Standard 38 spc lead wadcutter load

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My DWEC mold, a Lyman IIRC, has a crimp groove near the top of the bullet and I mostly seat to that depth. But, during a bunch of "experimenting" I seated bullets from flush to as long as the cylinder would allow (nearly 3/8") looking for most accurate OAL. Made very, very little difference. My target ammo was usually 2.9-3.1 gr. Bullseye or an equivalent of W231.

I have a load for my "house gun" using my cast DEWC, about 12-13 BHN over a max load of W231 (not +P). Accurate out to 30-40 feet, didn't try any farther, and I suspect the flat nose will deliver a lot of tissue damage at just under 900 fps and not endanger the neighbors...
 
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ACTUALLY MOST POPULAR 148GR HBWC FOR PPC IS NO LONGER 2.7 GR BULLSEYE. IT 2.7 GR WST FOR HBWC, FOR 148GR DEWC'S 2.9GR WST. WST IS MUCH CLEANER. IT LEAVES LESS RESIDUE TO GET STUCK UNDER THE EXTRACTOR STARS.
TRAIL BOSS IS GAINING IN POPULARITY .
TIN STAR BY VV IS GREAT. IT'S THE CLEANEST BY FAR. BUT IT'S THE MOST EXPENSIVE.
 
UPS guy used to hate our address because of the delivery of bullets. Bought BE in 18 pound cans, primers in sleeves of 5000, ten at a time. My wife and I could crank out 700 or more an hour out of that old Star. I'd feed bullets and pull the handle, she'd fill primer and shell tubes and box loaded rounds.
 
PapaG said:
UPS guy used to hate our address because of the delivery of bullets. Bought BE in 18 pound cans, primers in sleeves of 5000, ten at a time. My wife and I could crank out 700 or more an hour out of that old Star. I'd feed bullets and pull the handle, she'd fill primer and shell tubes and box loaded rounds.
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Sounds like the perfect team!

Stay safe.
 
PapaG said:
We were and still are after 56 years together. Her patience and intelligence along with my drive and impetuousness seem to have blended well.
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She got a sister? Or have you ever thought of maybe taking some of our wives and girlfriends in for a week at a time for some hands on training? If your wife would start training with decent results, you could be a rich man in a short period of time! Hell, sitting here imagining my ex loading bullets sort of made me miss her for at least 30 seconds until reality sank back in.
 
Eddietruett said:
She got a sister? Or have you ever thought of maybe taking some of our wives and girlfriends in for a week at a time for some hands on training? If your wife would start training with decent results, you could be a rich man in a short period of time! Hell, sitting here imagining my ex loading bullets sort of made me miss her for at least 30 seconds until reality sank back in.
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:rofl:

I think my starter wife was related to your ex! I Divorced her in 1996, I don’t miss those headaches in the least! :thumbup:

My wife of the past 16 years bought me and my gun-reloading habits as part of the package. Three kids (and a lot of guns and loaded rounds) later she still puts up with me. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
Riomouse911 said:
I think my starter wife was related to your ex ! I don’t miss those headaches in the least ! :thumbup:
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You mean your "starter wife" was a non-starter. Enter version 2.0 !!

That reminds me of the joke about the motorist who refused to pull over for the blue light. When they finally got him pulled over, the cop asked, "Why didn't you stop for me way back at the beginning ?"
The motorist said, "My first wife ran off with a policeman. I thought you were him, and trying to return her !"


Now to the gun stuff....
► Almost anything will get a 148gr Double Ended WC to shoot good. My testing shows that AA No2 is superior to W231, Competition, Bullseye, and several other commonly used powders.
►Here's the strange part... all these powders use a different drop weight, but they all end up using nearly identical volume settings on your powder measure.
► It is easiest to load the MBC version with about .080" protruding from the case, but the MBC version has an extra cannelure that will allow this, not all 148gr WC do.
► If you try to seat the WC flush with the end of the case mouth, then your seating anvil may end up making contact with the case mouth. If the seater touches the case, then the case will buckle. So you need to make sure your flat seating anvil will actually enter inside the case mouth to prevent this type interference.

Hope this helps.
 
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According to Gun Digest Book of Handgun Reloading, 2.7 gr Bullseye is the “Classic Load” for 148 gr wadcutters. The book further qualifies that 3.0 gr was the most accurate load with the BBWC that they were using.

When I first started loading WCs I didn’t have Bullseye, and substituted Titegroup. Their load datas are nearly identical, and their burn rates are too. Later when I started using Bullseye, I found 2.7 gr Bullseye and 2.7 gr Titegroup were indistinguishable. That’s just perception and target accuracy though. I didn’t chrono them back to back.
 
Light Roll Crimp over front driving band. 148 Gr HBWC
Light Roll Crimp on a 38 HBWC Pic 1.JPG

Light Roll Crimp into cannelure so the bullet sits in the throats. 148 Gr HBWC
Light Roll Crimp Into Cannelure on .38 Spl HBWC Pic 1.JPG

Very light Taper Crimp with bullet seated to front driving band. 148 Gr HBWC
Light Taper Crimp on a 38 HBWC Pic 0.JPG
Light Taper Crimp on a 38 HBWC Pic 1.JPG

Light Taper Crimp with bullet seated out to center in throats. Plated 148 Gr HBWC
Light Taper Crimp on a Berry's 148 Gr HBWC In .38 Spl - Pic 1.JPG

I don't seem to have a pic of the plated .38 148 HBWC seated almost
flush with just the rounded front edge sticking out of the case.

But here is a Plated 83 Gr HBWC seated nearly flush in .32 Long.
Light Taper Crimp on a .32 Long WC - Berrys 83 Gr HBWC - Pic 1.JPG

I also don't have a pic of 148 Gr Lead DEWCs seated nearly flush,
except for the ones in the .30 Cal ammo can I posted.

Someone may be able to shoot the differences in the ways to seat them.
I can only shoot well enough to "think" maybe one shoots a little better.

A Ransom Rest could prove it I suppose, or some elite shooters.

Lead does shoot better than plated, but plenty well enough for me.
 
Everybody is talking about the midrange target wadcutter.
It is largely forgotten now, but there used to be a service wadcutter, same load as the 158 gr lead roundnose.
Considering the number of posts I see advocating wadcutters in dwarf hideout revolvers, it might be something to bring back. Another hundred fps would make that flat end slap a good deal harder without a huge increase in recoil.
 
As you can see, for target WC ammo a fairly light charge of almost any fast pistol powder will produce a good load. Since my faster and powder is W231 that's what I use in all my .38 Special target ammo.

With a 148gr DEWC I charge 3.4gr W231 (the bullet you are using)
With a 148gr HBWC I charge 3.2gr W231 but I have gone down to 3.0gr with some bullets.

Extra: With a 158gr LSWC I charge 4.0gr W231. The charge is a little stiffer than necessary but it's very clean and more accurate than lighter charges.
 
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My personal favorite wc load for years has been the Lyman 358432, which drops at 160 or so from wheel weights and has a crimp groove a quarter inch or so down. As accurate as the 148 in some and way better in my Rugers.
 
Hey, Walkalong, is that a 38 S&W in the first pic? I use the hbwc in my old top break rather than try to find .360 dia bullets.
 
It's a .38 S&W case on the left to show the bullet so people can see the canellure, driving bands, lube grooves, etc on it.
 
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