, and haven't done it before. In reading up on the subject, I discovered that a special wadcutter seating plug is recommended. Would some of you who have done this suggest one for me to get (along with any other stuff I might need), please?

Thanks.

Edit: Also, these are Speer 148-grain LHBWC. How deep should I insert the expander die before loading these?

As some have suggested, the answer *might* depend on your seating site brand and model/version. I use Lee and Lyman and neither required a special stem. The Lee has a wide enough edge to seat RN, RFN, WC, and SWC equally poorly (JK - it works fine!) and the Lyman has a reversible stem for flat or rounded profiles.

If in doubt, start by taking your seating die apart and examining the stem. You might have a dual-use stem already and not know it.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Aargh. I cannot find my .38 dies. I'm not quite old enough to be having "senior moments" like this.

I hope I've just left them at my friend's house....I've done that before.

Doh! I hate when that happens!

Senior moments? I’ve been forgetful my whole life. LOL!!!!

I have an extra set I can lend you until you can find replacements.

 

[Savage30L]

Doh! I hate when that happens!

Senior moments? I’ve been forgetful my whole life. LOL!!!!

I have an extra set I can lend you until you can find replacements.

My friend has a set, RCBS also. We'll just have to figure out which one is his, and which is mine.

 

[teerex.otw]

There's all these interesting bullet profiles available from Matt's Bullets, some of which I wonder how I'd successfully seat without deforming them.

I thought of coating a bullet in Vaseline, and filling a hollow seater stem with JB weld, and molding the new stem with the bullet nose in it. Trick would be to keep it straight.
Never did this though, but stealing the idea of how to snug up loose pistol stocks using Vaseline and epoxy...

Another less-messy option is to use Kiwi “natural”or “all color”shoe polish instead of vaseline.
I use this as a release agent when epoxy-bedding anything, 2 coats with light buffing inbetween.

 

[Riomouse911]

I haven’t had any bullet deformation issues loading wide-meplat lead SWC or wadcutter bullets with my Lee dies. They seem to push the bullets into the cases nicely, for flush-seated as well as loads with roughly 1/16 to 1/8” exposed (depends on crimp groove in the bullet).

These are 165 gr BNWC from Matts Bullets seated in the first lube groove.



I have unintentionally mooshed long, exposed lead or tipped rifle bullets a bit with the wrong seating stem. Thats no fun.

Stay safe.

 

[AJC1]

There's all these interesting bullet profiles available from Matt's Bullets, some of which I wonder how I'd successfully seat without deforming them.

I thought of coating a bullet in Vaseline, and filling a hollow seater stem with JB weld, and molding the new stem with the bullet nose in it. Trick would be to keep it straight.
Never did this though, but stealing the idea of how to snug up loose pistol stocks using Vaseline and epoxy...

Noe sells an adaptor to use their top punches in the Lee universal expander as a seater. Any product that has a matching top punch can be used. I don't know if those bullets have a top punch available.

 

[AJC1]

I haven’t had any bullet deformation issues loading wide-meplat lead SWC or wadcutter bullets with my Lee dies. They seem to push the bullets into the cases nicely, for flush-seated as well as loads with roughly 1/16 to 1/8” exposed (depends on crimp groove in the bullet).

These are 165 gr BNWC from Matts Bullets seated in the first lube groove.

View attachment 1185207

I have unintentionally mooshed long, exposed lead or tipped rifle bullets a bit with the wrong seating stem. Thats no fun.

Stay safe.

I've accidentally seated 9mm with the expander.... it actually worked...