wadcutter seating depth question

[tightgroup tiger]

I am loading reduced recoil 327fed mag shells right now. I bought a 1k box of Berry's 83gr DEWC bullets and loaded 100 of them with 4.5gr of Unique and seated them at half the depth that wad cutters are usually seated at. In other words I didn't change my bullet seating die from the 100 gr XTPs it was set for.

These shot really well and seamed very accurate. I know I never see factory wadcutter loads loaded this way, they are always seated flush to case mouth.

These laods shoot really well and my friends quit complaining about how load the factory loads are from my SP101.

S, why are factory loads, using wadcutter bullets, always seated flush to the case mouth? Is there a good reason why I can't continue loading my 327 shells with double ended wadcutters at half depth?

 

[rcmodel]

One good reason is, it keeps the grease grooves and lube protected inside the case where it can't pick up grit & grime.

The other reason was, that had to be loaded that length to work in Colt 1911 & S&W Model 52 .38 Spl target guns.

See the .38 Spl wadcutter in the middle of the photo, back when revolvers ruled the target shooting roost before WWII.



rc

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I re-read my post after reading yours and realized that I didn't say the Berry's bullets Í'm using are plated. Since wad cutters are usually lead that make perfect sense.

I take from this picture of the Police Positive load, as long as these plated bullets are seated to allow the cylinder to turn the longer seating depth shouldn't matter in my case.

This is my first venture with wad cutters and was curious about this.

Thanks RC

 

[suemarkp]

If you load them hot, you'd want to load them so you can crimp into a crimping groove. You also need to get enough of the bullet into the case so it holds onto it well.

There are some seriously heavy wadcutters (Penn thunderheads) that must stick out in from of the case mouth because they are so long.

So there is no one right seating depth for a wadcutter in a revolver. Depends on the bullet and how hot you load it. Note that seating to full depth causes higher pressures than seating further out. So load data could be increased if using a wadcutter load and loading it long. If you're having to guess from a non-wadcutter load, then reduce the powder charge if you are seating it fully.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

If you load them hot, you'd want to load them so you can crimp into a crimping groove

Berry's plated double ended wad cutters don't have canulars and mine are seated as deep as the XTPs I load at max load with Lill gun.

It's a fun load to shoot but pretty wimpy, so I am going to heat it up, some. I have some serious neck tension so I'm not to worried about setback at all with 83gr bullets.

 

[bluetopper]

If they are plated, smooth with no crimp groove, seat them as you wish. Just put enough bullet in the case to hold it securely..........enjoy.

 

[Float Pilot]

Sometimes the maximum depth that you can seat a wadcutter is determined my the chambers in the revolver cylinder.

In some revolvers the sharp edge of the Full Wadcutter will hit the edge of the chamber throat area and not let you totally seat the loaded cartridge. IF, it is loaded too long...

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Yea, I have already ran 100 of these through my sp101 and they worked really well. I was just curious as to why in a revolver the factory stuff is always seated flush, I set mine back to where it clears the cylinder throats and couldn't see why I had to go any further than that.

I forgot about the semi-autos as RC pointed out and when he posted the picture of the antique ammo for the colt police positive that showed the wad cutter seated at a normal depth it all came together.

thanks guys. Your info is what I needed.