38 special wadcutters?

[JRG]

I bought a new box of ammo the other day for my 642. It is a box of 38 special wadcutters. Just glancing at the rounds, there is no bullet protrusion. I have not heard of these before and have not been to the range to shoot any of them yet either.

Are these just range quality rounds? Are they self defense type stuff? Looking for some guidance here.

Thanks,
Joe

[Boxerrider]

Generally a target-shooting bullet, because they "cut" a visible hole in the paper.
Watch your chambers and barrel for leading. Some gun/bullet/load combinations work well and others accumulate thick layers that are difficult to remove.

[AF-Odin]

I have shot and reloaded thousands of 148 grain wadcutters. Function just fine. As mentioned, you might want to scrub the bore with a good bronze brush after a few hundred rounds as they do seem to lead up more than most commercial ammo, but really not any more than any other full lead bullet.

NORMALLY a target round as stated for the nice holes they cut in paper, but some folks swear by them as self defense round particularly if it is a hollow base wad cutter that is loaded "backward" with the hollow base forming a giant hollow point.

[Noggin]

I first started using .38 spc wadcutters way back in 1975 in England in my 4" 357. As most of my experience at that time was with military ammo the did look rather strange but they were nice to shoot and reasonably priced. I must have gone through quite a few hundred rounds of them before I sold my revolver in 1992.

[threoh8]

Factory .38 Special 148-grain wadcutter loads tend to be very good target loads. They are normally loaded to low velocity
("mid-range"), often around 700 feet per second.
It's mild in recoil and report, it tends to be accurate, and it makes clean, easy-to-score holes in targets. It's also easy to duplicate with handloads, and the components are usually cheap.
That loading was considered pretty accurate in bullseye shooting at 25 and 50 yards- so much so that Smith and Wesson and Colt chambered target autoloaders for it (S&W Model 52 and Colt Gold Cup National Match .38 Special Mid-Range). The Army Marksmanship Unit made a semi-rimmed version for their autoloaders - the .38 AMU.
They wouldn't be my first or second choice for self defense, but if that's what you have ...

[JRG]

Thanks for the replies. These are 148 grain ammo by Double Tap. I am looking forward to seeing what they can do.

Joe

[SecurityGeek]

Quick reloads are likely not going to happen, but they do punch nice holes. Underwood has a 150 gr polymer coated wadcutter that shoots well in my .38 snubbies.

[Jose_in_Dallas]

Lots of good articles out there about using wadcutters in .38 snubbies. The thinking is that in a snubby length barrel, a hollowpoint defensive round will not have enough velocity to expand effectively. Where a wadcutter round, designed to cut nice holes in paper, will do a good enough job of "cutting" where an FMJ will tend to "slide" through flesh and not do any damage. A side benefit is that because it does not have the added powder for velocity, it's soft shooting, especially with short barrel revolvers and aids in putting rounds on targets. Here is a good article on what I'm talking about but plenty of people better in the know have mirrored the same thinking. I have a couple of snubby .38's and plenty of various hollow point ammo. I need to pick up some wadcutter ammo to see how it shoots out of them. I don't carry either of these often enough as I'm perfectly comfortable carrying my Glock 17/45 daily. But I'm at the point now that a pocket gun would be nice to have handy when at home or in the gym when I don't want to wear something that requires a belt to keep the weight of my regular carry attached to me.

Here is some good reading.

https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/wadc ... f-defense/

https://revolverguy.com/georgia-arms-ul ... wadcutter/

https://www.shootingillustrated.com/con ... l-defense/

https://americancop.com/wadcutters-will-work/

[JRG]

Totally agree Jose. I am content with my 19X with 17+1 and a 19 round backup. I do like to carry the 642 as a pocket carry backup piece from time to time.

Thanks for the links. I look forward to reading them.

Joe