No such thing as 158 gr Wadcutter ?

[tommy610]

I always see that wadcutters (WC) are "comfortable" to shoot. I also know that my S&W 642 is designed to work best with 158 gr bullets. But I never see 158 gr WCs. I see 158 gr semi wadcutters (SWC), and I see 148 gr WC, but no 158 gr WC.

Is there something about the higher weight that makes it impossible to manufacture a 158 gr WC?

[RuralTom]

Hiya!

I believe Mastercast carries a cast SWC 158gr .38 at mastercast.net.

[tommy610]

Originally Posted by RuralTom

Hiya!

I believe Mastercast carries a cast SWC 158gr .38 at mastercast.net.

Thanks RT, but I'm asking about a 158 gr wadcutter... without the "semi".

[WVBob]

I don't think it's ever been a factor. The 148 WC is used for target work because it puts a nice clean hole in paper. It's slow because it is for target work. It will tumble if it's loaded to fast. The 158 SWC is an all-round lead load that you can load up to 1000 FPS. Any faster and it leads the barrel.

[justashooter]

the 148 wadcutter with hollow base is an industry standard that is designed to be seated flush with case mouth. it has a standard legnth and dimensional form. the 158 SWC is less rigid as a generic shape, but pretty reliable in terms of lenght from front to rear of bore diameter section. this allows thousands of casters to make similar bullets that occupy the same amount of case volume by type. this allows reloading manuals to offer loading suggestions with reasonable expectation of consistency regardless of the exact bullet shape, as long as it's in the generic profile.

your gun will eat either type of bullet equally well. you could clamp it to a shooting bench machine rest and shoot for accuracy and see no difference related to bullet weight. you might see the 148 WC as more accurate at <25M due to consistency in pressure curve during burning yada yada, but the SWC will be more accurate >25 M due to aerodynamic shape.

load your 148 HBWC with the hollow base into the case and about 3 grains bulleseye or similar fast burning powder to get 700 FPS give or take 50 fps and you will get accuracy. load SWC with unique or similar to about 850FPS and you will get accuracy.

[tommy610]

Thanks Bob and Shooter. That info helps me out a lot.

[Pizza Bob]

Originally Posted by WVBob

I don't think it's ever been a factor. The 148 WC is used for target work because it puts a nice clean hole in paper. It's slow because it is for target work. It will tumble if it's loaded to fast. The 158 SWC is an all-round lead load that you can load up to 1000 FPS. Any faster and it leads the barrel.

Whether a bullet tumbles or not is more a matter of stabilizing the bullet - which is incumbent upon rate-of-twist, rather than the shape of the bullet or velocity.

Likewise, whether a bullet will "lead the barrel" above a certain velocity is a function of the material from which it is made. I've driven many cast bullets well above 1000 fps with no leading because they contained a higher degree of antimony and/or tin. HTH.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

[Rundownfid]

To return to the original question as I read it; the 158 is the wt that Smith&Wesson regulates their fixed sights for. The 148 WC should shoot slightly low as it is slightly lighter and handguns shoot heavier bullets higher, as a general rule. If you want to shoot WCs in the Smith go ahead, the sights are not the best and I bet it Will shoot closer to point of aim than you can hold. However, if you want to shoot 158 gr. ammo that is light, look into reloading. Alternately, you could buy "cowboy" ammo as that is light recoiling, although generally the bullet weights are light for caliber.
All in all, you may find that 148 gr wad cutters are a soft shooting and accurate load, they are even useful as self defense given their full caliber meplat.

[knight0334]

Originally Posted by Rundownfid

To return to the original question as I read it; the 158 is the wt that Smith&Wesson regulates their fixed sights for. The 148 WC should shoot slightly low as it is slightly lighter and handguns shoot heavier bullets higher, as a general rule. If you want to shoot WCs in the Smith go ahead, the sights are not the best and I bet it Will shoot closer to point of aim than you can hold. However, if you want to shoot 158 gr. ammo that is light, look into reloading. Alternately, you could buy "cowboy" ammo as that is light recoiling, although generally the bullet weights are light for caliber.
All in all, you may find that 148 gr wad cutters are a soft shooting and accurate load, they are even useful as self defense given their full caliber meplat.

Handguns, like rifles, usually shoot heavier bullets lower.. damn gravity..

However, the 148gr WC's are loaded to near powderpuff levels, and the ballistic coefficient is very low, so they will drop like stones.

[Bama Man]

Yep, no such thing as 158 grn wad-cutter.
They are produced solely as target bullets that "cut" a hole in the target on impact.
Everyone I have ever seen has had a super deep hollow base, thus, there isn't really enough lead to give the weight.
I would assume that someone makes a non hollow wad-cutter bullet that would carry more weight, although I would think that it would be a waste of lead.
I worked with police officers that carried REVERSE loaded wad cutters specifically for dog calls, and they would switch over to those rounds enroute to the dog call.
They were extremely wicked for that purpose.