Unique "smokeless powder" yeah right

[Doug.38PR]

I just compared two 2400, two Uniques and two Power Pistol rounds out of a 4 inch revolver.

One thing I noticed was....unique produced so much smoke that I actually had to step to the side out form behind a cloud of smoke to see what I was shooting at.

Of course it was mild compared to black powder from a ball and cap...but good grief, I thought smokeless was supposed to be just that. Power Pistol and 2400 had almost nothing in the air after discharge

 

[Hook686]

stop bitchin and simply do not use it if you do not like it. There are many powders out there to choose from.

 

[Andy Griffith]

Unique is a...how to put it...a unique powder.

It is one of my favorites because it's very useful and hasn't let me down. It can be a bit on the dirty side, and much more so if the load is too light. A medium to +P load is where it's going to burn a bit cleaner.

Also, the "new" Unique is a bit cleaner than the old.

 

[Doug.38PR]

stop bitchin .

Like, ow my gaaash, this powder, like, really suuucks. I mean, like, really this is just, like, really dirty powder. Couldn't they, like, make a powder that, like, didn't, like pollute the air and dirty my, like, gun so much? I mean the, like, second hand ssmowke is, like, dangerous. This should be a, like, smoke-free powder.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I don't like anything about Unique so I don't use it but there are many who like it a lot and that's good for them.

BTW, the powder isn't the only thing that causes smoke, the bullet lube is more so a cause as is the pressure generated by the load. (usually lower pressure, more smoke)

 

[Doug.38PR]

seriously though, I don't dislike Unique. It's cheap, it seems to be a good middle-of-the-road powder from what I can tell. But it just seems kinda odd that it should produce the kind of smoke that I described. I don't recall too many, if any, factory loads that ever did that.

 

[Neumann]

Unique is good for middle to maximum loads in a short case. I use 6.0 to 6.5 grains for 230 grain .45 ACP, and it burns clean with little smoke. It's just bulky enough that it nearly fills the case. I use a slower powder, like 2400, for high-pressure, high velocity loads in .357 Magnum and mid to hot loads in .44 Magnum., where it nearly fills the case.

 

[ddixie884]

I have loaded more Unique than any other powder. If I could only afford one Pistol Powder it would be Unique. It will do more things than any other "one" powder.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Because Unique can be used in so many cartridges, it fits few really well. Now, there are others that like it so much, they put it on their Post Toasties. I use it in the place I feel it works best, moderate to heavy loads in the 45Colt. If I loaded for the 40S&W now, gave my stuff to my son in law, and because I now have 8lbs of a surplus version of it, I would use it there.

Can Unique be dirty? Absolutely. Just like any other powder if used with lead or loaded on the light side.

Make some honest assessments Doug, was your load kind of light? If so, bump it up, staying inside of safe data, by .2gr increments to the top part of the data and see if it doesn't clean up.

There is an old joke about a guy that bought a chainsaw for the first time. He brought it back to where he bought it with the complaint that he could cut down much more wood with his trusty ax than that new fangled thing. The clerk took it from him, pulled the cord several times and if fired right up. The customer looked at the clerk with a weird expression on his face and said: "What's that?"

It wasn't the chain saw's fault that the customer didn't know how to use it......................

 

[brucev]

Ah... Louisiana! It was in New Orleans in 1980 that I loaded my first revolver loads... of course it was the .38 Special. Ended up with great results. Used Skeeter Skelton's suggested load... 5.0 gr. of Unique and a 158/160 gr. LSWC. I've found different types of bullet lubricant produce varying amounts of soot. For my purposes, Unique has produced excellent results for me in .38/.357 and .45ACP rounds. I will also mention that I shoot a lot of vintage military rifle matches. In 1985 I came up with a load for my Remington 03-A3 rifle using Unique and a swaged lead bullet made by a now defunct company named Albertus. That load would shoot into 2.0 inches at 100 yds. Nowadays I use a 165 gr. hardcast lead bullet by Hunter Supply in my Remington 03 rifle loaded over a mere 8.0 gr. of Unique. It routinely averages 96.9 for 10 shots fired prone slow-fire at 100 yds. From a benchrest it will stay well within the 10 ring of a SR-1 target. I'm sure there are other powders available that will do a better job in particular usages. But I have since 1980 very much enjoyed using Unique in a broad variety of calibers.

 

[tops]

Why worry about "dirty" powder. What is in the barrel will be blowed out the next shot. What is on ther gun will be wiped off when the gun is cleaned. Surely you ain't gonna eat it. Larry

 

[walnutred]

The surprising thing would be if smokeless powder technology had NOT improved in the 100+ years since Unique was introduced. To my knowledge in the smokeless powder vein only Bullseye and Unique have been in continuous production for over 100 years. In spite of imporvements they must fill some niche.

 

[Vulcan Bob]

Stay away from the light loads and use a firm crimp and it works just fine.

 

[Ziptar]

Smoke can't always be blamed on the powder.
Lube, crimp, and load have allot to do with it also.

I never got allot of smoke and soot with Unique in my 45 Colt loads but, I get substantially less since I've started using White Label's Carnuba Red and Ranch Dog Outdoors' collet style Lee Factory Crimp Die. Even in my "light" 8 grain Unique over 255 grain RNFP loads.

I have a bunch of bullets that I pan lubed with a mix of Orange Magic and Bag Balm that I made up. Using the same load of Unique, bullets, and crimp even those smoke and soot more than with the exact same loads using Carnuba Red.

If Unique bothers you that much do what others do. Switch out Unique for Universal grain for grain. Universal does meter better than Unique but for me at least I don't see too much difference soot and smoke wise with the new crimp die and lube.

I still prefer Unique "Flaming Dirt" especially for lighter loads, I get some unburned powder with light loads of Universal. Unique is a few bucks cheaper per pound too.

 

[hawgleg]

Stay away from the light loads and use a firm crimp and it works just fine.

+1 on that. Unique is well used because it covers sooo many calibers. It's at it's best with mid to max loads. Faster powders like Bullseye or Clays for light plinking loads. Just my .02 for what it's worth.

 

[novalty]

Unique can advertise "smokeless," I can now smoke less as Unique provides me with enough everytime I shoot.

 

[EarlFH]

Funny, but I've been reloading with Unique for 40 years, and have yet to have to "step out from behind a cloud of smoke." I think all of the "smoke", is blowing in your story. There are a ton of things to complain about, but Unique isn't one of them.

EarlFH

 

[venomballistics]

Ive been watching ya here.
one thing that jumps out to me is that your new to this roll your own ammo thing and a bit head strong as well. which is made evident in past charge weights on the edge of nuclear fission
in your unique load, I get this sneaky suspicion that it is a lead bullet of some sort while all loads youve compared to it were jacketed ... fess up, thats how we make progress.

 

[Andy Griffith]

...thats how we make progress.

Progress, smogress....I just want to shoot somethin'.

 

[sps282]

Unique is a good powder which will work in just about any handgun cartridge....is it the best choice for every cartridge....probably not. It can be dirty in light loads but bump it up a bit and it'll burn with a lot less smoke. If I could have only one powder for handgun loading it would be my choice bar none.