Crimp on 38 Spec wad cutters...question ....Light or Heavy

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
While we are talking Wad Cutters: Has anybody used any wad cutter from 6 banger Lee moulds For 38's
They have a tumble lube and a traditional
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Past few 6 cavities I got really drop nice bullets and at proper or above sizeWas thinking of one of these in wad cutter so I can increase production,
Because no matter how much of the Lyman I cast they got too fast!
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
I stopped shooting my pistols back in 2012..... Decided to try cast bullet shooting in all my modern rifles instead!
Well that took up most of my time!
When the Shortages on components started last year; I decided to get back to pistols because I had an over abundance of components stored away that I wasn't using!
First thing I found out is 8 or 9 more years older & my body doesn't let me shoot pistols as well as I did back then! :rolleyes:

Back then, when my buddies got new pistols they would ask me to shoot them so they could see how accurate they were...... but now, between my eyes and shakes, I would be embarrassed If they asked me to try to shoot their pistols!
Now I have to rest my hands and elbows to do any shooting at 25 yards with a pistol!
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Jim, try a red dot, like a Vortex Venom, on your pistol. Made a huge difference for my wife. She shoots better so she shoots more. That was all I cared.
 

Ian

Notorious member
You know there's no shame in bigger targets. None at all. A big, high-contrast steel plate at safe distance, angled slightly forward at the top, makes for a lot of "bullseyes" and a very satisfying report when hit. 12" x 3/8" abrasion resistant steel round plates aren't all that heavy and can be hung from a tee post. Lift 2# fist weights or lead ingots wrapped in an old sock straight up and down in front of you while watching a movie and after a few weeks those handguns won't seem so heavy.
 

RBHarter

West Central AR
X Steel sent a thing yesterday for 3/8×10" AR 500 plain at $16 ea limit 2 . For about $45 to the door 2 plates .

They had a 12" Bigfoot last week .

$14.95 flat rate shipping free over $150 order .
No vested interest , they're just the cheapest I've seen in a long time .
 

Joshua

Taco Aficionado/Salish Sea Pirate/Part-Time Dragon
While we are talking Wad Cutters: Has anybody used any wad cutter from 6 banger Lee moulds For 38's
They have a tumble lube and a traditional
My first mold ever was a Lee tumble groove six cavity 148gr wadcutter mold. I like that mold.

I shot some this afternoon at 45 yards. Was shooting at little pieces of clay pigeon that I had laid out on a berm. I was hitting those little 1” - 2” pieces about once per loaded cylinder.
 

John

Active Member
I got rid of my other wc molds and went to the Lee TL, primarily based on some of Outpost 75's writings. My eyes no longer let me shoot as tight of groups as I like to remember. I can cast a years supply of wc's tumble lube them fast and I am done. Accuracy is good, it can be bested by soft cast lubed conventional bullets but at a lot more time.
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
While we are talking Wad Cutters: Has anybody used any wad cutter from 6 banger Lee moulds For 38's
They have a tumble lube and a traditional
Yes, I recently acquired a Lee 148 gr WC mold (6 cavity) with the conventional lube groove design.
It makes a decent bullet and is far faster in terms of production than my 2 cavity molds. It also drops bullets slightly closer the 148grs with my alloy than my other WC molds. However, the RCBS 148-38-WC has one advantage and that's when using a speedloader. The button nose on the RCBS WC is closer to the H&G style WC profile and just seems to be slightly more friendly with speedloaders (even with a slight chamfer on the chambers).

I've never been a fan of tumble lube but that's because if I have to size a bullet, I might as well lube it at the same time. If bullets dropped at the exact diameter all the time, I would probably be ok with "as cast" bullets and tumble lube.
 
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Charles Graff

Moderator Emeritus
I have shot many, many 38 Special Wadcutters our of my revolvers. I have several molds and have no favorite. I used 3/BE for the range and 3.5/BE for the field and social use. I use only one lot of wadcutter brass, trimmed to a uniform length. I use a longer expander plug to make certain the base of the bullet is not horsed into the case. I have a old RCBS special order expander for hollow base wadcutters. This opens the brass up to .3585 and goes deep enough so the HB WC does not have it's base crushed. For solid base wadcutters, I have modified a .357 RCBS expander on my lathe to go deeper into the case.

If the bullet has a dedicated crimp groove, I use a light roll crimp or taper crimp there. Just enough to keep the bullet from jumping the crimp into the cylinder gap. If there is no crimp groove, I do the same in the first lube groove.

I have a selection of older RCBS sizing dies and Lyman 310 FL sizing dies, that does not size the brass near as much at carbide dies. The better the fit of the loaded round to the charge hole, the better the alignment of the bullet with the throat and the barrel.

Works for me!
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
I've been playing around with 38 Special wadcutters about as long as I've been playing with revolvers chambered in 38 Special. There's a lot more to that combination beyond the nice sharp holes they make in a paper target.

Charles has touched on something very important, and that is the need to use the correct expander. Most of the currently manufactured expanders are geared towards jacketed bullets and they will not size the casing large enough or deep enough when using cast bullets. When loading cast bullets in 38 Special, you generally want an expander that is close to the diameter of your sized bullet. The brass will "spring back" after being expanded and you'll end up with the right amount of neck tension (and you don't need/want much neck tension with 38 Special anyway).
And having an expander that goes deep enough into the case so that the base of the bullet is not sized down is also important.

The Lyman "M" die style step expander is also a VERY useful feature, particularly when loading cast bullets.
 

Charles Graff

Moderator Emeritus
I've been playing around with 38 Special wadcutters about as long as I've been playing with revolvers chambered in 38 Special. There's a lot more to that combination beyond the nice sharp holes they make in a paper target.

Charles has touched on something very important, and that is the need to use the correct expander. Most of the currently manufactured expanders are geared towards jacketed bullets and they will not size the casing large enough or deep enough when using cast bullets. When loading cast bullets in 38 Special, you generally want an expander that is close to the diameter of your sized bullet. The brass will "spring back" after being expanded and you'll end up with the right amount of neck tension (and you don't need/want much neck tension with 38 Special anyway).
And having an expander that goes deep enough into the case so that the base of the bullet is not sized down is also important.

The Lyman "M" die style step expander is also a VERY useful feature, particularly when loading cast bullets.

We are very much in agreement. I my spurt of collecting older Lyman 310 and Tru-Line Jr. dies, I found the expanders to be far better than what comes in current die sets. The 45s come in .452 and .454. The 44s come in .429 and .430. The 35/357s come in .357 and .358. I use the one best suited to my handgun cast bullet in my heavy bench presses. I have a sack full of the thread adapters so they can be used in 7/8 X 14 presses. I like the two step expander better than the traditional "bell". I can charge the cases, insert the bullet while the charged cases are still in the block and then seat. With the bell, the bullets sorta rocks and rolls around in the case mouth.
 
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CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
I need to re-visit wadcutter loading. I qualified with the old carry ammo in my S&W M-642 a few days back, and those 125 grain +P loads buck just a bit in that lightweight thing. HKS speed loaders are a PITA with the Pachmayr grips, too. The Pachs make the revolver fit my hand better, but they need a re-contouring to give some wiggle-room for the loaders to do the right things. Another case of S&W stuffing too much cartridge into too little platform.

First World problems, yeah.
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
I need to re-visit wadcutter loading. I qualified with the old carry ammo in my S&W M-642 a few days back, and those 125 grain +P loads buck just a bit in that lightweight thing. HKS speed loaders are a PITA with the Pachmayr grips, too. The Pachs make the revolver fit my hand better, but they need a re-contouring to give some wiggle-room for the loaders to do the right things. Another case of S&W stuffing too much cartridge into too little platform.

First World problems, yeah.
I don't know which Pachmayr grip you're running on that 642 but I hear you loud and clear on the issue.
I've always found the S&W DAO J-frames to be excellent tools but when it comes to concealable grips, there's always some compromise involved. In order to preserve the ability to conceal the gun (particularly in pocket carry) the grips need to remain fairly small. For me, the grip cannot extended beyond the backstrap or the butt of the grip frame. I've had good experiences with Eagle Secret Service Style grips (yet another copy of the excellent Craig Speigel "boot grip").
A Tyler T-grip adaptor added to an old wood factory grip is also a Speedloader friendly option that is still small enough to be concealable.
Just a side note here; I received a message from Tyler Manufacturing. A family member had a severe illness, so they're struggling to fill orders right now.

One of the features of the Eagle grips made of Rosewood is the wood is the same color all the way through. You can file/sand them, apply a little Linseed oil and the finish is right back where you started.

On the issue of Speedloaders, don't forget the old Bianchi Speed Strip. It's not as fast as a speedloader but it is flat and easily carried.
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
If you have a 5 shot revolver and are using a Bianchi Speed Strip, consider filling it with only 5 rounds and leaving the "pocket" near the tab empty. This gives you a little more material to hang onto.