[RSJJTJ]

Got around 50 of these with a little derringer my father and law gave me. What is this setup exactly?

[isp2605]

.38 Special 148 grain full wadcutter. They're designed for target shooting because they cut a clean round hole in paper.

[SCmasterblaster]

Originally Posted by isp2605

.38 Special 148 grain full wadcutter. They're designed for target shooting because they cut a clean round hole in paper.

And if it has a hollow base, it is a more accurate bullet.

[mikey250r]

The (hbwc) hollow base wad cutter is also a good home defense choice. It's low power means less noise and less recoil. And it's ability to cut perfect holes in paper also works on human skin causing more blood loss and trauma than a round nose bullet.

[countrygun]

I fired thousands of those back in the day. IMO they are just about as perfect a .38 round as you could get for a tiny Deringer. You could do better for a short revolver but in a tiny gun they're the ticket.

[SCmasterblaster]

Originally Posted by mikey250r

The (hbwc) hollow base wad cutter is also a good home defense choice. It's low power means less noise and less recoil. And it's ability to cut perfect holes in paper also works on human skin causing more blood loss and trauma than a round nose bullet.

I have heard this description before, often in the past.

[WiskyT]

The full wadcutter bullet itself is a good defense bullet. But, some loaded ammo is so low in velocity from some guns that it tumbles. It is gun and ammo dependent. There were a lot of companies making reloaded 148 WC ammo back in the day and some of it is so underpowered that the bullets will tumble out of short barreled guns. Factory match ammo fired out of a 4-6" barrel usually doesn't present a problem. But out of a snub, or a derringer, some of those old house brand type reloads tumble with great frequency.

If you are loading your own ammo and want a full WC for use in a short barreled gun, consider using a higher charge than typically used in target ammo (staying within the data in your manual). If you are using factory ammo, test it out in a short barreled gun before relying on it.

An example of this happened the other night at my club. A buddy who is a very good shot was getting pretty poor groups with some Georgia Arms 148Wc match ammo out of his new SW642. It just wasn't like him to be having a hard time keeping his shots on paper at 25 yards. I pulled out some 158 LRN ammo I loaded with 3.5 Bullseye and he was shooting them into 7" at 25 yards with the double action only snub. He's not a reloader and he figured I had developed some kind of wonder ammo. The truth is that the ammo I handed him was a standard service round that has been in use for probably 70 years. The difference was the standard ammo I handed him stabilized the bullet whereas the WC ammo he was using was unstabilized in his gun. The same 148WC ammo that was terrible in his 642 was laser beam accurate in his 6" 686.

[SCmasterblaster]

Originally Posted by WiskyT

The full wadcutter bullet itself is a good defense bullet. But, some loaded ammo is so low in velocity from some guns that it tumbles. It is gun and ammo dependent. There were a lot of companies making reloaded 148 WC ammo back in the day and some of it is so underpowered that the bullets will tumble out of short barreled guns. Factory match ammo fired out of a 4-6" barrel usually doesn't present a problem. But out of a snub, or a derringer, some of those old house brand type reloads tumble with great frequency.

If you are loading your own ammo and want a full WC for use in a short barreled gun, consider using a higher charge than typically used in target ammo (staying within the data in your manual). If you are using factory ammo, test it out in a short barreled gun before relying on it.

An example of this happened the other night at my club. A buddy who is a very good shot was getting pretty poor groups with some Georgia Arms 148Wc match ammo out of his new SW642. It just wasn't like him to be having a hard time keeping his shots on paper at 25 yards. I pulled out some 158 LRN ammo I loaded with 3.5 Bullseye and he was shooting them into 7" at 25 yards with the double action only snub. He's not a reloader and he figured I had developed some kind of wonder ammo. The truth is that the ammo I handed him was a standard service round that has been in use for probably 70 years. The difference was the standard ammo I handed him stabilized the bullet whereas the WC ammo he was using was unstabilized in his gun. The same 148WC ammo that was terrible in his 642 was laser beam accurate in his 6" 686.

I would think that a tumbling 148gr wadcutter would be highly effective on a human target. Imagine the wound channel.

[WiskyT]

Originally Posted by SCmasterblaster

I would think that a tumbling 148gr wadcutter would be highly effective on a human target. Imagine the wound channel.

Penetration would be suspect and accuracy is horrible when bullets tumble. But at 10 feet it would still hit the target.

[SCmasterblaster]

Originally Posted by WiskyT

Penetration would be suspect and accuracy is horrible when bullets tumble. But at 10 feet it would still hit the target.

I was thinking of short-range shooting.