lead bullet terminology

[TennJed]

I am new to reloading and I have gotten some lead cast bullets from someone who is getting out of casting and loading due to health reasons.

I have some questions as to what some of the terms are he used to describe his lead. What I have received is:

38 cal
158gr cast SWC Lee Tumble
162gr cast WC duracast

45 cal
200gr SWC Lee Tumble
230gr CWC Duracast

Does the SWC and WC stand for semi-wadcutter and wadcutter? What is CWC. Is the Lee Tumble and Duracast the brand of equipment he used to cast.

Is there anyway to be sure if this is hard or soft cast (I want to avoid leading). I have sent him a message but thought I would ask here while I am waiting.

Thanks

 

[smurf hunter]

There's way more to leading than the softness of lead. Otherwise they'd just make a single hardness. In fact, if it's too hard that can cause leading.

You may find that soft 38spl loads are very accurate and don't lead much at all. That's my experience at least with 158gr SWC with BHN of 12.

 

[zxcvbob]

SWC = semiwadcutter
WC = wadcutter
CWC = ???

"Lee Tumble Lube" in this context probably refers to the bullets having lots of little driving bands and lube grooves, intended for use with Lee Liquid Alox bullet lube. (it's good stuff. A little messy tho') Or possibly these are conventional bullets with wide lube grooves and 2 or 3 driving bands and already lubed with LLA -- that works too.

If you get a good price, don't worry about hard or soft lead. Either one can do a good job in a .38 or .45, and leading is not that hard to clean.

I have no idea what Duracast means, maybe it's a cast bullet manufacturer.

 

[243winxb]

Duracast=
Dardas Cast bullets???

 

[dardascastbullets]

I did a search for the name 'Duracast' and 12 pages deep did not pull up anything.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I think CWC is a typo for SWC.

Be careful not to buy bullets that are too hard for the pressure/velocity they will be used at. Like said above, too hard can cause leading too. Anything used @900 fps or slower will be find at 12 BHN.

Where did you see those listings? Which store? Online? Link?