Wadcutters for Protection?

[Carbonator]

Wish those SafeStops were still being made. Full flat copper jacketed wadcutters are exactly what I want for my .44 Special. Or perhaps better yet without the split top. I can't shoot lead and I don't want to keep exposed lead reloads in my pocket so Buffalo Bore's lead wadcutter is a no go for me.

Love the idea of full wadcutters. I see hollowpoints being like a crumple zone in front of a car - modern cars have more damage to the car (hollowpoint) and less to the thing being hit (bad guy). An old buick (full wadcutter) could really plow through an accident and not receive much damage. Remember when those SUV front bumpers were being blamed for causing more damage to pedestrians because they didn't crumple like a car hood?

Rigid SUV bumper = Full copper jacketed wadcutter

Modern crumple design car = Hollowpoint

Which would you rather be hit by?

I think there's too much focus on what a mushroomed bullet looks like. How much energy was lost deforming that hollowpoint? I think the marketing guys and patent attorneys got a hold of the bullet industry and pushed hollowpoints to the point of pushing out the wadcutter crowd. You can't change a full flat wadcutter and get a patent on it or market it as much different than the next company's full flat wadcutter. I hope the wadcutters make a come back.

Go wadcutters!

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Rigid SUV bumper = Full copper jacketed wadcutter

Modern crumple design car = Hollowpoint

Which would you rather be hit by?

It's the hole that kills -- especially in handguns. The bigger the hole, the better. Which would you rather have, a .429" hole or a .90" hole?

 

[Pyro]

Heh, I don't think I could connect different bullets with cars but I get the gist of it.

I want a bullet that will perform flawlessly. The only JHP bullet I've seen with such a positive test performance through multiple barriers is the Corbon DPX. Than it comes down to velocity. If I was carrying a 4 inch revolver I'd go for the DPX since it is of a lighter weight. When I have my derringer in the pocket I have two Buffalo Bore wadcutters. My derringer has a barrel length of 1 6/8 and according to brassfetcher that 150 grain hole puncher has been caught above 900 fps in a 1 7/8 barrel. This ain't a target load by a long stretch.

Vern, I want a hole that digs deep and through some good stuff like organs and bone. Not carrying about size all that much, if you can make holes in the bad guy your doing your job pretty good.

 

[gordonagain]

Today there are hp rounds that will expand out of a 2" barrel. The Remington FBI loads, Corbon DPX, and the Short Barrel Gold Dots have all shown expansion out of snubbies. Wadcutters won't likely produce as much crush cavity as a good hp but I think it's a safe bet that they'll produce more crush cavity than a round nose and have less recoil than most hp rounds. Atlanta Arms and Ammo makes a jacketed wadcutter. They are excellent. I carried them in my j-frame.

 

[Carbonator]

gordonagain - is that Atlanta Arms product a complete ready to fire round or just the bullet?

 

[pete950]

That Atlanta Arms stuff is listed at 650fps I wonder how slow it is out of a snub.

The safe stops are 750 for the non +p out of a snub!!!

 

[Low Budget Shooter]

Fellow WC Lovers,

I recently learned two WC tricks that probably has been known for years to the more experienced shooters, but may be news to many of us:

First, for ease of loading:

1. Cast or buy a bevel-base WC bullet
2. Load with the bevel-base forward
3. Seat bullet not flush with case, but out a bit
4. See how easy it is to load into the revolver's charging holes compare with flush WCs!

Second, for improved power: load at honest .38 special velocities, instead of target velocities. For example, use 3.5gr Bullseye instead of 2.7gr. I'm sure this is not a max load, but probably about 800fps instead of 600fps. It's still pretty mild on the shooter, and probably more problematic for the shootee.

LBS

 

[woad_yurt]

Why use the wadcutters at all if one loads them beveled end forward? By forward, I assume that you mean backwards or upside down. If a beveled end is facing one's target, it's not performing as a wadcutter anymore.

 

[Low Budget Shooter]

Dear WY,

On the mold I use, the bevel is so slight it's difficult to see without looking really closely. I don't think it ruins the wadcutter effect.

LBS

 

[woad_yurt]

Does it punch a perfect hole in paper?

 

[Pyro]

Anybody here hear of Blue Bunny?
Didn't they market a copper jacketed reverse wad cutter in 38 Special?

 

[zxcvbob]

Does it punch a perfect hole in paper?

Yes they do, even at low velocities. (I have a bevel-base WC mold)

The bevels help when loading from a speed strip or individually, but it still sucks trying to load them 6-at-a-time with a speedloader. It is possible, and not even all that hard, but it's slow.

 

[pete950]

The guy at "Blue Bunny" uses Berry's HBWC reversed.

 

[zxcvbob]

The guy at "Blue Bunny" uses Berry's HBWC reversed.

I would not expect those to expand much at .38 Special velocities. (of course they don't have to expand to be effective) They would probably be better loaded normal; more room for powder, and more stable with the weight forward. I think I have a half a box of those bullets somewhere...

OTOH, maybe they are supposed to tumble when they hit rather than expand, like that 5.45mm Russian rifle round.

 

[pete950]

Blue Bunny GOLDEN SHOT

 

[olafhardtB]

hbwc reversed

I load the Lee modern minie over 6.4grains of Unique in my500 s&w handy rifle. I cast out of WW plus 2% tin, air cooled. What I like about the reversed hbwc loaded flush is that it takes up so much of the extra space. I have not chronied mine ; however it is conceiveable that with less powder space avialable the reversed WC could be more efficient. Both configurations of the hollow based :banghead:wadcutters seal the barrel-cylinder gap longer in a revolver.

 

[Al Thompson]

Carbonator, the Atlanta Arms FMJ wadcutter is loaded ammo. I have a couple of boxes left out of a case, it's good stuff.