wadcutter question

I've loaded my 38's as wadcutters for probably the last 10 years. I just seated the bullet flush with the top of the brass. But I was watching a YouTube Video. This one is Hickok 45 actually. He's shooting 38 wadcutters and I noticed the top of the case is really crimped over the top of the bullet. Is that the way they are supposed to be? I've never once bought wadcutter factory ammo.

No, never mind. I don't think they are wadcutters. The box on his table was Federal HST. It's a jacketed hollow point ammo of some kind.

They almost look like blanks. Never seen a bullet seated like that, but there could be.

Hmmm. Those are some fancy new HSTs that are not quite wadcutters. But to answer your original question, some folks crimp wadcutters over the bullet. Some wadcutters even have a second crimp groove slightly below the bullet face. Lee's classic .38 wadcutter is one such design.

I've seen it done years ago but never bothered. I bought a box,( think they were Remington), in the late 70's that were crimped over the nose not even thinking about it. I mainly wanted them for the brass.

It depends!

For loading in a revolver, it's beneficial to leave about 1/8" of bullet protruding and taper crimp the case onto the bullet. If the wadcutter has a crimp groove as mentione (Lee), then use it. This aids in inserting the rounds in a cylinder using a speed loader.

For use in the S&W Model 52,(semi automatic pistol) the bullets need to be seated flush with the case mouths. The magazine limits available cartridge length.

The Federal HST mentioned as Used by Hickok45, is a short barrel 150gr load intended to mimic a 148gr seated inverted.
I haven't seen any of the Federal loads in 3+yrs now....

When I was still loading for my S&W 52 I trimmed the brass slightly shorter than usual and seated Hornady swaged 148gr bullets perhaps 1/16" above flush. Federal yellow .38 Special brass worked best in my pistol. I had also very carefully stoned a slight bevel on the "ramp" part of the magazine.

A little off topic but related. Seating depth and P.S.I. A crimp will up the P.S.I.

I always loaded mine flush and then taper crimped......

J.

Thanks! I've loaded ammo for about 15 years and can always lean something new!

I zoomed in and I don't believe the case is crimped over the bullet. Looks like a taper crimp.

Bob Wright

Bob Wright said:

I zoomed in and I don't believe the case is crimped over the bullet. Looks like a taper crimp.

Bob Wright

Click to expand...

This was the method of crimping used for the S&W Model 52 .38 Master target pistol. No exposed lead made for better feeding of the rounds.

LDM said:

This was the method of crimping used for the S&W Model 52 .38 Master target pistol. No exposed lead made for better feeding of the rounds.

Click to expand...

I've gone back and zoomed in again and I still don't believe that silver ring showing around the nose of the bullet is the cartridge case rounded over. I seem to see a demarcation line between the ring and the mouth of the case. A rollover of that much would sure shorten the life of the case, plus deform the lead bullet. And certainly send pressure skyrocketing!

Bob Wright











i

Interesting question. My favorite plinking bullet in the .38 Spl. is the Lyman #358495, a nominally 148 gr. wadcutter bullet with a crimp groove. (WC) Preferred loads are 2.7 gr. Bullseye or 3.1 gr. W231. The latter is the more accurate of the two loads in my guns. YMMV.
A few years back I got a fantastic deal on a case of Winchester .38 Spl. target ammo. My Bullseye load beat the factory stuff by a small margin but the W231 load flat out outshot the factory stuff by a noticeable amount. The factory ammo had the bullets seated flush with the top of the neck and crimped slightly over the top. Groups at 25 yards run anywhere from 3.5 to 4.0" from a 6" S&W K38 revolver. My W231 load with my home cast Lyman bullets seated with about 1/8th"
inch protruding so as to be crimped in the crimp groove runs about 2.5" to 3.0". My thoughts are one, bullet temper and sizing. Mine are sized to .359" and run at BHN 11 for hardness. The factory is just swaged soft lead. I never could pull a bullet from one to size and their metal is very soft. My bullets do not lead the barrel and the factory does lead the barrel, sometimes quite badly.
Paul B.

@Bob Wright , the crimp is much more visible in the closeup pictures from this article: https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/tested-federal-hst-38-special-p/amp/

Here's the pic NikA is referring to:

Cholo said:

Here's the pic NikA is referring to:

Click to expand...

O.K. That confirms my suspicion, that that ring was actually bullet jacket. Thanks for the clarification. That chimp is no more than a normal crimp.

And, those bullets are not wadcutters but jacketed hollowpoints.


Bob Wright



Bob Wright

Apparently Federal no longer offers the flush loaded HST like that in 357 mag., or any caliber per Federal's website.

Kevin did mention in post #2 that these were jacked hollow points, not wadcutters.

Regardless, it was one strange loading when mounted flush!

I was given a box of 500 of these wadcutters years ago. No idea who the maker is. I've never seated them flush, always lightly crimped in the top groove. Over about three grains of Titegroup, my SP loves them.

↑ That's the way I load my wadcutters in 38 Special and they shoot great!