younggunfreak
New member
What is wad cutter bullets
wad cutter
- Thread starter younggunfreak
- Start date
Doodlebugger45
New member
Ratherr than having a pointed nose or a rounded nose like you see on most rifle bullets, the wad cutter bullets are completely flat on the front end. No tapering at all. On some of them (HBWC), the back end of the bullet is slightly concave, giving the name Hollow base wad cutter. The slight hollowing on the rear rnd of the bullet waws to give the rear end the ability to expand just a little bit, or obturate, to seal better against the rifling. I see them still sometimes mainly in 38 Spl handgun loads. I have not seen them in rifle cartridges.
They are very inefficient from an aerodynamic point of view, but the cut very nice round holes in paper targets. For awhile, some people also liked them as a defensive round in the 38 special.
They are very inefficient from an aerodynamic point of view, but the cut very nice round holes in paper targets. For awhile, some people also liked them as a defensive round in the 38 special.
Traditionally, they have been used by bullseye marksmen because the nice, round, and large holes that they cut increase the odds of cutting a ring marker, thereby increasing one's score. They're also reputed to be very accurate rounds, at least at bullseye distances of 25 yards or less. I fire them from time to time in .38 Special. They have the added benefit of being a very light recoiling round.
At one time Smith & Wesson made a semi-auto pistol, the model 52, that was expressly designed to shoot .38 wadcutter rounds. It was, for a while, the state of the art bullseye gun.
At one time Smith & Wesson made a semi-auto pistol, the model 52, that was expressly designed to shoot .38 wadcutter rounds. It was, for a while, the state of the art bullseye gun.
aarondhgraham
New member
We made our own,,,
In high school for the rifle team practices and matches,,,
Our coach (Retired Marine Lt. Colonel) had us making wadcutters.
One person used a shear and cut the tip off of .22 longs,,,
The next person used a hand file to make it smooth.
We never shot at more than 50 yards,,,
They were accurate enough.
.
In high school for the rifle team practices and matches,,,
Our coach (Retired Marine Lt. Colonel) had us making wadcutters.
One person used a shear and cut the tip off of .22 longs,,,
The next person used a hand file to make it smooth.
We never shot at more than 50 yards,,,
They were accurate enough.
.
Cosmik de Bris
New member
I get the point, but the problem is almost every question can be answered with Google, which would mean there would be no communities like this one.
They typically are... Doodlebugger45 mentioned how they obturate in the bore and that helps. What stevieboy mentioned about cutting clean holes and scoring the target is absolutely true also. Other handloaders will tell you that the bearing surface of the bullet is a driving factor -- these bullet don't have a short shank to grab the rifling of the bore, they use the entire length of the coffee-can shaped slug to grab the rifling.
Try to shoot any distance with them and they drop to the earth like a rock. They aren't aerodynamic. But for limited range target work, mostly from revolvers, they can't be beat.
Wadcutter vs. Google
Quote:
What is google
I get the point, but the problem is almost every question can be answered with Google, which would mean there would be no communities like this one.
One big advantage with a moderated forum like TFL is that you're very likely to get a quality answer in the first entry or two. Use your imagination as to what type of answers / chaff you're likely to get at answers.com or (formerly) answers.google.com or an unmoderated board: The midnight to 4 AM crew would probably have a field day defining "Wad-Cutter" through their personal exploits.
Quote:
What is google
I get the point, but the problem is almost every question can be answered with Google, which would mean there would be no communities like this one.
One big advantage with a moderated forum like TFL is that you're very likely to get a quality answer in the first entry or two. Use your imagination as to what type of answers / chaff you're likely to get at answers.com or (formerly) answers.google.com or an unmoderated board: The midnight to 4 AM crew would probably have a field day defining "Wad-Cutter" through their personal exploits.
Sheikyourbootie
New member
Another variation on the wadcutter that I like is the tumble lube version. No need to run these through the lube-sizer. Cast nearly 1k in an hour with range scrap. Tumble lube them and load them.
