Wadcutter

thumb|.32 ACP full metal jacket, [[.32 S&W Long wadcutter, .380 ACP jacketed hollow point (L-R)]] A wadcutter is a special-purpose flat-fronted bullet specifically designed for shooting paper targets, usually at close range and at subsonic velocities typically under approximately . Wadcutters have also found favor for use in self-defense guns, such as .38 caliber snubnosed revolvers, due to shorter barrel lengths, lower bullet velocities, and improved lethality. Wadcutters are often used in handgun and airgun competitions.

==Bullet profile== thumb|.38 Special wadcutters loaded cartridges, hollow-base wadcutter bullet and target showing the clean round holes A wadcutter has a flat or nearly flat front that is typically as wide as the caliber size or only slightly smaller in diameter than caliber size. For target shooting, a wadcutter cuts a very clean hole through the paper target, making it easier to score and ideally reducing errors in scoring the target in the favor of the shooter. Because the flat nosed bullet is not well suited for feeding out of a magazine, wadcutters are normally used in revolvers or in specially designed semi-automatic pistols, such as the Smith & Wesson Model 52. Although this is not always the case, as some wadcutters may have rounded bullet nose profiles.