Full Charge Wadcutters

Inspired by this article by C.E. (Ed) Harris, earlier this month I loaded up a batch of full power .38 Special wadcutters. Wadcutter ammo in .38 Special is usually loaded light for target shooting. However, when loaded to the same power level as .38 service loads, wadcutters are effective on game and for self defense use. Expansion is minimal but they penetrate very well and cut a full-caliber hole the entire way.

The loads I shot today consisted of:

• Winchester .38 Special wadcutter brass,
• CCI small pistol primer,
• 3.5 grains of Alliant Bullseye powder, and a
• 148 grain button nose, bevel base wadcutter sized to .359" from Matt's Bullets.

Note that Ed Harris uses 146 grain double end wadcutters cast from a Saeco mold. I chose the button nose design cast from a Lyman 35891 mold because they may offer slightly better accuracy at long range (i.e., over 50 yards). The difference is probably minimal, however. The bevel base does make loading them in the brass a little easier.

Something interesting to note in that reading various forum posts over the years about .38 wadcutter loads, it appears that these bullets virtually always give best accuracy when loaded to full power.

In any event, my Smith & Wesson Model 15-3 likes this load. This 12-shot group was fired today from about 10 yards, shooting double action:

I caused the 2 flyers.

I'm going to load up a bunch more of these rounds.