Common sense vs reality....part II....

by Byron, Tuesday, October 23, 2012, 15:52 (4360 days ago)

Some time past I posted the conflict between common sense and reality regarding the "original magic killer bullet"...the .38 Special loaded with a 148gr hollow base wadcutter loaded backward.

I had grand plans about scientific method including plaster casts and a number of the board bit and provided me with a much bigger supply of said bullets than I requested for the "experient" than required...

Every teenage boy with a .38 and a loading press has cooked up some of this ammo firmly convinced that it is the ticket, real deal and sure fire dead bang on bad guys...

There is a great deal of info posted on the net about the use of .38 wadcutters as a self defense load and some of the old time real deal gunfighter actually used them to good effect....seems the midrange load is easy to hit with (always good), the sharp edge would dig in and penetration was "adequate"...

So..about a year late and a dollar short for sure...I loaded up my super bullet for the experient....148 grains over 2.7gr titegroup for 700 fps from the Bodyguard...

Fired into water at 5' (NYPD stats document 90% of shootouts within 5') the round split the first jug about like a .22 LR highspeed, went thru the second and cracked the front surface of the third....about 12" in water...bullet shows expansion to .5"....again the impact about the same as a .22 rifle....

Fired into saturated paper at 12" gave about 3.5" penetration....bullet swapped ends about 1" in and came to rest point first....little expansion...bullet started to bend over as it swapped ends....bullet path was bullet diameter....less damage than .22 HighSpeed from a rifle....

Frankly I was surprised about the poor performance....this was a terrible choice for self-defense....

As an aside....the .38 Treasury load gives penetration in water over 2 feet and blows a two inch hole a foot deep in soaking wet paper....

At least to me...the choice is clear if one chooses a .38 J frame...

Byron

Set-up for the shot...

After the first shot into the water...

Entrance shot into wet paper shot from 12"

Hole where bullet stopped about three inched into the paper after swapping ends