[SickShot]

Do wad cutters work for SD?

[Glockbuster]

Only in a snub j frame for a lady.

[G19aps]

Yeah if you're a man and you fire them in a J frame, they won't work. ;(

They will penetrate deeply enough to hit a vital organ. The rest is up to the person you shoot.

[SJ 40]

They would not be my first choice for SD use. SJ 40

[Glockbuster]

Originally Posted by G19aps

Yeah if you're a man and you fire them in a J frame, they won't work. ;(

They will penetrate deeply enough to hit a vital organ. The rest is up to the person you shoot.

Just some early morning humor my friend G19, but yes they can be a fine and controllable choice for any shooter.

[Merkavaboy]

Just like FMJ, RNL & SWC rounds, WC ammo is one of the WORST loads you can use for SD compared to modern JHP designs. The WC design is for target/competition shooting. Leave it at that.

[ithaca_deerslayer]

Why wouldn't a WC work?

But they tend to have less velocity, on purpose to be lower recoil for target shooting.

They also are harder to insert into a cylinder in a hurry, because of the flat shape.

And their expansion upon hitting something might not be very controlled, not designed for penetration then expanion, but rather might just expand too fast before penetrating as far as ideal. I say "might". But also because of lower velocity, they probably won't have too rapid of expansion.

But still, they are a hunk of lead of 148gr and .357" diameter, going about 750 fps out of your snubbie. They will be effective

[sandman77]

Sounds like a decent option in a snub for a recoil sensitive shooter according to "ballistics expert" Dr Gary Roberts.

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19914

[Chuck54]

They are designed to cut a nice clean HOLE .

[fortyofforty]

Shot placement is the most important factor in defensive shooting. However, they wouldn't be my first choice. Bullet expansion allows for slightly less-than-perfect shot placement (as it results in a bigger-diameter bullet), and a hollow point tends to reduce overpenetration (which is not a factor unless there is an unintended target behind your primary target who is injured or killed by a round that overpenetrates).

All that being said, even WCs are better than nothing, and they tend to be highly accurate. Chances are you'll never have to shoot anyone anyway, and if carrying WCs lets you practice more because it's what you can afford, go for it.

[Merkavaboy]

If the WC design was such a great efficient and dependable man-stopper, every Copper who was issued a .38Spl for duty use would have been using this ammo, Lee Jurras would never have had a reason to design his Super Vel HP ammo, the famous 158SWC-HP "FBI load" wound never have been designed or produced and every single box of WC ammo today would be marked as "Personal Protection" ammo instead of "Match" or "Target" as it is today.

Using .38Spl WC ammo beats a sharp stick any day, but it is a far cry from the effectiveness of modern JHP designs we have available today especially with the Speer Gold Dots.

[fredj338]

Certainly better than a LRN, not as good as a higher vel JHP. For recoil shy folks, nothing wrong w/ a chopping full wadcutter @ modest vel. Better than dropping to a smaller caliber IMO. LEOs back in the day would have ben better served by a high vel WC vs the, then popular LRN.

[G19aps]

I think all the OP asked was would they work. Not if they were the best choice.

[Brucev]

Originally Posted by SickShot

Do wad cutters work for SD?

A 148 gr. wad-cutter at 750 fps would be fine for SD. It would be accurate and controllable for follow-up shots. If handloaded over a nice healthy powder charge, the wad-cutter would be much more effective. This would be especially true given that the wad-cutter would be cutting a .357 caliber hold as it likely penetrated completely. And complete penetration resulting in two holes is always a good idea. Over penetration would with a wad-cutter be a secondary concern.

[Chuck54]

If you were going to hand load just turn the old soft hollow base wadcutter upside down. That was an old school trick and they would expand at modest velocities.

[Glockbuster]

Originally Posted by Chuck54

They are designed to cut a nice clean HOLE .

On paper, those same edges in flesh will do some harm also around the clean hole. Like others have said, it is not first choice from what is available these days but IMHO someone who is highly recoil sensitive this would be first choice and not all that bad.

[Berto]

Wadcutters typically chrono around 600fps from a snubby. It may be better than nothing, but a soft lead bullet at low velocity will not likely break big bones or penetrate the noggin in anything but perfect straight on shots.
BB loads a hardcast WC at good velocity that would be better by far, but I still think a good jhp or LHP is better.

[cadillacguns]

OP asked if wad cutters were ok for sd.
man back in the day my J frame Smith carried 158 gr Nyclads, but I had gotten some reverse wad cutters (Lead Reloads) for the ultimate New York special, five to the belly instant lead poisoning look. Test firing them I found about a quarter mushroomed, the rest did anything but.

[NG VI]

Well they cut perfect holes in paper, but they are soft lead and flesh is much more resistant to penetration than a single piece of paper. What are the chances that the originally nice sharp edge of the wadcutter is going to stay that way?

It's not shaped properly to deliver meaningful expansion unless it is driven into something hard like bone, but I bet flesh is plenty resistant enough to round off that edge and turn it into a basically a flat nose LRN bullet after a short depth.

Very hard cast ones would probably be better than the normal soft ones.