Asking for advice

ExPatYankee · January 20, 2015, 03:12 AM

This may be a two pronged question in the end.

I cast 124 grain flat point 9mm heads for loading in .38 Special cases. So far working perfectly.

I have a Model 52 for International Competition. I purchased some copper jacketed wadcutters (.38) and also had a friend let me try some double ended wadcutters. They hold a good group but no matter how much care I give to reloading the finished ammunition sits very tight in the M5 magazine, causing feeding problems.

One suggestion I received here, in an informal chat over coffee, was to reverse my 124 gr 9mm heads and treat them as wadcutters. My concern is the bullet will "wobble" in the barrel. On the other hand I also believe there may be sufficient bearing service to prevent this.

Has anyone else tried this approach? In the meantime I shall not make such an attempt until I hear from others.

Many thanks in advance.

**Unclenick** · January 20, 2015, 12:06 PM

Backward or frontward, the bullet has the same bearing surface and the same propensity to tip in the bore. Loading a round nose backward reduces powder space in the case and ballistic coefficient, which matters only to long range. Up to 50m it makes no difference to accuracy.

Double ended wadcutters have the best tilt immunity because the geometric center of the bearing surface and the center of mass are coincident. Thus, tilting one in a bore does not take the center of mass off the bore axis, so it doesn't introduce eccentric spin or lateral drift off the mean trajectory path.

If you have trouble with tight magazine fit, you can size the bullets down a thousandth by running them through a Lee press type sizing die, or you can get a Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die, which has a carbide sizing ring to match the external cartridge diameter specification. You don't have to do your crimping on this die (the crimp ring is removable), but passing your finished cartridges through its carbide ring will ensure the OD is all within SAAMI spec.

ExPatYankee · January 22, 2015, 05:26 PM

Many thanks Unclenick.

Between my first post and now I played with the seating of the wadcutters and if they protrude from the mouth of the case to any degree, the smallest amount, they will not feed into the magazine. I tried some factory Fiocchi wadcutters and they feed into the mag smoothly. Bad news is Fiocchi wadcutter ammo is too light to function the slide.

With your information and some further experimentation the problem should solve itself.

Thanks again.

January 20, 2015, 03:12 AM	#1
ExPatYankee Member Join Date: December 4, 2014 Location: Sweden Posts: 15	Asking for advice This may be a two pronged question in the end. I cast 124 grain flat point 9mm heads for loading in .38 Special cases. So far working perfectly. I have a Model 52 for International Competition. I purchased some copper jacketed wadcutters (.38) and also had a friend let me try some double ended wadcutters. They hold a good group but no matter how much care I give to reloading the finished ammunition sits very tight in the M5 magazine, causing feeding problems. One suggestion I received here, in an informal chat over coffee, was to reverse my 124 gr 9mm heads and treat them as wadcutters. My concern is the bullet will "wobble" in the barrel. On the other hand I also believe there may be sufficient bearing service to prevent this. Has anyone else tried this approach? In the meantime I shall not make such an attempt until I hear from others. Many thanks in advance.

January 20, 2015, 12:06 PM	#2
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,743	Backward or frontward, the bullet has the same bearing surface and the same propensity to tip in the bore. Loading a round nose backward reduces powder space in the case and ballistic coefficient, which matters only to long range. Up to 50m it makes no difference to accuracy. Double ended wadcutters have the best tilt immunity because the geometric center of the bearing surface and the center of mass are coincident. Thus, tilting one in a bore does not take the center of mass off the bore axis, so it doesn't introduce eccentric spin or lateral drift off the mean trajectory path. If you have trouble with tight magazine fit, you can size the bullets down a thousandth by running them through a Lee press type sizing die, or you can get a Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die, which has a carbide sizing ring to match the external cartridge diameter specification. You don't have to do your crimping on this die (the crimp ring is removable), but passing your finished cartridges through its carbide ring will ensure the OD is all within SAAMI spec. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

January 22, 2015, 05:26 PM	#3
ExPatYankee Member Join Date: December 4, 2014 Location: Sweden Posts: 15	Many thanks Unclenick. Between my first post and now I played with the seating of the wadcutters and if they protrude from the mouth of the case to any degree, the smallest amount, they will not feed into the magazine. I tried some factory Fiocchi wadcutters and they feed into the mag smoothly. Bad news is Fiocchi wadcutter ammo is too light to function the slide. With your information and some further experimentation the problem should solve itself. Thanks again.