Plated 38 special wad cutters vs lead?

[someguy2800]

Anyone have any experience loading copper plated hollow base wad cutters in 38 special? I hardly want to admit it but I have never loaded a wad cutter before but always wanted to try them. I don't really like shooting plain cast bullets in pistols due to being lazy and not liking cleaning my guns. I much prefer plated bullets but was curious if a plated wad cutter is as accurate as a swaged lead one. I would be loading it with a mouse fart load of bullseye or 700x to 700-800 fps.

 

[ms6852]

I don't really like shooting plain cast bullets in pistols due to being lazy and not liking cleaning my guns.

You should consider powder coating bullets, just takes less than 30 minutes.

 

[444]

Yes, I have shot thousands upon thousands of them.
2.8 grains of Bullseye.

The lead ones will not lead your bore.
I use the plated ones through a suppressor out of a Marlin lever action.

I am not sure which one is more accurate. I never really conducted that test. They both were plenty accurate for my purposes and I was satisfied.

 

[Walkalong]

Berrys 148 Gr HBWC. 3.6 to 3.8 Grs of WST or Competition will get you in the 700 to 750 FPS range. Depends on OAL and your gun barrel.


Berrys 148 Gr HBWC on the left (3.6 Grs Competition) & X-Treme 148 Gr WC on the right. (3.7 Grs Comp. A little faster, should have stuck with 3.6)

 

[brewer12345]

I have been loading the plated DEWC from Berry's over 4 grains of HP38 in 38 brass and they are very accurate. I also load plain lead DEWC over 3.8 grains of HP38 with the same results. Never was willing to fool with the plated hollow base as I think the "beer cans" are more forgiving (can't blow the skirt off if there isn't one). With the plated I seat them so that the overall cartridge length is 1.27 inches. With the lead ones I crimp in the topmost groove.

I am actually loading up the last of my plated wadcutters now. Since I started casting I can churn out lead DEWCs for like 2 cents, so it is impossible to justify spending 5 times that amount for the plated. Solvent is cheap...

 

[brewer12345]

I use the plated ones through a suppressor out of a Marlin lever action.

Fascinating. I shot one out of a Rossi lever out of curiosity and was surprised to see that it was right on. Will it cycle? No issues with bullets failing to exit the barrel? If so, wadcutters for everything! Wonder how many would fit in the tube of my 24" rifle.

 

[444]

Fascinating. I shot one out of a Rossi lever out of curiosity and was surprised to see that it was right on. Will it cycle? No issues with bullets failing to exit the barrel? If so, wadcutters for everything! Wonder how many would fit in the tube of my 24" rifle.

They function good. Occasionally they hang up, but rarely.
I am shooting them suppressed and they are silent. You hear the hammer fall. Period.
Of course they have very little "power " but they are very impressive in the noise department

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I loaded a box of Berry's plated HBWC bullets over 3.4gr W231/HP-38 and they shot very well. I did not buy more because I'm good with lead WC bullets and coated ones too.

 

[brewer12345]

They function good. Occasionally they hang up, but rarely.
I am shooting them suppressed and they are silent. You hear the hammer fall. Period.
Of course they have very little "power " but they are very impressive in the noise department

Aside from punching holes in paper, mostly what I care about with wadcutters is making neat holes in small game. I am OK out to about 25 yards with the revolver. Beyond that it is rifle territory. Will have to try the wadcutters to see if they function in the rifle, as it would be nice to use the same ammo in both pistol and rifle.

 

[someguy2800]

When I shot cast I didn't have a leading problem in this gun, the thing I didn't like was the smoke and soot and mess from the bullet lube. I got tired of scrubbing all the black mess off the outside of the gun and my hands. I get such phenomenal accuracy from Berry's 125 flat points, they handle rough handling well, hands stay clean when loading, and the gun stays clean forever. I was just looking around and I can't even find a lead wad cutter for cheaper than a berrys wad cutter so I think I'll give them a try.

 

[brewer12345]

When I shot cast I didn't have a leading problem in this gun, the thing I didn't like was the smoke and soot and mess from the bullet lube. I got tired of scrubbing all the black mess off the outside of the gun and my hands. I get such phenomenal accuracy from Berry's 125 flat points, they handle rough handling well, hands stay clean when loading, and the gun stays clean forever. I was just looking around and I can't even find a lead wad cutter for cheaper than a berrys wad cutter so I think I'll give them a try.

I've been very happy with their plated DEWCs. I think you will be happy with those or the hollow base. Just load them with a bit more powder than you would a lead wadcutter.

 

[someguy2800]

Just ordered some berrys hbwc's to try. Midway has berrys on sale right now. Excited to try them with bullseye and 700x

 

[joneb]

I really miss Speer's WC bevel base, I could run those with 3.4 gr of Bullseye from a 6" S&W M-10 or a 4" Colt Trooper with excellent results.

 

[444]

When I shot cast I didn't have a leading problem in this gun, the thing I didn't like was the smoke and soot and mess from the bullet lube. I got tired of scrubbing all the black mess off the outside of the gun and my hands. I get such phenomenal accuracy from Berry's 125 flat points, they handle rough handling well, hands stay clean when loading, and the gun stays clean forever. I was just looking around and I can't even find a lead wad cutter for cheaper than a berrys wad cutter so I think I'll give them a try.

This is something that I have been trying to figure out: is all that soot and smoke caused by the powder I am using, or is it caused by bullet lube ?

I was shooting a .44 two weeks ago and I just grabbed a bunch of various ammo I had lying around. In the winter, I shoot indoors at a club range and they don't allow heavy loads. So, I started off shooting a 240 grain plated bullet over a small charge of Trail Boss. Very clean. No smoke. Hands clean. However it did smell bad. I ran out of those and then went to some light loads I had with regular 240 grain cast bullets and Bullseye or Unique (I don't remember which) and I thought I was shooting black powder. Copious amount of smoke, hands black, gun black.

I am going to load something else today for tomorrow night's shoot. I was going to try Red Dot powder. I will have to see what bullets I have. But for me, shooting indoors, I am going to find a light load that doesn't smoke like that.

 

[dgod]

444, I would be very interested it what you come up with " I was going to try Red Dot powder. ", as I was given a unopened 4# Can of Hercules Red Dot Powder.

Thanks
Dan

 

[Walkalong]

It takes a little less Red Dot to get to 700ish FPS than it does WST or Competition.

 

[brewer12345]

444, I have shot wadcutter loads with plated and cast using similar charges of the same powder in the same gun. It is clearly the lube on cast that makes the mess. If you want to avoid that, go with powder coated or plated.

 

[someguy2800]

Its the wax lube. I tried an experiment once when I used to shoot cast. I cleaned my revolver out real good with brushes and solvent and then removed the lube from 10 bullets with a brush and acetone and shot them. No mess, no smoke. The same load with lubed bullets was smoky and filthy. At first I liked the smoke and dirt, smokes about as much as the guns do in the movies so you get to pretend your Wyatt Earp. That wore off pretty quickly though.

The next pistol I want to get is a uburti 1851 or 1860 navy conversion in 38 special. I will load that with 158 cast so I can play cowboy and not have to deal with black powder. (did I say I don't like cleaning guns?)

https://www.uberti-usa.com/army-conversion-navy-conversion-and-open-top-revolvers

 

[roval]

i didnt notice any accuracy difference with 147 dardas cast dewc vs 147 dewc plated from xtteme no hbwc though.. i loaded the cast with 2.7 gr bullseye and 2.9 with the xtreme. interestingly i had leading with the cast in my smith 586 4 inch. i had bumped up the xtreme from 2.7 as sometimes i get sooting in the outside of the.

38 spcl and 357 is what i like loading the most from a purely loading process. the bigger cases and the bigger bullets that are more angular( dewc and swc) are easiier to grasp.

 

[roval]

i didnt notice any accuracy difference with 147 dardas cast dewc vs 147 dewc plated from xtteme no hbwc though.. i loaded the cast with 2.7 gr bullseye and 2.9 with the xtreme. interestingly i had leading with the cast in my smith 586 4 inch. i had bumped up the xtreme from 2.7 as sometimes i get sooting in the outside of the.

38 spcl and 357 is what i like loading the most from a purely loading process. the bigger cases and the bigger bullets that are more angular( dewc and swc) are easiier to grasp.

forgot to mention the lube on the lead was messier as well and i have to clean off the dies due to the lube buildup. i never clean off my dies used for plated, coated and jacketed bullets.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

Primer, powder and lube all contribute to smoke and carbon. Lube is the major culprit, different lubes have their own characteristics. Some powders cause more problems than others, and light loads usually create more smoke & carbon. Primers usually can alter the amount and aroma of smoke generated. I call it the application of black magic.