7.5 Grains of Unique for .41 mag, .44 Spl., & .45 Colt?

[Dump1567]

I'm getting back into reloading and plan on loading .41 mag, .44 Spl., & .45 Colt (all 4" S&W revolvers). I decided to go with Unique powder and now am trying to see if I can use one powder setting for all three (7.5 Gr.)

Here's the bullets I'll be using:

Oregon Trail Laser-Cast Bullets 41 Caliber (412 Diameter) 215 Grain Lead Semi-Wadcutter

Rainier LeadSafe Bullets 44 Caliber (429 Diameter) 200 Grain Plated Flat Nose (recommended to load the same as a lead bullet)

Oregon Trail Laser-Cast Bullets 45 Colt (Long Colt) (452 Diameter) 200 Grain Lead Flat Nose

Will 7.5 Grains of Unique work for all three of these as a plinking load?

Any ideas of what velocities to expect?

Thanks.

 

[arjay]

May be a bit low on the 41
In the middle for a 44 special.( using a special case)
A little low for the 45 colt
Data from lyman #46 and Speer #10

If you bump it up to 8 gr you'll be on the low end for the 41 and 45 and at the top for the 44.

 

[Dump1567]

May be a bit low on the 41
In the middle for a 44 special.( using a special case)
A little low for the 45 colt
Data from lyman #46 and Speer #10

If you bump it up to 8 gr you'll be on the low end for the 41 and 45 and at the top for the 44.

Thanks. Started researching some threads here. Sounds doable with 8 gr. Also looks like I should have gone with the 250-255 gr. bullet for .45.

 

[tappedandtagged]

With your original bullet choice and 8 grains of powder, it looks like you will be right at Alliant's reccomended max for the 44 Spl and around 20% under max for the 45 Colt and 41 Mag. I understand the frustration of having one powder measure and not wanting to change the setting up once you have it set in the sweet spot, but I would set it, load up my 45 and 41 with the same charge and make a scooper for the 44 Spl. I have found that a .380 case will give me just over 6 grains of Unique. A 9mm may give you around 7 grains. Just try it. If it works, take a heavy paperclip, unwind half of it and wrap it around the extractor groove on the 9mm case.