A few months ago I tried using Universal powder in my Redding powder measure and I just couldn't get a consistent powder drop. I have great luck with a number of other powders, such as HP-38 and Sport Pistol, but I struggled with Universal so I just put it on the shelf for another day.

Today was another day and I thought I'd give Universal another try and it was still very inconsistent for me and difficult to use with any confidence so I've just shelved it indefinitely.

So, what's the deal with Universal powder? Is it me? My equipment? Bad karma?

With my Redding measure with pistol insert (metering chamber may be the proper term), Unique doesn't flow real well, but I do use it occasionally. As for Universal, I haven't tried it in quite a while, but I don't recall a flow problem with it.

Could it possibly be you are using a rifle insert on your measure while trying to throw small pistol charges? This could be a cause for inconsistent charges with some powders.

Universal meters and flows well in my RCBS Uniflow with the small drum.

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There are no bad pig parts!

Using the pistol insert.

I use it all the time, and have never had a problem. Meters great. Maybe a static issue?

I use it in my Lyman 55 and I have been for a heckuva long time. My #1 use for it is in 9mm loads. Tens of thousands of rounds.

When I pull the handle with Universal in the powder measure I feel like I'm cutting through cardboard. I then cleaned out the Universal powder and put in HP-38 and much smoother and more consistent powder drops. Difference was like night and day. Same room, same time of day so if it was static or something environmental it would have affected the HP-38 as well but it didn't.

Must be bad karma between me and the powder. Lol!

I switched to Universal from Unique because it meters so much better in my Dillon 650

Maybe I got a bad bottle of powder. If it worked for everyone like it does for me Hodgdon wouldn’t be able to give it away. I’m seriously thinking of just tossing it.

I use Red Dot and Unique in my Pacific c. 1980, similar to RCBS, with the large drum, 6g, aim low and trickle in. I weigh every charge. After a time, 6- 10 drops, it settles in the powder hopper and becomes more uniform. I never race myself. It is my time and I'd rather do this than vacuum the rug or wash dishes and plates.

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"Don't Give Up the Ship"

Since Universal is a flake powder it won't meter as well as W231 which is a ball powder. It's as simple as that IMO. You are probably doing nothing wrong, it's the nature of the beast.

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Perhaps a powder baffle would help. I use them all the time in a hornady powder throw. Actually 2 different baffles, 1 with small openings and another with large.

A link to instructions on what powder baffles do, how they work. Along with printable templets to make your own.
https://www.shootersforum.com/attach...tes-pdf.10528/

I make my own out of aluminum roof flashing but any thin flat metal would work. I don't care what powder I'm using, the powder throw gets a baffle in it.

Are you working in a high humidity? That could be a factor.

Maybe you simply need a little practice with the intent being cosistency . Consistent force when working the handle , consistent handle operation and keep the powder level above 1/2 full and / or use a powder baffle .
I don't have a Redding powder measure but when I bought my Lyman 55 and wanted to throw Unique ... I had to sit down and practice ... I found my most consistent method ...was first operation of the handle with the same speed and force every time .
Raise the handle and bump it twice ...same speed same force , lower the handle and bump it twice ...same speed , same force .
Keep the powder hooper above 1/2 full .
If I did consistent handle movements ...Unique measured just fine ... inconsistent handle movements and bumping force ... poor inconsistent drops .
Also , before you start ...the powder in the hopper has to be settled ...10 or 12 throws will get it settled , put the powder back in the hopper and don't even try to drop charges until the hopper powder is settled ... when you add more powder ...settle it also .

If everything isn't consistent and consistently operated every time ...you will get erratic drops ...aka ...inconsistency !

If push comes to shove a most consistent way to measure powder is a little dipper . Consistent dipping method will give you a completely consistent measure of powder ...just use a consistent method of dipping each time ... don't discard the powder ...find a way to measure it ... always more than one way to skin a powder measure cat .
Gary

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Well I don't get it. I use a Lee Perfect Powder measure for Universal and it runs through it like water. They are cheap enough, actually I think the cheapest. Maybe you should try one.

10-15 years ago I tried it out in my 12 Ga. trap loads againts Unique & Green Dot.

It did pretty well in the fps department but it did not pattern as well and
at the lower 1145fps, 1 1/8 oz. loads, it was very dirty, in my shotgun barrels.

In my revolvers is could not match Unique in fps, so I never bought it again.

If it works out for you great and yes it was a Bomb in my Pacific powder unit.

Yes, I have a baffle in the powder measure and at a height that seems to work well for my other powders.

High and dry here in Colorado. Well, maybe I shouldn't say "high" but I'm at 5,000 feet above sea level.

When we moved out here last year we had our car loaded down with slate paving stones and plants my wife took from her garden. I told her that if we were pulled over by the cops to simply tell him we were a rock band hauling weed to Colorado. We laughed about that for many miles but luckily never had to use the line.

Not my experience. It tends to drop easily and measure well.

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Front sight and squeeze

Universal in a C-H 502 and Lee PPM meters acceptably (+/- .01-.03 most often with about 75% same weight repeatable). I use Universal more than any other powder in my handgun loads, 9 calibers from 380 ACP up to 45 Colt. My JIC loads are 9mm w/124 gr JHP over Universal and 45 ACP 230 gr FMJ over Universal. I keep about 500 rounds each, Just In Case...

What's the deal with Universal powder?



I mean, really?

It works fine in my Lee Autodrum.
If ya wanna toss it, toss it my way

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There is one nugget that I left out and it seems nobody has addressed…

A couple years ago, the Hodgdon Universal that is packaged and sold changed from Australian production to Canada.

I buy 8-pounders only… in any/every powder I use, except Power Pistol (arrgh!!!) and so I had a good stock of my Universal before this change.

I have never used the current Canadian Universal. Is it different? Could it be different? NO IDEA. But it is relevant to the conversation.

I’ve had plenty of experience with powders that meter lousy. Red Dot, Green Dot, neither runs great for me. Unique is awful. IMR-800X probably wins the title for worst I have ever tried when it comes to dropping charges from my Lyman 55.

Universal gives me no hassles.

Maybe your measure is just gummed up. I was fighting with a powder that usually flows well in my Uniflow. I took it all apart and scrubbed the drum and frame with bronze wool and alcohol, blew it all out, then lubed with dry graphite. It's working the way I remember it now.

It does fine in my Lee Perfect Powder measure. Back when Unique got scarce it was recommended to me by a friend who has been reloading for as long as I can remember. He said he was starting to like it better.

I used Clays for many years. No problems at all in my shotshell loads metering in a MEC 9000 progressive.
10's of thousands of rounds.
This was the Australian mfg stuff.
Then they had the fire at the Australian plant that mfg'd the stuff.

I had enough 8#'ders of the powder to hold me thru till the 'new' Clays came available a couple yrs later.

I bought an 8# jug of the new Canadian mfg Clays.
I used it once to try and load some shells.

I had nothing but bridged powder in the drop tube problems & light drops.

After messing with the stuff a couple of times I finally dumped the bottle back into the jug of powder and to this day it's still sits un-used.
I managed to load approx 1 box of 25rds with it.

It seems awfully 'fluffy' compared to the Clays I was used to handling and loading for all those yrs.
It just won't work through the metering bar or a Lyman 55 either. Thought I would use it in pistol loads. Guess it'll be LEE scoop measures to get rid of the 8 pounds at 3 or 4 grains at a time.

I switched over to Alliant Clay Dot powder as my 12ga powder with no issues at all. Same powder bushing.

Maybe the Universal (Clays?) in question suffers from the same problem as the Clays powder I have.

Interesting information about newer batches of the "same" powder acting differently. I know this thread is about Universal, but my issue was with Bullseye. Bullseye never gave me trouble, it measured smoothly and was consistent from charge to charge. No complaints. Then I used up the last bit I had that was in the old cardboard cylinders. I opened one of the newer plastic bottles and immediately had a problem. It bound up my Redding powder measure. Something on the powder created a gummy-like drag on the measure. Even after emptying the measure, the gumminess remained. When I took it apart and cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol, the problem disappeared. The measure worked fine until I tried that bottle of Bullseye again and got the same trouble. I just quit using Bullseye and happily went with 231. I think the change in Bullseye was the switch to the so-called "cleaner" version. Cleaner in the gun, maybe, but not in the measure.

I use a mountain of Bullseye and though my first batch of it was indeed Hercules from the cardboard can, every pound after that first one has come from Alliant plastic, and never struggle with it. I still love Bullseye in .38 Special after all these years and it’s still the only powder I feed my Model 52’s.

Some of the Alliant powders have been reformulated to be 'clean', but don't think Bullseye is one of them. I use it in 99% of my loads, never had problems. It is sensitive to static, the 1st pound was reluctant to empty out of the powder measure and back into the bottle. No more static cling after that 1st bottle.

Universal is great for .45 FMJ loads, I am less thrilled with it for lead. Lots of smoke.

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Common sense isn't so common.

It's a Shotgun Powder. As a result in meters poorly in volumetric powder measures with a Standard Deviation of 0.17 grains. So that +/- 0.51 grain variation poses a problem with a 5 or 6 grain charge. However if you are throwing a 14 grain or more charge that really doesn't matter so much. If you insist on using this powder for handgun loads then USE A SCALE and trickle up each charge. If that's too much of a bother then offer your powder for sale at a local shotgun range, it will take you about 5 minutes to find someone looking for some Universal because it's a real Goto for 28 and 20 gauge loads.

My Redding 3BR with the small pistol micrometer does have a bit of trouble throwing charges of the Canadian made Universal powder. This powder looks like round flakes and have a reddish pink colour like clay bricks there is no black graphite coating on the granules and that may make the granules less slippery.
The first time I used this powder with my Redding 3BR I had forgot to remove the rust preventing oil in the micrometer chamber so I had to do a lot of trickle up adjustments.

With a clean and dry measurement chamber Universal works well.
I adjust the 3BR to throw light by .1 or .2 grains and trickle up to my desired charge weight. Surprisedly many throws weigh spot on, not requiring any trickle up adjustment.

I like loading Universal it works great in my 686 357 mag 6” barrel.
A 6.0 gr charge averaged 1146 fps (3 ten shot strings averaged) with a commercially cast 158 gr SWC bullet CCI 550 mag primer in Starline brass.

Universal flows and measures just as good as any other powder even in very small volume pistol cases.

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