.358 75gr wadcutter

boatswainsmate

boatswainsmate

Member
Hello all,
I bought this mold on the cheap at a local gun show and wondered if anyone has used this type of bullet before. In researching the bullet they were used 2 to a case in 38 special's for defense loads. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Boats
 
CZ93X62

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
I have a Lyman #358101 that casts a 75 grain stubby WC bullet. I have shot several hundred of these 'Stacked' into a 150 grain payload. They hit close together at 7 yards, about an inch apart. At 15 yards they fan out to 2.5"-3.5", and by 25 yards they spread more slowly......4.5" to 5". Once in a while they don't separate at all. They are fun to mess with as a novelty, and run at 700-800 FPS each is equivalent in weight and diameter to a 36 caliber roundball from a cap & ball Colt.
 
CZ93X62

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Roger that, JW--I have 4 revolvers in 38 S&W on staff here--1 has .359" throats (Colt Police Positive), 1 has .361" throats (S&W Regulation Police), and 2 have .362+ throats and love .363" sizing (S&W M&P and a Webley-Enfield). Poetic to a fault, the 38 Short & Weak.

What I have done with the 38 S&Ws is size down .375" roundballs meant for 36 C&B revolvers to fit, then seat them deep enough so that a short bit of case mouth is above the ball radius. A dab of Lee Liquid Alox is smeared around the ball, and migrates to be held between the case mouth and ball radius. Zero leading and about 500 FPS with 1.5 grains of WW-231 moving things along.
 
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L

LEC Guy

Active Member
On most of my molds for .38 Special I'm able to get a .360 diameter and the sizing is really just a lubrication step. Barely skims the bullet. 360's shoot well in most of my top breaks and Victory model.
 
P

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
OK, first - those short WC's are already about as close as you can get to a round ball in that caliber without actually making a round ball.
Second, I've never quite understood the concept of stacking two projectiles in one casing. I mean I get it in terms of two projectiles for each cartridge and that the two projectiles have a combined weight roughly equal to a single conventional projectile - but I've never really been on board with the concept.

Now, in a 38 S&W (as opposed to a 38 Special) a fat 75gr WC might have some real advantage in the "just for fun" category.
 
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LEC Guy

Active Member
Here are two wadcutters I enjoy loading for the .38 S&W. The soup can is a 360344 older Ideal mold blocks and the 358245 is a Ideal Fixed blocks mold. Been looking for a .245 top punch for some time now.
 

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beagle

Active Member
I load and shoot a lot of 2 ball .38 Special round ball loads in my .38s/.357s. Yes, twice the hit chance but the potential I see in in case of a home invasion. A light, multiple round ball load is probly less likely to penetrate too many dry wall wall panels and perforate other family members by accident. Just a thought. Most of mine go for snakes around the place. Does quiet well at that. 25 yards gives about a pie plate pattern.
As I recall from his article, Grenell had trouble with his two/three segments not seperating and had to drop a few flakes of Bullseye between each segment.
The round balls seperate nicely./beagle
 
M

Monochrome

Active Member
Petrol & Powder said:
OK, first - those short WC's are already about as close as you can get to a round ball in that caliber without actually making a round ball.
Second, I've never quite understood the concept of stacking two projectiles in one casing. I mean I get it in terms of two projectiles for each cartridge and that the two projectiles have a combined weight roughly equal to a single conventional projectile - but I've never really been on board with the concept.

Now, in a 38 S&W (as opposed to a 38 Special) a fat 75gr WC might have some real advantage in the "just for fun" category.
Click to expand...

The practice takes dedication to do correctly. At least the use of wadcutters is much safer then the practice of using round balls you put through a sizing die on your own. I hate the idea of the bottom round ball being undersized and simply bouncing between the crimped ball at the case mouth and the powder charge. Can we say obstruction? Increased chamber pressure?
 
B

beagle

Active Member
I’ve probably shot a Thousand round ball loads with no adverse reactions. I “bump” the bottom ball flat using a flat top punch. The top ball I bump with a round top punch. This gives a flat base and rounded nose. Then dip and dry in Lee’s liquid lube cut with lighter fluid. Give great groups.
The .38 S&W with its short case would be more of a challenge but doable. I’ve loaded a .451 Round ball double load in the .45 ACP using this same method and it works but did not not give the nice even groiups I was looking for at 25 yards.
These are great at close up shots at snakes.
Good for defense loads in houses too where only a couple sheets of dry wall separate family members and pets if you really have to shoot./beagle
 
Glaciers

Glaciers

Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
I purchased a 75 grain 360 mold from NOE a few years back with the idea of stacking 2 in the 38 case and possibly 3 in the longer 357 case. Cast a few and was looking at them, looking kinda cute, and I pictured them striking separately. I was thinking that a 75 grain projectile would not penetrate especially if heavy clothing was involved. In my country heavy clothing is relatively normal. So I was thinking that a single bullet of 125 to 180 grains would be dandy.
For plinking the round ball makes since to me. Use a ball large enough to size down to.360 or whatever diameter needed and you get a slight bore riding surface as well. Soft lead to be sure. No need to size just decap, prime and crimp. I’ve powder coated some others get BLL treatment.
I sold the NOE mold after the first casting session.
 
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