OP
I concur KennyB. I shoot a 210 grain swc bullet in front of 8.0 grains of Unique in my Model 58 and it is mild and accurate.
I also use Unique in my .45 Colt & .44 Special loads.
.38 Special loads with Unique
- Thread starter bgrafsr
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I concur KennyB. I shoot a 210 grain swc bullet in front of 8.0 grains of Unique in my Model 58 and it is mild and accurate.
I also use Unique in my .45 Colt & .44 Special loads.
I love Unique!
I use it in all my handgun rounds from .38 Special to my .475 Linebaugh. Both it and 231 work as good as anything available for light medium to heavy medium loads with about any bullet weight.
I have an article here with pressure tested data for the .38 Special that shows 5 grains of Unique under a 173 grain Keith SWC as being within SAAMI specs of 17,000 psi, while 5.5 grains is shown as being within SAAMI +P specs of 20,000 psi with the same bullet. I have fired quite a few of the 5.5 grain loads from my M-15 Combat Masterpiece with no troubles what-so-ever. It is a stout load no doubt in such a relatively light gun where recoil is concerned, but I am not worried about it blowing up my gun.
I use it in all my handgun rounds from .38 Special to my .475 Linebaugh. Both it and 231 work as good as anything available for light medium to heavy medium loads with about any bullet weight.
I have an article here with pressure tested data for the .38 Special that shows 5 grains of Unique under a 173 grain Keith SWC as being within SAAMI specs of 17,000 psi, while 5.5 grains is shown as being within SAAMI +P specs of 20,000 psi with the same bullet. I have fired quite a few of the 5.5 grain loads from my M-15 Combat Masterpiece with no troubles what-so-ever. It is a stout load no doubt in such a relatively light gun where recoil is concerned, but I am not worried about it blowing up my gun.
Bruce51
Member
Unique
I have been using 5 grains of Unique with 158 grain bullets in .38 Special for quite awhile. Nothing has worn out or blown up in the process.
I tried this load in a Rossi 5 shot stainless steel model 88.
I just kept shooting and shooting expecting this inexpensive import gun to blow up from this plus p load.
Darn if I didn't run out of ammo and the gun was still in one piece.
I guess I will have to load some more and just keep shooting.
Seriously having started reloading in the 70's there are some loads which may be on the hot side listed in the old manuals.
Still, in a modern .38, five grains of Unique and a 158 grain bullet is not going to be the cause of a kaboom.
Bruce
I have been using 5 grains of Unique with 158 grain bullets in .38 Special for quite awhile. Nothing has worn out or blown up in the process.
I tried this load in a Rossi 5 shot stainless steel model 88.
I just kept shooting and shooting expecting this inexpensive import gun to blow up from this plus p load.
Darn if I didn't run out of ammo and the gun was still in one piece.
I guess I will have to load some more and just keep shooting.
Seriously having started reloading in the 70's there are some loads which may be on the hot side listed in the old manuals.
Still, in a modern .38, five grains of Unique and a 158 grain bullet is not going to be the cause of a kaboom.
Bruce
5.0 gr. Unique and a cast SWC is my standard .38 Spl. load for everything including my 442. It runs about 882 fps in a 4" barrel. For a defense load I make it a 158 gr LSWCHP and 5.5 grains.
Have been using Unique since 1962 in just about every handgun caliber. It's still a little smoky and dirty but compared to black powder revolvers it's downright antiseptic.
Have been using Unique since 1962 in just about every handgun caliber. It's still a little smoky and dirty but compared to black powder revolvers it's downright antiseptic.
bmcgilvray
Member
I've been using 4.8 grains of Unique behind a 158 grain cast lead SWC in the .38 Special since the mid 1970s. Yields 858 fps from a 4-inch barrel. My favorite general purpose field and plinking load.
For those using 5.0grs of Unique under a 158gr LSWC, what primers are you using? Magnum or standard? My buddy loads 4.0grs of Unique under a 158gr LSWC as his plinking round and we were discussing him bumping up it up to something a little hotter. The 4.0grs makes for a nice round, but I want more. He was asking what I wanted and I was thinking of posting the question here but it's already started! We decided 5.0grs would be enough, I still want something alittle hotter but he's a "safe" fellow and after all he is the one loading, so I understand.
Skip Sackett
US Veteran
Other powders....
Arm, It all depends on what you really want. There is data out there for tons of powders that will outperform Unique for those really "hot" 38spl loads.
Current Alliant data says that 5.2gr of Unique is maximum with a 158gr LSWC. It is listed as a +P load and should only be used in firearms designated as such.
I think the thing that needs to be asked of you is this: "What firearm are you going to be shooting these 38 "hotrods" out of?"
But, tell your buddy, if the firearm is rated as 38spl +P or 357Mag for that matter, you aren't going to hurt it running the 5.0gr rounds.
I have a load for a 158gr LSWC that is +P+ that develops 1100fps from a 3" barrel. Now, the gun may blow up after 5 rounds, it is an all stainless M60 though, but they are my carry ammo and if I am still standing after those 5 go off, I will be the "winner". I'll buy another gun then!
(Tongue in cheek friends!)
Arm, It all depends on what you really want. There is data out there for tons of powders that will outperform Unique for those really "hot" 38spl loads.
Current Alliant data says that 5.2gr of Unique is maximum with a 158gr LSWC. It is listed as a +P load and should only be used in firearms designated as such.
I think the thing that needs to be asked of you is this: "What firearm are you going to be shooting these 38 "hotrods" out of?"
But, tell your buddy, if the firearm is rated as 38spl +P or 357Mag for that matter, you aren't going to hurt it running the 5.0gr rounds.
I have a load for a 158gr LSWC that is +P+ that develops 1100fps from a 3" barrel. Now, the gun may blow up after 5 rounds, it is an all stainless M60 though, but they are my carry ammo and if I am still standing after those 5 go off, I will be the "winner". I'll buy another gun then!
(Tongue in cheek friends!)4" 686 or 3" SP101 are the revo's. But I also have a 3" 65 and a 4" 10 that might see some of them as well.
We were thinking Unique and this thread was about Unique, but he also has Power Pistol, Trailboss and W231.
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BillyWayne
Member
I have been reloading 38/357 for 14 years now and I just bought Unique for the first time. I have been playing around with other powders, some were not so kind to me, and since Unique has been around for so long and people like you have good results with it I figured that I too should get some. I have taken note of what some of you are using for loads and will try some. Sometimes this forum is better than reloading manuals.
VAdoublegunner
Member
I'll admit that I am not a Unique fan for most of my handgun loads. I have other powders that perform better. However, it does seem to be a good combination for the 38 Special at higher charges, and 5.0gr with the 158gr lswc is one of them. Another one I keep it around for is 110 JHP loads in the 38SP where 6.4 gr is a really exceptional (but definately +P !) load in my Model 67 and heavy barrel 64.
Black_Sheep
Member
One of my favorite .38 loads is 4.7gr of Unique pushing a cast 158 gr LSWC. The modest recoil is perfect for extended practice sessions with j-frame snubbies...
bamacisa
Member
When I first started to reload back around 1975, I used 4.6 grains of Unique and a Speer or Hornady 158 grain SWC or RN. That load worked fine and I never had any problems. That is a good load for beginners. I was told that beginners should use Unique and that they should not start with using Bullseye (for safety reasons) Since then, I have loaded and shot many thousands of loads that were hotter than this load( some times using Unique, sometimes using other powders) If you are using a modern 38/357 revolver made by one of one of the major manufacturers, 5.5 grains of Unique with a 158 grain bullet, will be rather hot, but it won't blow your revolver up. I would not want to shoot a steady diet of this load simply because lighter loads are more fun to shoot.
Rodfac
Member
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Just found this thread...a cpl of thoughts...Old Unique burns dirty in everything I've tried it in...hand gun, rifle (.32-20, .44-40, .44 Magnum), and 12, 16, and 20 ga. shotgun.
New Unique (burns a little faster than the old lots I have on hand.) is a smidge cleaner but neither measures worth a c..p through an RCBS Uniflow or Dillon 550B measures.
I've had equal grouping from Win 231 or HP-38 (virtually the same powder according to my chronograph) and either measures infinitely better.
Rodfac
New Unique (burns a little faster than the old lots I have on hand.) is a smidge cleaner but neither measures worth a c..p through an RCBS Uniflow or Dillon 550B measures.
I've had equal grouping from Win 231 or HP-38 (virtually the same powder according to my chronograph) and either measures infinitely better.
Rodfac
ChuckS1
US Veteran
Wow, how data has changed! I'm looking at a Lyman 41st edition and it shows 5.0 grains of Unique as a max load for the 148 gr HBWC, the 358156 and the 356429. In its ".38 Spec. High Vel." section, it goes up to 7.7 grains for the HBWC (1285 fps) and 6.4 grains for the 358156 (1154 fps). it does say "heavy frame guns only".
