Wadcutters/SWC/HP SWC for HD/SD?

J

jgcoastie

New member
I'm curious how effective any of these could be for SD/HD... I'm going to try and handload these for my Glock 22 (.40S&W), Glock 20SF (10mm) and S&W 642CT (.38Spl) as my practice rounds. I'm using 155gr LRN in the .40 & 10mm as my practice rounds for now, but I want to be able to use only one type of bullet for both SD/HD and practice in both Glocks. I'd like to know how effective these bullet types would be when used in a SD/HD capacity. I'll be doing the same for my .38 as soon as my dies get here from Lee... Looking for a compromise between cost for plinking and effectiveness for SD/HD.

Please, lets not get into the "Handloads are bad for SD" debate. When loaded to the specifications provided in load manuals, the GSR patterns shouldn't vary much from factory stuff. And no DA who likes his job will make a huge issue of using handloads up here...
 
Before the advent of a reliable, effective hollow point, wadcutters were carried by just about everyone, including some LEO departments. They are an effective SD round, just as is LRN and FMJ. No one wants to be shot with ANYTHING.

That being said, modern JHP rounds are the best. Is there a reason you don't want to carry JHPs?
 
The 158gr. lead semi wad cutter .38+P is still one of the best loads for a snub nose revolver.

You should not shoot lead bullets in your stock Glock barrel because of it's type of rifling, you can buy a after market barrel for it if you want to shoot lead. But there is alot better HD ammo out there for them.
 
I love wadcutters and semi-wadcutters. And they make EXCELLENT HD/SD rounds. The only problem I would have is what you are using them in. Semi-auto pistols can be very picky about the type of ammo when it has to go up the ramp into the chamber. Assuming the pistol is of somewhat quality, a FMJ almost can never fail chambering. A Hollow point can be picky. Some brands great; others not so great. Semi-wadcutters start to get even more picky. Full wadcutters are the pickiest. I love full wadcutters, but I'll only use them in my revolvers. Semi-wadcutters I have to experiment with. Most will feed a 1911A1 45acp, however there are a few that the gun doesn't like. You'll need to experiment.

When it comes to HD/SD, I prefer to still with factory loads. Not because of legal issues; "Screw the Lawyers"; I can put up a fight with the best of them. So can my Wife's Law Firm. But the reason I choose factory Hollow Points like the Golden Sabers (My favorite); is because of the quality assurance. Remington, and others, are multi-million dollar companies and spend a lot of money of quality, reliability, best loading equipment, etc... I like reloading; it's fun and I like experimenting with velocity, energy, ballistics, trajectory, etc... Plus it's a lot cheaper. But when you consider that a single box of 20-25 JHP golden sabers will probably last an entire life time, (I don't plan on shooting 20-25 bad guys in my life); I can afford to have one box of factory golden sabers for HD/SD and use reloads for practice, plinking, fun, etc...

Now; if it was a revolver you were talking about, then all bets are off. You can shoot damn near anything in them and they will work. I love my semi's and carry 2 of them. But for reliability, no semi-auto can touch a revolver. Especially when it comes to ammunition, feeding, and going bank. At home, we mainly use a 357mag S&W Model 13. The wife and I are proficient with it and we KNOW for a fact that it WILL go bank when we need it. For SD, I carry either a SigSauer P220 which is one of the most reliable guns in the world or an FEG or Walther PPK 32 auto. Both also very reliable. But I know that because they are semi-auto's, I am taking a risk of a malfunction. But I am confident in my abilities to handle a malfunction or even capable of surviving even if the gun doesn't work at all. But for my wife, and at home, it's the revolver. In which case, the wadcutter and semi-wadcutter is an excellent choice. If ever the time comes; and the 1 box of golden sabers isn't enough against people; I have no problem using all the 357 magnum and 38spl +P 158 grain Full Wadcutters against bad guys. They are excellent.

P.S. There is absolutely nothing wrong with shooting lead bullets through a glock. The idea of lead building up and stopping a bullet from traveling down the barrel is urban legend. Now if you use the ultra softest lead bullets available, and send them out at 1100 fps, yes you can have some leading. But if you do any basic cleaning after shooting at all, then you'll be fine. Hell, you'll be fine even after 1000 rounds. Lead in the rifling is not going to stop a 1000 fps bullet. Anyway; if someone has information DIRECTLY from Glock that says definitely do not under any circumstances shoot lead bullets in this gun; THEN I'll rescind my opinion.
 
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I use SWCs in my 38 carry pistol (642), and my 357 loads in my Model 28 & 27. I carried SWC in my Model 28 when I was in LE. I like them, they work for me, that the SWC also works better for small game. I know they work out of a 357 for putting down moose after a moose/car incounter.

I load WCs in for my practice rounds and not for SD. Two reasons. I want to instantly be able to tell the differance and my practice rounds for both 357s/ Second I shoot a Model 52 Smith in the Center Fire Stage of Bullseye and it reqiires flush seated full WCs loaded mildly to function. That way I can run all my practice & target loads at the same time (off my Dillion RL 1000). This keeps it simple.

I dont shoot any jacketed bullets except 230 RN FMJ 45 ACPs that are required in CMP EIC Bullseye Matches.
 
You should not shoot lead bullets in your stock Glock barrel because of it's type of rifling, you can buy a after market barrel for it if you want to shoot lead. But there is alot better HD ammo out there for them.
Click to expand...

I've already bought, installed, and thoroughly tested EFK National Match barrels in both my Glocks. My practice rounds are round-nose lead 155gr.

I'm not opposed to shooting JHP's in my HD/SD guns, in fact all of mine are currently loaded with JHP's from Speer and Federal. However, I'd like to find a happy medium between cost-effective practice/plinking rounds and effective HD/SD rounds.

I want to practice with what I'll be carrying and even handloading, it will be kind of expensive to practice with Speer Gold Dots and the like...
 
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I did a great deal of experimenting along these lines a few years back. I played with Berry's and Rainier plated bullets, and found Rainier gave me better velocity and more accuracy over a few different loadings from my guns. However, I've settled on Tennessee Valley Bullets' hardcast WCs, which give me more velocity still, and have yet to lead my barrels at velocities up to 1200 fps.

For snub use, I'd suggest you look at the max Unique loading for a .38 Spl WC from a recent Speer manual. This gives me c. 950 fps from a snub, and is pleasant to shoot and accurate. :)
 
For .38 SPL, try 4 gr of W-231 or HP38 with a 148 gr HBWC. It's an easy shooting load but takes a core sample right out of any target, paper or otherwise.
 
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