I am new to the forum. I am trying to get load data for unique for a jacketed flat nose 158 grain bullet for the 357 Remington Maximum. Could anyone give me any suggestions I have looked everywhere. I know that it is used in a lot of pistol rounds! thanks in advance

What ever your trying to do with Mad Max you can do a whole lot better with Win 296, H 110, Acc 1680 and my favorite Lil Gun. Good luck, Mad Max is a great round!

The reason for the Unique, is powder is hard to come by and that is what I have left on hand. I agree there are some powders that I would have used if I could get them locally. Just want to load a safe round.

In my 357 Mag............
Unique worked best in 80% JHP loads and target to maximum lead loads.
In the Maxi, you will be better off using it for medium loads or target fps.............Good luck with that powder.

357 magnum loads for that bullet "should" be fine.No idea how far beyond that is safe.

Max pressure comes in at 11.3 grains of unique with the IMI 158JSP.

11 grains yields roughly 1550 FPS from an 8" DW revolver set to a tight B/C gap.

Start at 9 and work your way up.

I'm looking at Speer #14. They don't have any loads listed for Unique in the Maximum but...


Max load of unique for a .357 magnum with a 158 gr jacketed bullet is 7.7 grains but velocity is just over 1000 ft/sec

The reason data is lacking for Unique is that practically any magnum or slower burning powder will get much higher velocity.
Unique is great stuff but it's not a magnum powder.

14.8 gr of 2400 gets around 1260 in the .357 magnum.

Just as you can use .38 Special load data in a .357 Magnum case you can use .357 Magnum load data in a .357 Maximum case.

The SAAMI pressure limits are 35,000 PSI for the .357 Mag and 40,000 PSI for the .357 Max so any .357 Magnum load data you can find will be safe in the .357 Max, especially since the case is a little longer.

Just be careful if you decide to try and increase the charge weights on your own because of the higher pressure limits and extra case capacity. Even though Unique isn't usually considered a fast powder in this application it is a faster powder than usually used so pressures can spike with small increases of powder when working up near the top of the pressure range.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Thanks for the help guys!!! In a perfect world I would just go buy some powder that has listings on it but that is not that easy now a days.

I would continue to search for slower powders with the Max. I know I shoot 4227 exclusively in mine and it works well. Unique? I would probably just keep searching for other powders. Max brass can be hard to come by so don't wear it out on marginal loads.

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SWCA 1646

Sir ok you told me that you use 4227 exclusively ! I have a 158 full metal jacketed bullet flat nose. what charge should I use with the 4227 for this bullet? I have a friend of mine that I acquired a can of it today. Thanks.

Speer max is 22.5 grns but I find 22 grns works best in my gun with IMR4227. Start at 20 grns and work up to the best accuracy.

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SWCA 1646

Thank you for your help...

Just to add and interesting note on the Max.

I chronographed the exact same 158 jacket bullets pushed by 17 grains of 2400 side by side during lunch break at the Kansas City PD Range in 1999(+/-) using a Ruger 7.5 inch revolver and a T/C 10 inch barrel single shot. Velocities were higher in BOTH guns than listed in the Lyman reloading manual of 1600fps. Both guns shot 100fps FASTER than book listings. The odd thing, the 7.5" Ruger shot at 1,850 +/- and the T/C 10" at 1,700 +/-.
Bear in mind, Ruger = cylinder gap 7 1/2 inch barrel.
T/C 10 inch barrel NO cylinder gap. ODD???

The Speer #14 has 158 gr jhp loads for .357 maximum using
AA 1680 which is a very fast rifle powder but suited for the big magnums.