Quick question, I've done a lot of thread searching and can't find an answer. I'm going to order some wadcutters from MBC to fire out of my SW 649, and they come in .358 and .357 diameter. What is the reason for the two different sizes and what should I probably go with?
.358 vs .357 Wadcutters
- Thread starter fractal7
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W.E.G.
Member
I thought it had more to do with brass thickness.
Some thin-necked brass won't hold the .357 wadcutters tightly enough to obtain consistent pressures.
Some thin-necked brass won't hold the .357 wadcutters tightly enough to obtain consistent pressures.
No, It's about leading. If you use an undersized bullet in the cylinder, the gas created by the burning powder will overtake the bullet in the cylinder, gas-cut the shank, and deposit lead in the bore ahead of the bullet. The bullet, then, will slide over the lead and deposit additional lead. pretty soon your barrel will be badly leaded.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
I've always used a .358" lead bullet and a .357" jacketed bullet in my 38/357 handguns. Those just shoot better for me but some shooters have a tighter throat on their revolver than others and need a smaller diameter bullet to aid in accuracy.
Remo-99
Member
Myself, I would tend to lean towards the .358" sized lead. Being wadcutters you're proberbly not looking to push them real hard and being machine cast they'll be a hard-ish type alloy to give good casting properties and results.
Which means it's better to have the bullets slightly over the groove diameter, than trying to expand the harder bullet bases with lighter target load charges.
Which means it's better to have the bullets slightly over the groove diameter, than trying to expand the harder bullet bases with lighter target load charges.
loadedround
Member
918V has nailed the answer. Shoot undersized lead bullets in your firearm and enjoy the fun of removing the lead deposits.
243winxb
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Standard size is .358" for lead.
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