# Wadcutter and Semi Wadcutter Bullets



## Ruger71

What are they and what are there uses? They look strange, just curious what their intended use was.


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## Baldy

For they will make a nice clean hole in the attacking paper target. Good shooting.


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## JimmySays

Wadcutter is a super clean hole in a paper enemy, I think the semi-wadcutter came alone for ease of feeding in your semi automatic handguns.
Oh yeah, they will still inflict a fatal wound.


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## Bob Wright

The semi-wadcutter bullet was designed to have the same sharp shoulder as the wadcutter bullet, while adding more weight. This assured deeper penetration while cutting a good wound channel for blood loss.

The added cross-sectional density made the bullet stable over greater range, also.

The hollow base wadcuter, when loaded backward, makes an effective hollow point for up-close defense.

Bob Wright


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## JimmySays

Mr. Bob


> The hollow base wadcuter, when loaded backward, makes an effective hollow point for up-close defense.


I remember seeing the reversed wadcutter on the History channel now that you mention it. One of those shows on bullet history or something. That idiot box is good for something after all.


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## Ruger71

So, were they designed as a target load or a hunting load? I use lead flat nose or round nose in my 45 Colt because they are cheap. I just ran across the SWC a few days ago and it was about $10 a box higher than what I use.


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## Bob Wright

Exactly who designed the semi-wadcutter bullet is lost to history. I had notes somewhere that a man named Crabtree designed a bullet mould for Ideal in 1905. Gordon Boser, Pop Eimer and Elmer Keith all developed moulds for SWC bullets. A long range revolver match of the era also prompted interest in the semiwadcutter design. The primary feature of the design was a rather long bearing surface which added to the stability of the bullet in flight, compared to other bullets of the time. Keith's contribution was a single wide lubricating groove with a thick base band which minimized gas cutting of the base of the bullet.

Flat point bullets were developed to eliminate damage to the bullet nose during handling. Both flat points and SWC are less likely to deflect off bone.  A few years ago a friend of mine took a bullet in the chest just above his right nipple and the bullet was removed close to his left hip bone, the round nosed bullet being deflected by his rib cage. 

Bob Wright

And further, I found a full story of the semi-wadcutter design at www://handloads.com/articles. Interesting history.


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