Unique for all my loads?

[xrmattaz]

I've never used Unique. I'm now loading .38/.357/.44 Special/.44 Mag/.45 ACP and .45 Colt.

Does anyone use Unique for all? I've always used 231 or Bullseye for my .38/.45 loads.

Or....should I stay with what I'm familiar with for the others, and buy another powder (296, or?) for .44 Special/.44 Magnum, which I'm just getting into reloading for?

I'd love to use one powder for all of 'em!

 

[xrmattaz]

I've never used Unique. I'm now loading .38/.357/.44 Special/.44 Mag/.45 ACP and .45 Colt.

Does anyone use Unique for all? I've always used 231 or Bullseye for my .38/.45 loads.

Or....should I stay with what I'm familiar with for the others, and buy another powder (296, or?) for .44 Special/.44 Magnum, which I'm just getting into reloading for?

I'd love to use one powder for all of 'em!

 

[44forever]

I use Unique in all those cartridges. There are better choices for high end magnum performance and less expensive choices for light target loads but medium power loads with unique should work well in all of them.

 

[Skip Sackett]

If you don't mind having "generic" loads for all of those cartridges, go ahead and use Unique for all of them.

Don't get me wrong, I know there are some folks out there cringing right now because I dare to speak this way, Unique is a very versatile powder. You have cartridges listed there that for certain purposes Unique will really shine. Some of them are going to be mediocre at best with it.

Powder should be picked on basis of needs/desire of round performance and availability, not ONLY versatility. Versatility should play a part but not the MAIN criteria, at least in my opinion.

If you could list the usage of the rounds by caliber, forum members would be glad to make suggestions.

I know I will. If I had Accurate Arms powders available I would use them for all the calibers listed. AA#2 for 38 & 45 target loads, AA#5 for mild 357mag & 44spl, AA#7 for stouter 357mag & 44spl & mild 44Mag loads. AA#9 for full power loads in the magnums.

Hope this helps!

 

[sunday bill]

W231 has proven itself about as versatile as Unique for me. As with Unique, you may have to settle for a tad less desirable performance in some cases, but she'll load'em all

 

[dg101win]

In the past I have used Unique for 38/357,44Spec/Mag,45ACP,45Colt,20Ga and 28Ga.
Currently use 231 for the 45ACP,trying 231 in 38/357.
Primarily have 296 on hand for my .410,but would use it for 357,44Mag loads if need arises.
Most of my shooting is informal paper punching,tin can rolling anyway.

 

[WR Moore]

I've used Unique for all the calibers you mention except .45 Colt. Don't have anything in that caliber.

Unique won't give you the max performance in the .44 Mag, but will give you a pretty good all purpose round. 7.5 gr and a 250 gr Kieth bullet in .44 Spl is a wonderful load.

6.5 gr Unique and a 230 gr FMJ was the .45 hardball match load for decades.

5.0 gr Unique and 158 gr SWCHP in .38 Special was "the thinking mans substitute for +P" per Skeeter Skelton. 4.5 gr does nicely for other purposes and exceeds factory velocities in my snubbies.

In the .357 you won't get max 158 gr loads, but you can do very well with 125 JHP slugs.

 

[jjones33]

Smith crazy and I are going to agree on this. I wear a 36" waist 32" inseam. Fits me like a glove at 6'3" and I weigh 190 lbs. Pretty specific, right? Someone 5'8" with a 30 inch waist and a 28" inseam can fit into my clothes but they won't work very well. Lot of cinching up on that belt and a mighty big cuff. A big boy could probably squeeze into them but still wouldn't be a good fit.

The point is one size in reality does not fit all if you really want a good fit. Experiment and find the powders that work well for each load. In the end you'll probably wind up with 3 or 4 powders but the cash outlay will still be the same.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Ted

Amen, Brother, Amen!

 

[bogman]

I use Unique in .38, .357, .44 special, .44mag.,.45acp. always accurate with cast bullets, which is all I can afford to shoot !!!

 

[ACP230]

I have used Unique in .38 Special, milder .357 Magnum, .45 ACP (bowling pin loads), and .41 Magnum (also bowling pin loads).

It worked great in all of them and could be used in shotshell and reduced rifle loads if I ever got around to making some of them.

I am just using up an eight pound keg of Unique so you can see I like it a lot.

 

[Rule3]

Ifeel the same about HP 38. It will load every caliber I have in handguns. .380, 9, 38, 357, 40. 44mag and 45 acp. Perhaps not the best for each but for general taget range use it will get the bullet down range.Not real magnum loads but I usually do not shoot those.

 

[catdad]

I use Unique for all my loads, just bought some W 231, just to have something different.

 

[xrmattaz]

Thank you all for the helpful responses!

Should have mentioned that I'm no longer interested in full Magnum loads, opting instead for mild to moderate, with cast bullets. I only own one .44 Magnum, which happens to be a newly acquired 329PD. Initially, I figured I'd work up mainly moderate .44 Special loads for her, but am now thinking milder .44 Magnums, as I already have plenty of brass.

My only "push the envelope" firearm would be the 7.5" Vaquero, all of my others are used for pleasant plinking and such.

I'm more than happy with "generic" loads, for the time being, as long as they're fairly accurate.

 

[tomf52]

Unique a good powder, no doubt. W231 meters much better.

 

[Kevin G]

Originally posted by tomf52:
Unique a good powder, no doubt. W231 meters much better.

Good point! I found trying to throw small charges of Unique difficult.
For what it's worth I use both,my loads tend to be on the mild side.
Win 231 for 38spl,38super,9mm
Unique for 41mag,44spcl,44mag,45acp
Kevin

 

[Skip Sackett]

I'm more than happy with "generic" loads, for the time being, as long as they're fairly accurate.

Matt,
That being the case, you have made a wise choice.

Just for curiosity sake, what are you loading on, what kind of equipment?

 

[xrmattaz]

Still using my trusty 25 y/o RCBS single stage press, Lee handprimer and Lee Auto Disk Powder Measure.

 

[madcaster]

I use Unique in all,but then again I also cast all my centerfire stuff,and my calibers are .357/.38,.30/30,.30/06,.375 WCF,.45 Long Colt,.44 Magum/Special,.222 Remington

 

[webley green]

Unique for the .38 Special and .45 Colt; those are two pistol cartridges I reload for.