In the last couple of days there's been a thread concerning the use of wadcutters in leverguns on the Marlin Forum, particularly the .38/.357 variety (I'd doubt there's any significant difference in the .38/.357 and the .44 spl/.44mag). It seemed that the main concern was feeding issues ... and the fact that some manufacturers warn against using wadcutter loads. I'm not sure if the manufacturers actually spell out their concerns ... is it due to feeding issues alone, or something else....
I love to shoot full wadcutters in my little Model 36, and they do well. The same .38 spl wadcutters in a .357 SP-101, don't do as good... and I rarely, rarely ever shoot any .38 spl loads in a .357 chamber. In my revolvers, I don't really worry about it much, but thinking about the carbine I wonder if there's not more to be concerned about. First, I consider the wadcutter's leading edge to be just one, full caliber meplat. Loaded in .357 brass it's probably not a real issue in the levergun chamber (in my pondering), but in .38 spl brass it's sitting way back from the lands and grooves, in a chamber that's several thousandths over that bullet diameter. It just seems to me that there's enough "jump" between the face of that short wadcutter cartridge and the lands and grooves to let a whole lot of gas blow-by and flame cutting of that wadcutter before it can have a chance to seal the bore. Possibly even enough to cause a pressure spike whan it finally does seal? Is that little wadcutter rattling it's way through the chamber and getting distorted a bit before it gets fully sealed in the bore?
I figured Michael or someone else with a better handle on this could set me straight. Sometimes I think I tend to overthink some things
JD
