Bought A Pound Of 231 Today

[max]

Several years ago, at a gunshow, I bought a 4 pound jug of 231. I am about down to the last of it and was getting nervous about finding more. My part time job took me to Springfield today and I made a wrong turn and ended up at Scheels. They had lots of primers at $99 and a good supply of powder. I didn't need any primers, but bought a pound of 231 for what I paid for the 4 pounds previously. They also had lots of Fiocchi 9mm for $13.

I have an unopened 4 pounds of Unique, but it has been years since I reloaded .45acp with it and I don't think I have ever used it for 9mm. One of these days I may be doing so.

I am going to reload another 4 hundred or so 9mm and then reset the Dillon for .45.

 

[Skeet 028]

Powder sure isn't cheap any longer...but at least you got some. You're gonna have to break that Unique out one day

 

[.38SuperMan]

It’s a good idea to stock up things you know you’ll use. One thing for sure they’re not going to get cheaper.

I have enough powder and primers to last many years but probably need to stock up on bullets.

 

[fordson]

I recently bought 4lbs of powder - 2# of VARGET, 1# of IMR4198 and 1# of CPE BLK - for a bit over $300 from a LGS that was well stocked, surprisingly. Ouch! I needed some RL22 for my 6.5x55 but at $79.95/lbs, I decided to develop a new load using VARGET.
The rising cost of reloading supplies is edging the hobby of reloading out of the realms of economy….

 

[AJ]

I recently bought 4lbs of powder - 2# of VARGET, 1# of IMR4198 and 1# of CPE BLK - for a bit over $300 from a LGS that was well stocked, surprisingly. Ouch! I needed some RL22 for my 6.5x55 but at $79.95/lbs, I decided to develop a new load using VARGET.
The rising cost of reloading supplies is edging the hobby of reloading out of the realms of economy….

Try the load on the target. A friend loads this for me to use in my 6.5X55 CG-63 Swede. Shoots well I think.

 

[David Sinko]

I've had some terrible results with 231 in the 9mm over the years. It has been a great powder for everything from the .25 ACP to .45 Colt and many reduced rifle loads but there's something about the 9mm that I can't figure out. I hope you have a good load that works well for you. If you're using a new bullet you should load up only a few to be sure they are accurate or don't hit sideways. A bad load with overpriced powder would be a real tragedy.

 

[6string]

Try the load on the target. A friend loads this for me to use in my 6.5X55 CG-63 Swede. Shoots well I think.

Those Swede Targets are great rifles!

 

[6string]

The prices on powders and primers are simply ridiculous nonsense.
We are being gouged, for sure.
The sum total prices being charged for the components exceeds the price of a lot of factory ammo.

What should we do?
Buy cheap factory ammo so we can break it down for the components????

"Ammoseek" found me 9mm Blazer for 14.5 cents per round. Well, CCI primers (same company!), if you can find them, are gonna cost you 9 cents a piece.
Powder? Well, if you are lucky, you might find one pound for $50. So, a 7 gr charge is 5 cents.
That brings you to 14 cents so far, not counting your projectile and brass.

We all know, or should know, that the Vista Outdoor monopoly on primers is burning us badly.
Maybe they are just an anti-gun company?
Or, maybe they want to eliminate reloading so we all become dependent and obedient consumers of their loaded ammo?

This is getting old!

 

[AJ]

The prices on powders and primers are simply ridiculous nonsense.
We are being gouged, for sure.
The sum total prices being charged for the components exceeds the price of a lot of factory ammo.

What should we do?
Buy cheap factory ammo so we can break it down for the components????

"Ammoseek" found me 9mm Blazer for 14.5 cents per round. Well, CCI primers (same company!), if you can find them, are gonna cost you 9 cents a piece.
Powder? Well, if you are lucky, you might find one pound for $50. So, a 7 gr charge is 5 cents.
That brings you to 14 cents so far, not counting your projectile and brass.

We all know, or should know, that the Vista Outdoor monopoly on primers is burning us badly.
Maybe they are just an anti-gun company?
Or, maybe they want to eliminate reloading so we all become dependent and obedient consumers of their loaded ammo?

This is getting old!

The friend that loaded the 6.5X55 for me, loads for about 40 different calibers. For common stuff like 9MM, .40, etc, he just buys it OTC. Just as cheap as he can load it for with the time and effort.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I have an unopened 4 pounds of Unique, but it has been years since I reloaded .45acp with it and I don't think I have ever used it for 9mm. One of these days I may be doing so.

I am going to reload another 4 hundred or so 9mm and then reset the Dillon for .45.

I loaded lots of 9mm with both WW231 and Unique (maybe 75,000 rounds of each). The Unique was with a Lyman 55 powder measurer for consistency. The WW231 in a Dillon, for economy and time savings. Many people complain about Unique being dirty. I noticed that the same batch of reloads was dirty in my Star BK & BKM, but very clean in my S&W 39-2. The MAC-10 fired from and open bolt, everything made it dirty! I've only had clean results in my M&P2c with WW231. I only used 124 grain home cast LRN with either powder.

Ivan

 

[stansdds]

Powder and primers are pricey items these days! As for W-231/HP-38, I had great results using it in 9x19mm and 45 ACP. I even developed a really nice 9x19 load using Remington's 115 grain JHP bullet. It was definitely a +P load based on the condition of the spent primers and the readings on the chronograph. It lagged slightly behind the velocity of actual Remington 115 gr JHP +P factory ammo, but it well exceeded standard pressure factory ammo velocity.

 

[6string]

Many people complain about Unique being dirty.

Ivan

Yes! It's terrible, terrible stuff. Don't buy it, whatever you do!
If you see any in the stores (assuming any of us live that long!), let me know.
I'll be sure that it is properly disposed of.
.....out the barrels of my guns!

 

[glenwolde]

I've been using Bass Pro for powder. They have a decent selection online. I order it and ship-to-store so no hazmat or shipping. HP-38 was like $45.

 

[Skeet 028]

I recently bought 4lbs of powder - 2# of VARGET, 1# of IMR4198 and 1# of CPE BLK - for a bit over $300 from a LGS that was well stocked, surprisingly. Ouch! I needed some RL22 for my 6.5x55 but at $79.95/lbs, I decided to develop a new load using VARGET.
The rising cost of reloading supplies is edging the hobby of reloading out of the realms of economy….

4 pounds at 300 dollars... Holy ****. 75 bucks a pound??

 

[Yendor357]

I bought a pound of Accurate No. 7 yesterday. $50, out the door. If you want to save money, don’t go to a gun shop.

9MM, Lately, I’ve had really good luck with Accurate No. 5. I run 147s right at 1000 fps from 5 inch guns. That load shoots very well, and to me, the recoil is very mild.

 

[Skeet 028]

The prices on powders and primers are simply ridiculous nonsense.


"Ammoseek" found me 9mm Blazer for 14.5 cents per round. Well, CCI primers (same company!), if you can find them, are gonna cost you 9 cents a piece.
Powder? Well, if you are lucky, you might find one pound for $50. So, a 7 gr charge is 5 cents.
That brings you to 14 cents so far, not counting your projectile and brass.

This is getting old!

14 1/2 cents a round?? $7.25 a box ?? The best price I have seen on Blazer 9mm was $11.50 OTD...Best 9mm I have found in the last year was $9.99 box...at 7 and a quarter I hope you bought 5000 rounds.

 

[Dump1567]

I was running low on Unique but couldn't find anything in stock. I'm pretty much set-up to load all handgun ammo. But really just for plinking, no specialty loads.

Midwayusa has 231 which I found comparable to Unique for $285 for 8 lbs. And they have free Hazmat right now ($22.99 savings). I got mine at the B-day price of $256 (about $32 a pound). This was cheaper than any other Multipurpose powder I found. Figured I'd give this a try.

 

[CH4]

Here in Kelso, WA, and Reno, NV, I am now seeing powder running $65 to $75 a pound, primers at $90 to $120 for spp and srp; nobody has lrp on the shelves.

 

[stansdds]

I bought a pound of Accurate No. 7 yesterday. $50, out the door. If you want to save money, don’t go to a gun shop.

9MM, Lately, I’ve had really good luck with Accurate No. 5. I run 147s right at 1000 fps from 5 inch guns. That load shoots very well, and to me, the recoil is very mild.

I have also developed loads in 9x19 and 45 ACP using AA#5. It works very well in the 9x19, but I found it to be a bit "dirty" in 45 ACP. I don't think the operating pressure of the 45 ACP is high enough to create ideal combustion conditions for AA#5. AA#7 is an excellent powder for 124 grain or heavier bullets in 9x19 and is great in the 10mm Auto cartridge.

 

[fordson]

4 pounds at 300 dollars... Holy ****. 75 bucks a pound??

They averaged about $68.00/lbs (some higher, some lower) +7.5% tax came to $292.40 OTD. Worked out to $73/lb with tax………As I said, it’s getting too expensive to reload.