Equivalent Powder to Unique

[Skip Sackett]

dirty Unique and they cleaned up nicely in a jiffy.

Well, There you have it bmc! Who wants to clean their guns?

With folks being as lazy as they are nowadays and the latest in ultra-tactical shooting equipment, do we still have to clean our firearms after we shoot them?

You're being kind of "old fashioned" aren't you? I mean, come on already!

Two things are true about Unique. It is dirty. Do you know why? Because it burns. Ever seen anything that burns be really clean afterward? Not me. I don't expect to see a clean firearm after I let loose with a gazillion bullets either, especially if they are lead, which is another story all together.

I personally am not a big fan of Unique. Something designed to fit most really fits few best. Does it have a purpose even among the "newer formulations?" You bet, and it will until it is made illegal to reload or it is taken off of the market by Alliant.

If you are going to make "mouse f**t" loads Unique isn't the powder for you. It will leave unburnt powder behind. Us the current load data for most calibers and you will find the same thing. Load towards the top or use older data and you will be much better off.

bmc is right in the fact that Unique is maligned on many forums today. Seems funny though, it's been around ever since Methuselah with no sign of slowing down!

And I said all of that and I don't even like Unique!

 

[bmcgilvray]

Hi Skip;

Just posted this article by Mike Cumpston on another thread.

http://findarticles.com/p/arti...s_10_54/ai_n28027445

I'm a pretty dyed-in-the-wool Unique user but am "really branching out" lately! I've got a can of Herco on the shelf and some ideas for use in some favorite handguns. It's been 30 years since I last tried Herco.

You are right Skip, Unique can stand in for very light loads but this does seem to compound it's "dirtiness." Once a medium load in the .38 Special, my old favorite 4.8 grains of Unique behind a 158 grain lead SWC is now off the charts in some current publications. No matter, I've shot tens of thousands of this load in a host of .38 Special guns old and new and am not changing now. Besides, I don't much like dropping back to 4.5 grains or less due to the issue of partially burned powder and smoked cases from not completely sealing upon firing.

I enjoy using Bullseye for the light stuff.

 

[2000Z-71]

Another vote for Universal Clays. I switched from Unique to Universal many years ago and use it for almost everything. Similar burn rates, but Universal burns much cleaner. Why toss the Unique? Use it or keep it around "just in case".

 

[DougE]

Originally posted by smith crazy:

dirty Unique and they cleaned up nicely in a jiffy.

If you are going to make "mouse f**t" loads Unique isn't the powder for you. It will leave unburnt powder behind. Us the current load data for most calibers and you will find the same thing. Load towards the top or use older data and you will be much better off.

bmc is right in the fact that Unique is maligned on many forums today. Seems funny though, it's been around ever since Methuselah with no sign of slowing down!
And I said all of that and I don't even like Unique!

Guess I'll end up pushing my loads past the max before it's over then if current data is too weak. I'm simply using unique because I have it around and plan on switching to other powders once I've used up my supply of it. I have a few 38 loads that I need to try out as soon as I make it to the range again.

 

[Amici]

Originally posted by bmcgilvray:
"Why do you even want to use Unique? I ask because it is a dirty powder, long since eclipsed in efficiency by newer formulations."



This is only opinion.

It's become quite fashionable to denigrate Unique in recent years on forums.

I don't mind dabbling with other powders but I still really love Unique and don't see how it is truly eclipsed. Newer isn't always necessarily better.

I fired up a pile of Unique fueled cartridges this past Friday and Saturday and am loading up more batches this evening using it. The revolvers fired on Saturday didn't malfunction or corrode into dust from evil, dirty Unique and they cleaned up nicely in a jiffy.

1. Of course it was an opinion. Just as yours was.

2. It was an opinion based upon years of seeing shooters using it being readily identified by the clouds of smoke they left behind at every stage they shot.

3. See above. When I said "dirty," I meant smoke; not that Unique fouled the guns. This is particularly true when shooting lead bullets, which I do (now poly-coated and vastly improved thereby).

That Unique is old is a fact. That it is dirty is not really in dispute; only how dirty and in what way(s).

Also not in dispute is that it works and, in certain applications, still works quite well.

Which is not to say that newer powders don't do the same job better.

 

[bmcgilvray]

Smoke is more often a result of the lube on lead bullets fired in a revolver than of the powder. If Unique is used at something other than starting loads then it really isn't any smokier than most other powders.

 

[Amici]

Originally posted by bmcgilvray:
Smoke is more often a result of the lube on lead bullets fired in a revolver than of the powder. If Unique is used at something other than starting loads then it really isn't any smokier than most other powders.

Even back when I was shooting the cheap, wax-lubed bullets, I never got the smoke from Red Dot or 231 that I saw Unique produce. It was almost like black powder by comparison, and I shoot that, too.

I don't know any USPSA competitors shooting Unique - we can't afford to have the target occluded that long. I'll stick with WST, TiteGroup and N350 and leave Unique to the cowboy and bullseye brigades.

 

[bmcgilvray]

Hah, ha...we wouldn't want our target occluded now would we.

You say that you've seen excessive smoke and I say I've not.

Unique is still worthy of consideration when one is trying new hand load combinations.

 

[Skip Sackett]

leave Unique to the cowboy and bullseye brigades.

Can't you just FEEL the sneer down that long pointy nose?


WOW!

I wish I could buy folks like this for what they are really worth, about a buck worth of minerals, and sell them for what they think they are worth. I'd be a millionaire until I got caught for fraud!

Did I say, WOW!



While not a sterling performance by me, notice the smoke while I am shooting. Do you know what it is? Bullet lube. Do you know what powder I am using? W231/HP-38! What caused the smoke wasn't Unique, it was the combination of too small of a bullet that was too hard and driven too lightly.

I guess I will just go climb back on ole Trigger and ride off into the sunset!

 

[canoe on the yukon]

Perhaps I'm just too easy to please.During the past 40 years (plus),I've loaded and fired many tens of thousands of rounds loaded with Unique and it never(not even once)occured to me that I was using a dirty,smokey,hard to meter powder.

I guess I'm just too unrefined to notice.

 

[M29since14]

If I can only find magnum primers, am I safe in reducing starting load by one grain?

I wouldn't use magnum primers in either the 9 or 45, unless you can find some data published by a recognized source that specifies them. Neither of those cartridges seem like a good candidate for burning up magnum primers.

I agree with others who use Unique. Yes, it is not the most modern, but I have shot a bunch of it and always gotten acceptable results in the 45 ACP. I have no experience with it in the 9x19. I do agree with others who have said 231 is probably a better powder for both of these rounds, but I prefer HS-6 for the 9x19.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Did I ever show you my other pictures.

This was about 60 pounds ago!

This not near that long ago!

Oh, I even have some of a horse I broke for my daughter. If I were you though, don't talk about her. (My daughter that is!)

YEEEEEEEHAAAAAWWWWWWW!

 

[canoe on the yukon]

The next time I use Unique,I will try to remember to wear my overalls and puff on a corn cob pipe.

 

[High Desert Hunter]

50 rounds of 200gr SWC loaded over, yep you guessed it........Unique, this from my SA Loaded Model in 45 ACP fired at 25 yards, think I'll keep using it.

 

[Amici]

Originally posted by smith crazy:

leave Unique to the cowboy and bullseye brigades.

Can't you just FEEL the sneer down that long pointy nose?

Different shooting sports have different requirements. Some of us can acknowledge that; apparently, some cannot.

While not a sterling performance by me, notice the smoke while I am shooting. Do you know what it is? Bullet lube. Do you know what powder I am using? W231/HP-38! What caused the smoke wasn't Unique, it was the combination of too small of a bullet that was too hard and driven too lightly.

I guess I will just go climb back on ole Trigger and ride off into the sunset!

Actually, I'd guess you should learn how to conduct a comparison competently.

The smoke in the above photo is minimal. The propellant, by your own admission, is NOT Unique, the powder in question.

Other than failing in your attempt at a false comparison, just what have you achieved?

 

[bmcgilvray]

"...best things I can say about Unique are that it's usually one of the cheapest powders per pound."

"Beginners and commercial reloaders like it for those reasons."

"...leave Unique to the cowboy and bullseye brigades."

"This is particularly true when shooting lead bullets, which I do (now poly-coated and vastly improved thereby)"-"Even back when I was shooting the cheap, wax-lubed bullets..."

"I don't know any USPSA competitors shooting Unique - we can't afford to have the target occluded that long."

"Actually, I'd guess you should learn how to conduct a comparison competently."

"Other than failing in your attempt at a false comparison, just what have you achieved?"



Your achievement is how you've managed to show us just how special you really are.

 

[Rule3]

Anyone care for some milk and cookies??
Geeze

 

[Paul5388]

Skip,

When I watched that video, everyone did know that's a viewable video he posted, I noticed some fire/flash from the W231. Does it get worse, i.e. more noticeable, in lower light?

 

[Amici]

Originally posted by bmcgilvray:Your achievement is how you've managed to show us just how special you really are.

No brag; just fact.

- "Will Sonnett"

 

[Skip Sackett]

Originally posted by Amici:
special

No brag; just fact.

- "Will Sonnett"

A friend of mine's father used to tell him he was "special" too, usually after he did something stupid. He would say: "Your special, special ed, that is."

Didn't do much for the young man's self esteem but I don't think he ever repeated the same mistake twice.

Right answer, wrong method!

As to the comparison, watch the video. It get's real smokey and the point being made was that there are other factors that contribute to the problem. I think others got that.

Paul,
The "flash" in the video with W231/HP-38 is noticeable. At this point, I can't tell you if it was because of the other factors mentioned in my previous post or not. I never revisited it. I simply switched to plated bullets when shooting 9mm. I can tell you this though, that took care of two problems I was having, smoke and leading!