A wadcutter is a special-purpose bullet

Bullet

A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...

 specially designed for shooting paper targets, usually at close range and at subsonic velocities typically under 800 ft/s (244 m/s). They are often used in handgun

Handgun

A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....

 and airgun competitions. A wadcutter has a flat or nearly flat front that cuts a very clean hole through the paper target, making it easier to score and ideally reducing errors in scoring the target to the favor of the shooter. Because the flat nosed bullet is not well suited for feeding out of a magazine, wadcutters are normally used only in revolver

Revolver

A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...

s or in specially-designed semi-automatic pistol

Semi-automatic self-loading pistol

A semi-automatic pistol is a type of handgun which uses a single chamber and barrel, with a mechanism powered by the previous shot to load a fresh cartridge into the chamber...

s.

In practice, wadcutter bullets for centre-fire firearms often have a modified profile with a reduced-diameter central point or rounded section. This has been developed to allow the use of wadcutter bullets without causing exceessive damage to the rubber anti-splashback curtain (Linatex) on indoor ranges. This profile will produce a clean cut on the paper target for scoring but deform the rubber curtain and penetrate without cutting.

Wadcutters are typically made from lead. Deposition of lead into the rifling

Rifling

Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...

 grooves of barrels and into the forcing cones of revolvers limits the maximum usable velocity of wadcutters to less than about 900 ft/s. Shots fired at higher velocities may cause severe leading of the rifling and of the forcing cone, introducing a potentially dangerous condition from overpressure if FMJ (Full Metal Jacket) bullets are subsequently fired without first removing the lead buildup. Either a mechanical lead removing tool (i.e., a Lewis Lead Remover or a generic equivalent) and/or chemical removal techniques may be used to remove the lead build-up from shooting wadcutters at too high a velocity.

Wadcutters can be loaded flush with the brass case (as seen in the accompanying picture) or they may also be set to extend out of the brass case, depending on what provides the most accuracy; the desired powder capacity of the case or other desired criteria. Both varieties of wadcutters (flush, or extending out of the case) are commercially available. Although primarily intended for target practice, wadcutters are also sometimes used for close-in self-defense and hunting because their sharp edges and close-range accuracy are claimed to increase lethality. (See Keith bullet for more on these wadcutter and semiwadcutter

Semiwadcutter

A semiwadcutter or SWC is a type of all-purpose bullet commonly used in revolvers. The SWC combines features of the wadcutter target bullet and traditional round nosed revolver bullets, and is used in both revolver and pistol cartridges for hunting, target shooting, and plinking...

 applications involving self-defense and hunting applications.)

Target airguns used for 10 metre air rifle and 10 metre air pistol competitions generally shoot wadcutter pellets

Pellet (air gun)

An air gun pellet is, for the most part, a non-spherical projectile designed to be fired from an air gun. But this is not always the case.Pellets differ from bullets used in firearms because of the pressures encountered; firearms operate at pressures of thousands of atmospheres, while airguns...

at velocities around 175 m/s (574 ft/s). The use of wadcutter match diabolo pellets is nearly universal in airgun target shooting where often paper targets are used.