dewc

[movingmd]

I'm getting back into reloading after a years break. And sence I have a new to me .357 blackhawk, I figured it was time to pull the Lee .38/.357 dies out. But my current box of cast .358 125gr round nose bullets is running out. I was looking at an online place to order some bullets. They have a nice deal on some 150gr double ended wadcutters. I have absolutely no experience with these. I know they are target loads. But how are they on just short of deer hunting. Examples being squirrel, rabbit, coyote, wild dogs,? Thanks gentlemen.

 

[turbo111]

You are ordering from where?

 

[loaded round]

DEWC's are indeed target bullets. In my opinion after many years of reloading, you will be finding these bullet heads too soft to be able to drive them fast enough for any type of small game hunting or personal defense use. At the best they could be used for taking small game close up as a survival basis. Not much difference in price to purchase HP or SP SWC's for your intended use. Save the DEWC's for plinking or target use.

 

[WIL TERRY]

ALL WC BULLETS including the DEWC version at 850-900fps [ Full charge NOT midrange loads..] are absolutely deadly on small game. There is a rather famous gunwriter who's largest Whitetail buck was taken with a single WC bullet through the ribs, lungs, and out the other side.

 

[sandman228]

i know ive seen data on handloads.com and or modern reloading by Richard lee pushing wad cutter bullets over 1600 fps , I imagine they could do some pretty hefty damage at those speeds. I personally cast and load them for recreational shooting only I cast mine soft using range scrap as part of the alloy so I know they couldn't handle those pressures .ive loaded them in 38 and 357 cases as plinkers

 

[loaded round]

Sandman:
You push a wad cutter bullet that fast and you'll be cleaning the lead out of your barrel and cylinder from now to Christmas. Don't take what you read in the ''Lee manual'' as gospel until you've read several other manuals, especially the Lyman Cast Bullet Manual. Please bear in mind that most wad cutter bullets are swaged, not cast, and are very soft.

 

[sandman228]

im not saying its a good idea to push them that fast nor do I have any intentions to try, im just saying ive seen the data for it in multiple places . I load wad cutters as range plinkers only with no desire to push them hard

 

[loaded round]

Sandman: Sorry if I misread your previous post, I had thought you were suggesting ''pushing'' these DEWC bullets faster than they were intended to be used. Some reloading newbies may take comments here as gospel w/o researching data.
Loaded Round

im not saying its a good idea to push them that fast nor do I have any intentions to try, im just saying ive seen the data for it in multiple places . I load wad cutters as range plinkers only with no desire to push them hard

 

[Rick Courtright]

DEWC's are indeed target bullets. In my opinion after many years of reloading, you will be finding these bullet heads too soft to be able to drive them fast enough for any type of small game hunting or personal defense use. At the best they could be used for taking small game close up as a survival basis.

Hi,

A 14.5 gr .22 air rifle pellet at ~600 fps can readily kill a rabbit or tree squirrel to 30-35 yds, a possum or skunk at a little less distance, and with a "lucky" headshot, a ground squirrel to 75 paces. And birds of various sizes often don't seem to be as tough as similarly sized furry things. Personal experience, not conjecture. Remembering the importance of bullet placement--how far away can one REALLY shoot that handgun accurately in the field?--I've no doubt a "target load" 148 gr WC at 800-900 fps will hit a whole lot harder than that and do just fine for a lot of small game! Especially if the bullet is cast, not swaged. There's no shortage of stories to support such use. As for self defense, I 'spose we're stuck with theory: it's hard to find volunteers to test whether such a bullet will just bounce off their live bodies...

Rick C

 

[WESHOOT2]

Swaged?
Shoot slow.

Hard-cast?
Shoot faster.

 

[loaded round]

Most of the HBWC bullets were swaged back when I was shooting Bullseye matches competitively. I have seen and used both cast and swaged DEWC bullets. Depending on the manufacturer determines how they were made. Most of the DEWC's I've seen these days are cast.

 

[mikld]

Cast DEWCs can be driven as fast as any plain based lead bullet. Proper bullet fit, good alloy and good lube and I would not be surprised at 1,200 fps with no leading. The only difference is the flat, full caliber nose loses velocity faster than a semi-wadcutter and accuracy beyond about 50 yards drops off. I use a DEWC over a stiff lod of W231 for my "house gun", a 2", .38 Special, and also have some .44 DEWCs for loading in my .44 Magnums. BTW, Buffalo Bore makes an "Anti-Personnel" load in .41 Mag. .44 Special, .44 Magnum, and 45 Colt (mebbe .38 Special) and they are stiffly loaded wadcutters. Yep, swaged hollow based wadcutters need to be kept to a lower velocity, but there's no reason to worry about cast DEWCs any more than any other cast bullet...

 

[GP100man]

When the water gets low in the swamp we shoot the mud to see how biga hole the different boolits make & the wad cutter wins hands down, wish I had pics of it .

The load is going 900 fps , fueled by Hodgdons CLAYS

 

[mhblaw]

...and remember that the purpose of the DEWC was to cut a clean hole in a paper target for accurate scoring in the bullseye game.

 

[Barkis]

Ed Harris has an interesting article on the Full Charge Wadcutter here:
http://www.hensleygibbs.com/edharris/articles/Revisiting%20The%20Double-End%20Wadcutter%20and%20the%20FBI%20Load.htm

It is worth a read for those who shoot 38 and .357s

Barkis

 

[loaded round]

That's an extremely interesting article by Ed Harris that our New Member Barkis just posted. It reminds me that many years ago we carried our Chiefs Specials and Detective Specials loaded with 148 gr HPWC's loaded backwards over 2.7-3.0 gr of Bullsye as an effective man stopper. Back then we didn't have decent +P bullets or loaded ammo. We also had a favorite 158 gr HPSWC bullet heads made by Markell...when you could find them. They were great hard cast HP bullets. Any other old timers remember buying and/or using Markell bullets?

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

WC bullets work great for small game. Most small game animals are not armor coated and a WC bullet will pass through them like a fart in a gunny sack.

 

[jgt]

Ha!ha! Chuck that's funny I don't care what anybody says.

 

[jgt]

I have always found the 148 Hollow Based Wad Cutter to be the most accurate target bullet for the 38/357 barreled guns. It can be propelled by any number of powders from the fast burning group. I lean toward those thought of as mostly shotgun powders such as Bullseye, Reddot, Unique, Herco, HS 6, and others. The target loads that I have tried on varmints seem to do an adequate job.