Buffalo Bore 38 Special 150gr Wadcutter – Brilliant Full Diameter Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore 38 Special 150gr Wadcutter takes the humble target bullet and makes a serious defensive argument out of it. 150 grains of hard cast lead with a completely flat face at 850 fps gives roughly 241 ft-lbs, 14 to 16 inches of penetration, and a full diameter wound channel from entry onward. Standard pressure, so any 38 Special revolver can shoot it. Twenty rounds per box, item 20D/20.

• Buffalo Bore 38 Special 150gr Wadcutter Overview
• 38 Special Hard Cast Wadcutter Ammo Ballistics
• Why The 150 Grain Full Wadcutter Bullet Works So Well
• Specifications
• Carry Notes For This Deep Penetrating 38 Spl Defense Load

Buffalo Bore 38 Special 150gr Wadcutter Overview

A wadcutter is a cylinder with a flat front, originally designed to punch clean round holes in paper targets so scoring was unambiguous. That same flat face turns out to be extremely effective on tissue, which is why the design has quietly built a following among people who carry snub nose revolvers.

Buffalo Bore casts it from a hard alloy, so it does not deform on impact. There is no expansion to rely on and nothing that can fail, which removes the single biggest worry anyone has about defensive ammunition in this calibre.

The Buffalo Bore 38 Special 150gr Wadcutter is loaded at standard pressure and with flash suppressed powder. That combination means an older revolver with no +P rating, or a lightweight alloy framed carry gun, can use it without reservation, and that it will not blind you in poor light.

38 Special Hard Cast Wadcutter Ammo Ballistics

The published real gun figures are complete. A two inch Smith and Wesson Model 60 gives 868 fps for 251 ft-lbs, a 2.5 inch Model 66 gives 890 for 264, a three inch Ruger SP101 gives 961 for 308, and a four inch Mountain Gun gives 1005 for 336.

The two inch snub exceeding the nominal 850 fps figure is worth noticing. Fast burning flash suppressed powder does its work inside a short barrel rather than outside it, which is why 38 Special hard cast wadcutter ammo of this type does not collapse the way conventional ammunition does in a carry gun.

Energy is not the useful measure for a non expanding bullet, though. Buffalo Bore rates penetration at 14 to 16 inches in human tissue, which sits comfortably inside the window most people consider appropriate, and the wound channel is full calibre the whole way rather than tapering.

Why The 150 Grain Full Wadcutter Bullet Works So Well

The case for a wadcutter rests on removing a variable. Every hollow point in this calibre is a bet that the bullet will reach the target fast enough to open, and out of a two inch barrel through winter clothing that bet is not a certain one. A flat faced bullet has already done everything it is going to do before it arrives.

What it does is cut. A completely flat meplat crushes and shears tissue rather than pushing it aside, so a 150 grain full wadcutter bullet leaves a clean 0.357 inch hole with sharp edges from entry to exit. A round nose of identical weight and speed leaves considerably less.

Recoil is the underrated advantage. At 850 fps and standard pressure, 38 Special hard cast wadcutter ammo is among the gentlest defensive loads available in a light revolver, which means faster follow up shots and a gun you will actually practise with. In a fourteen ounce airweight that difference is not small.

The trade is that it will not expand, so you do not get the wider wound a working hollow point produces. What you get instead is certainty, and in a calibre with this little margin, a deep penetrating 38 Spl defense load that always behaves the same way has a real claim on your attention.

Specifications

Carry Notes For This Deep Penetrating 38 Spl Defense Load

There is no pressure caveat at all, which is rare and useful. Buffalo Bore states this is safe in any 38 Special revolver, which covers older guns with no +P rating and lightweight alloy framed carry pieces alike.

Check feeding and extraction if you shoot a revolver with a very short ejector rod. A 150 grain full wadcutter bullet sits flush or nearly flush in the case mouth, which some speedloaders and moon clips handle differently from a round nose. Worth a dry run before you rely on it.

Point of impact is usually close. At 150 grains this sits near the 158 grain weight most fixed sight 38 revolvers were regulated around, so any revolver 38 Special ammunition of this weight tends to land sensibly. Confirm it on paper anyway.

Practise with it. This is one of the few premium deep penetrating 38 Spl defense load options mild enough to shoot a full box of in a light revolver without building a flinch, and that is worth more than a marginal gain on a ballistics chart.

Any Revolver 38 Special Ammunition Availability

This any revolver 38 Special ammunition is in stock and ready to ship from MAG5 Firearms, a family owned FFL dealer in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Ammunition orders ship to most states, and local customers are welcome to pick up in the shop. If you need case quantities or a +P 38 Special load, call us and we will check what our distributors have on hand.

Manufacturer details are on the Buffalo Bore site. For an expanding bullet at the same pressure, see the 38 Special 158gr SWC-HC or the all copper 38 Special 110gr TAC-XP. You can also browse our full ammunition selection.