Wad Cutters - full, not semi

[lakewoodguy]

Morning folks,
Question, do you have consistent success with .357 wad cutters in your center fire lever action Henry? If so, could you let me know what the OAL is of the cartridge?
I have a lot of DEWCs that I originally loaded for my SW 52-1. I also have around 300 loaded in .357 cases that I use in my .357 revolvers which work very well. I tried these in my Big Boy and it was NOPE! They would not feed into the throat. I get that lever guns generally act this way with full WCs but I am curious if there is a certain overall length that may work. My current loads are 1.370” overall, visually this shows about a 1/16” of the WC extending past the case.
It would be great if someone does have this figured out, I could just start experimenting starting with flush seat and working my way longer, better yet, ask you folks!
I haven’t taken the BB down yet and am curious why .38’s feed okay but a .357 WC doesn’t, I am suspecting that the OAL may have a particular length that works. Is this a lifter spec issue? If not, school me guys.
Thanks!

[fortyshooter]

That short length could be causing a part of the next round in mag tube to try and sneak in. I have used typical standard length SWC rounds with no issues. Also with a full wadcutter you may have to slightly break the sharp edge off if it has one.

[Vaquero]

I've never used them.

RP

[BrokenolMarine]

That flat nose likely doesn't feed well. A semi-wadcutter has enough of a rounded shoulder to feed smoothly.

I can remember taking a new shooter to shoot his first PPC match. I was loaning him all the gear he needed to try the format and told him to buy a couple boxes of 38 lead semi-wadcutters. He was the type that alway looked for the EDGE so he bought two boxes of MATCH grade wadcutters. Twice the price of the LSCW. I told him that he had purchased bullseye ammo, and offered to sell him a couple boxes of the LSWC I had extra. Nope, he would go with HIS choice.

PPC requires several rapid fire strings with speedloads, and timed fire strings with multiple speed loads. The flat sharp shoulders of the wadcutters do NOT lend themselves to speedloading. In each of those strings he lost major points fumbling with the reloads and failed to get all his shots off. A good revolver shooter, practiced in speedloading can reload as fast as a semi-auto shooter, but not when fighting the edge of a wadcutter.

I would suggest that Semi-wadcutter or round nose bullets feed much better. Save your wadcutters for a bullseye gun or plinking.

But, that's just me....

[DsGrouse]

I've run a lot of wadcutters through my 38/357 bbx. After a time, the mag tube will allow them to sneak into the follower and jamb things up. If you are using 357 mag cases, that isn't much of a problem.

Matt's makes some 157 grain WC's that are very square. They feed okay, but you can get some that don't want to. When cycling the action, you have to be smooth and consistent. It isn't the same motion as when levering swc into the action.

Now for the bad news. I've tried nearly 15 different wadcutters from 8 or nine different makers. Not one of them can hold a 6"group past 60 yards.

Under 50 you can usually keep them to 4, over 50, they fly like a brick.

It doesn't matter if I am using a can, or what powder type. Velocity from 800 to 1400, they simply are not areo dynamic enough to fly straight consistently.

Here is an image of a few that i have tried. The 157's are upper right; the middle are matts 150 HBWC (worst grouping out of any, nearly 20inches at 100yds.)


Here is another group. Left to right 148grn dewc (proof mark), 148 grn RNHP (matts excellent round), 148 grn matts, 150 grn HBWC (Matts), 155 SWC Matts, 157 WC matts, 158 grn SWCHP (matts it is a great round), 160 grn SWC, (matts, two seating grooves,) 160 Matts at second grove,

[lakewoodguy]

Thanks for the info guys, DG, can you tell me what the OAL length is on the ones that cycle correctly?

[DsGrouse]

Crap, I've shot it all. let me look at my load book
1.23ish. Basically, I've been loading to the crimp lines on the wadcutters.

[lakewoodguy]

Thank you DG, that crimp line has been what I have been doing, just going to keep the WC's for the DW's

[rickhem]

I had lots of issues using my Bullseye wadcutter loads in my Big Boy Steel with the side gate. My loads are a wimpy 2.6 grains of bullseye under a 148 HBWC, but they shoot knots from my revolvers. I push the wadcutter all the way into the case and then put a very soft crimp on the top edge of the brass, just enough so that it isn't parallel at the top, but has a rounded edge. Been loading them like that since the late 80s. A little bonus side benefit is that when loaded like that, the rounds fit very nicely into 100 round plastic ammo boxes sized for the 9mm cartridge. They shake and rattle all over in .38/.357 boxes.
Anyway, the rifle did not want to guide those little cylindrical cartridges into the chamber. They'd single load well enough, but not from the tube. I have a couple boxes of DEWCs that a buddy loaded into .357 brass, and his loads have the top of the bullet, maybe like 0.1" to 0.125" (never measured it) above the edge of the brass, and they don't feed well either.
Sorry to not have better news, but I can confirm that you're not alone in these problems.

[JVogler]

I shoot a lot of 148 grain wadcutters in my GP100 357magnum. I've tried them in my Big Boy Brass and they would not feed properly, however in a Big Boy steel that I tried them in they did feed. Only tried a few in the , not a whole shooting session 's worth.