Good substitute for Hornady 148 gr HBWC?

Can't seem to find this in stock (H14208) anywhere online.  Any good substitutes?

remington hbwc's, dirty but still the best out there!

also like Magnus's swaged offerings

Penn Bullets or Zero bullets

^^^^^^What they said^^^^^

I can't find anyone selling wadcutter Zero bullets.  Penn has them but they're not hollow based.  Is that OK?  And what about the diameter?  They offer .356, .357, .358 (standard) and .359.  Our club receives a discount from the company below that also has what looks like the same Penn bullets.  What about these? 

http://www.missouribullet.com/details.php?prodId=118&category=5&secondary=19&keywords=

My friend shoots bullets from Missouri Bullets and gets top notch accuracy from his 52-2. I have never tried the 358 WC but have shot the .452  Missouri Bullets in my 45ACP and have found them OK, not as good as swaged but about the same as all other cast.

In my 52-2 I shoot only Remington HBWC's and haven't found any better.
But as stated they are dirty but that doesn't bother me, they are the best IMO.


Virgil

Thanks for the comments on the Missouri Bullets.  I checked around for the Remington HBWCs and they also suffer the same availability problem as the others I mentioned before.  This is insane.

rozedist.com has Zero HBWC in stock. If they happen to be out, just keep checking. They'll have them back in stock in a few days.
Their prices include shipping.

http://www.rozedist.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RZD&Category_Code=ZSB-38S

Scott
Oregon

When I read this thread I had to laugh.
In my current profession I have to go up to Prescott Arizona which is about a two hour drive.
Happened upon an old mom and pop gun shop.
Just had to stop in.
Walked out with a 500 round box of Speer 148gr HBWC and a 500 round box of Hornady 148gr HBWC for $50. cash
The boxes looked to have been around for awhile but the contents were perfect.
I normally shoot my Remington 148gr HBWC but down to about 2000 heads.
Will see how they do, maybe just use them for the short line if they do not work out well for the long line, who knows.
I get what I can now days cause it is tough at times to find certain components.

Clarence

C.Perkins wrote:When I read this thread I had to laugh.
In my current profession I have to go up to Prescott Arizona which is about a two hour drive.
Happened upon an old mom and pop gun shop.
Just had to stop in.
Walked out with a 500 round box of Speer 148gr HBWC and a 500 round box of Hornady 148gr HBWC for $50. cash
The boxes looked to have been around for awhile but the contents were perfect.
I normally shoot my Remington 148gr HBWC but down to about 2000 heads.
Will see how they do, maybe just use them for the short line if they do not work out well for the long line, who knows.
I get what I can now days cause it is tough at times to find certain components.

Clarence

Nothing but cruel.

just bought 2k of the zero's from powdervalley. $139 shipped, and it arrived quickly.

scrum derringer wrote:just bought 2k of the zero's from powdervalley. $139 shipped, and it arrived quickly.

Lo and behold, they not only had the the Zero HBWC but also the Hornady.  I ordered both.  Strange ordering system though, you can order online but apparently it is processed manually and stock is checked at that time.  So I suppose it's possible that my order is really out of stock.  We'll see.

Thanks for the heads up!

Opinions on these?

.38 caliber 148 grain Hensley and Gibbs wadcutter bevel base?

http://www.dardascastbullets.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=dardas&Category_Code=38WC

I'm not a big fan of those.  They are the cast bullet equivalent of what we are talking about, and they don't have a hollow base.  The swaged HBWCs have more mass around the outside to help the bullet stay stable.  
I haven't shot those cast "beerkeg" style bullets in a long time but the last time I did, I was having a lot of trouble getting them to shoot good groups at the long line in my 14.  They were fine at the 25 yard line.

I think jell-dog was referring to the Hensley and Gibbs wadcutter with the bevel base, which is a little different than the "beerkeg" style.  Maybe the bevel base has a similar effect as the hollow base.  I'd also be interested in the logic behind the different bullet tip.

I believe the double ended bevel is there for the convenience of automatic loading machines. I also struggle to get hard cast to be as accurate as hbwc's in my revolvers.

James,

No, the double ended BB bullet is NOT an adequate substitute for a HBWC, ever.  Try to get
Remington, Speer or Zero swaged HBWC,  Remember the 52 is a 9mm bore not really a .38.

Why try to fight with success?

Jerry

jerry lehrer wrote:James,

No, the double ended BB bullet is NOT an adequate substitute for a HBWC, ever.  Try to get
Remington, Speer or Zero swaged HBWC,  Remember the 52 is a 9mm bore not really a .38.

Why try to fight with success?

Jerry

Jerry, I don't. Only pointing out what the design was for.

I'm strictly a hbwc guy...

Jim

jerry lehrer wrote:
...Remember the 52 is a 9mm bore not really a .38....

Why do you say that?  Bore diameter?  Barrel pressure limitation?

beeser wrote:

jerry lehrer wrote:
...Remember the 52 is a 9mm bore not really a .38....

Why do you say that?  Bore diameter?  Barrel pressure limitation?

 52's are .356 bore diameter not .358.

My 52-2 is a smidgen tight at .355.


Virgil

Taking a naive stab at generalities then is the Model 52 the same as the Model 952 except chambered or reworked into a Model 52?  In other words a cheap or efficient way of getting a wadcutter bullet in an otherwise too short 9mm case?

Actually the 52's were derived from the Model 39 9mm. First with a rimless 38AMU in 1960 and then the 38 Special


Virgil

beeser wrote:Taking a naive stab at generalities then is the Model 52 the same as the Model 952 except chambered or reworked into a Model 52?  In other words a cheap or efficient way of getting a wadcutter bullet in an otherwise too short 9mm case?

No, the 52 was derived from the 39.

It has been a long time since I owned a 52.  But if memory serves me, the bore is somewhat challenging to measure with a slug because it was a 5-land barrel.