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.38 special wadcutter

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https://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/410601935/m/2830053294

May 28, 2022, 04:25 PM
bendable
.38 special wadcutter
No one in 70 miles has any.

So looks as though I have to order some.

My question is:
Whome do I order from ?

Whome do I stay away from ?
It's been 25 years since I ordered any





Safety, Situational Awareness and proficiency.



Neck Ties, Hats and ammo brass, Never ,ever touch'em w/o asking first
May 28, 2022, 07:12 PM
maxwayne
Check out ammoseek.com
May 31, 2022, 08:57 PM
2PAK
Freedom Munitions (out of Lewiston, ID). I just received a few boxes from them.
February 11, 2023, 12:18 PM
Monti
I was at my local LGS and they had three boxes of 250 ct Hornady lead 148-gr HBWC which I snapped up. ACME Bullets sells powder coated bevel base wadcutters. These are bullets only, not loaded ammo.


P220 Elite Full Size .45
February 11, 2023, 01:09 PM
DoctorSolo
Doubletap and buffalobore both have hardcast wadcutters in .38 SPL.

Very spendy but interesting loads. I read Jim Cirillo liked something similar for social use back in the day. Something about the wadcutter punching a larger hole than round-nose or FMJ loads. Like a hole-punch vs a pencil.
February 11, 2023, 01:26 PM
OKCGene
38spc Wadcutter is really hard to find, especially at a reasonable price.

It's available on ammo seek dot com but the price is crazy. 70 Cents per Round and up.

It does punch a nice round hole, usually without tearing the paper target, so it's so much easier to use for target practice.

I used to shoot a LOT of it back in the 80's, so I had tons of brass and literally reloaded many thousands of 38spc Wadcutter to save money.

It's extremely easy and simple to reload.

Ironically I spent time the last few days looking online for some 38spc 148 grain wadcutter bullets to load, I have the brass and such. It's out there and available, but like many other things, you have to hunt to find it.

If you want to buy new 38spc 148 grain wadcutter, you'll have to hold your nose, break open your wallet and just do it, cuz it just isn't as common anymore.

If you find it at a reasonable price, buy it now!! Don't hesitate, don't meditate, don't be late!

Back when I was shooting this in the 80's, revolvers were still the big thing. Semi-auto handguns were in use, of course, but nowhere the level they are now. Now everything is 9mm or such, and it's so common you trip over it.

I just checked Freedom Munitions, they show to be out now.

Remember, save your brass, especially on straight wall pistol cartridges.


Best wishes to you Bendable and the others.
February 12, 2023, 12:07 PM
Nipper
King Shooters Supply, their own product. Excellent quality, all hard cast. It's also my LGS and I've used them for over 25 years.

Shipping: "We ship via US Postal Service, priority mail for $20. We can fit up to 70 lbs in this shipping box which generally translates to 4 large boxes of bullets, or 6 small boxes..."

Couldn't find plain lead. Think it's a Web site problem.

Poly:
https://www.kingshooters.com/p...er-sized-357-45-3014


______________________
An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing. --Nicholas Murray Butler
February 13, 2023, 05:55 AM
Ironmike57
https://www.precisiondelta.com...evpage=2#tab-reviews
February 13, 2023, 10:57 AM
honestlou
quote:


That looks like good product and reasonably priced. But is it just me, or does it look like the bullets are loaded backwards? With the hollow base facing forward.
February 13, 2023, 12:38 PM
Oat_Action_Man
Georgia Arms also carries loaded wadcutters:

https://www.georgia-arms.com/3...-lead-wadcutter-new/


----------------------------

Chuck Norris put the laughter in "manslaughter"

Educating the youth of America, one declension at a time.
February 13, 2023, 05:38 PM
SunFunGuy
quote:
Originally posted by bendable:
No one in 70 miles has any.

So looks as though I have to order some.

My question is:
Whome do I order from ?

Whome do I stay away from ?
It's been 25 years since I ordered any


Georgia Arms
15 Industrial Ct E, Villa Rica, GA 30180
February 14, 2023, 05:05 PM
Expert308
quote:
Originally posted by honestlou:
quote:

That looks like good product and reasonably priced. But is it just me, or does it look like the bullets are loaded backwards? With the hollow base facing forward.

It does kinda look that way. I've heard of people loading wadcutters backward for defensive ammo on the theory that they expand better that way. I don't know if it's true, and I don't think I've ever heard of commercial ammo being loaded that way.
February 14, 2023, 07:25 PM
rburg
Most wadcutters are "pure lead" so softer. When loaded backwards they amount to a huge hollow point. Try them sometime. Accuracy is good enough out to 10 yards or so. After that, they're tumbling like crazy. They still stay within the broad side of a medium size barn. Be sure to recover some, just for amusement. They swap ends.

My guess is they tumble inside someone who needs it.


Unhappy ammo seeker
February 14, 2023, 07:42 PM
honestlou
My dad and brother used to load some that way back in the day. I’m just surprised to see them loaded that way commercially. And I don’t think they’ll punch quite as nice holes in paper that way.
February 15, 2023, 03:01 PM
gjgalligan
.....

This message has been edited. Last edited by: gjgalligan,


Integrity is doing the right thing, even when nobody is looking.
February 15, 2023, 03:44 PM
oddball
Federal Premium's direct site has .38 Special wadcutters, 148 gr. $50 per box of 50. Pricey, but they have 'em. I bought several of these back in early 2022 when ammo was still kind of scarce. Free shipping with over $149 in the cart.

https://www.federalpremium.com...andgun/11-GM38A.html



"I’m not going to read Time Magazine, I’m not going to read Newsweek, I’m not going to read any of these magazines; I mean, because they have too much to lose by printing the truth"- Bob Dylan, 1965
February 16, 2023, 01:01 PM
iron chef
Fiocchi 148gr at $27.99/box of 50. Merchant is located in TX near Houston.

https://shop.libertyshooting.c...2344002057-38la-5324
March 18, 2023, 09:26 AM
Ironmike57
Not a true wadcutter, but would you consider carrying this in a 649? On sale at Midway!

https://www.midwayusa.com/prod...uct-description-link

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ironmike57,
March 18, 2023, 05:22 PM
92fstech
A buddy gave me a bunch of his cast wadcutters a few weeks back and I just got around to loading some up this afternoon. I have a couple of guns that just love the Hornady 148 hollow-base bullets, so I'm hoping they perform similarly with these. I like the nice clean holes in targets that they produce, they tend to shoot to the sights on my fixed-sight guns, and they're easy on the gun and the wrists. About the only downsides are that they won't feed in my lever-action, and they can be a little cumbersome on a revolver speed reload since there's no cone-shaped bullet sticking out the front to guide the rounds into the cylinder.


There's been a lot of talk on some of the gun podcasts lately about the terminal effectiveness of the wadcutter bullet...something about the flat profile tearing clean holes through tissue and also being resistant to the deflection that a round-nose can experience when hitting harder structures like bone. I've not tried it myself, but the theory kind of makes sense. Georgia Arms, who were referenced earlier in the thread, make a wadcutter target load as well as a wadcutter defensive load. I've not personally purchased from them, but IIRC they were supposedly getting 13" of penetration in gel at 750fps out of a snubby. That's not too shabby.
March 26, 2023, 05:18 PM
bendable
I've seen videos like that





Safety, Situational Awareness and proficiency.



Neck Ties, Hats and ammo brass, Never ,ever touch'em w/o asking first