Where can I find Unique reloading poweder?

[TheHobbyist]

Haven't had much luck finding reloading powder for the past 6 months or so. Usually, after deer hunting, I will start reloading but have not been able to find any.

I've asked at my local shops and no one has it in stock. Advice?

 

[sellersm]

BassPro had some in stock online. They do free ship-to-store if you have a local store, avoids Hazmat fee too!

 

[venomballistics]

right next to the cans of Unicorn dung.
In fact ... thats what Ive come to call it ... Alliant Unicorn

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

It appears occasionally...I'm still on the hunt for Bullseye myself.

If and when you find it, I'd suggest buying an 8lb jug if available.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I've seen it at a few local shops in mid-Ohio. Try Fin-feather&fur in Ashland, Ohio. They ship anything anywhere. Ivan

 

[Black69]

Basspro.com

I scored some Unique and Bullseye. Delivered today.
The price was a little high and then the hazmat fee, but
I haven't seen any powder in my area for over a year.
��

 

[jwalts27]

Unique=I wish

 

[RussellD]

Bass Pro shop has had the best supply lately. Yesterday Natchez and Powder Valley had powder that lasted maybe an hour. Its out there along with some other very desirable powders.

If you watch the thread on this forum Daily In stock Reloading Notices, I assure you powder can be found in less than 30 days.

GunBot powder reloading is another good source.

Good hunting and loading

 

[buckshotshorty]

Should have asked this question 5 days ago......Bass pro had Unique, Bullseye and Red Dot in stock for 6 days.

Red dot might still be available, other two are gone as of last night. I bought 5 lbs. UNIQUE which I could use exclusively. Fedex delivered it today.

 

[Nevada Ed]

You will do just as good with ........

Universal clays........ or
HS-6...............

now you have three powders to look for to load with.

 

[rwsmith]

Buy what will work.....

Make a list of all the powders that will work for you. Try to find one of these. Buy a lb or so of the first powder you find. Use it and continue to look for Unique. I keep hearing that the shortage is easing but I still don't see any powder.

I think Hodgdon Universal may work.

 

[TucsonMTB]

I bought my last pound of Unique from a friend who had some extra. He's less of a fan than I am, which might explain it.

But, mostly he is a helpful kind of a guy.

It might be worth mentioning to the folks you shoot with or even posting on your local range bulletin board.

 

[Clovishound]

As has been said before, in today's market you may well have to settle for what becomes available, rather than what you really want. I have been hoping for some Universal or HP38 for over a year now. I have managed to pick up some PB, Power Pistol, CFE Pistol and Bullseye. I'm still looking for Universal, but I have been shooting in the mean time.

Things have been looking up a tad. I got most of the mentioned powders in the last couple months. I actually saw Bullseye on the shelf of the LGS for a couple of days.

 

[growr]

Unique up on it!!

 

[dla]

Unique isn't that great a powder nowadays. I find it funny the threads where some noob is asking how to get it to meter better. These shortages are a great time to try something else, something better.

 

[retired_diver]

Unique isn't that great a powder nowadays. I find it funny the threads where some noob is asking how to get it to meter better. These shortages are a great time to try something else, something better.

OK, there are powders that meter better I use alot of AA#5,#7 it meters like water.
But, Unique has published loads from 380 to 45-70. Yea, 45-70 has load data for this powder. What other powder has that kind of Range?????? I reload for 380,9,38/357,44spl/mag,40sw,45acp... all the way up to 45-70. Yes, I use other powders especially for rifles but was surprised to find 45-70 on the Unique list. Just a thought.

 

[growr]

Unique isn't that great a powder nowadays. I find it funny the threads where some noob is asking how to get it to meter better. These shortages are a great time to try something else, something better.

So why has it been in production for over 100 years with great performance on target if it is that poor a powder choice? I have used Unique for many years and will continue when I can find it. Right now 700x is showing up and is my next choice for all that I used Unique for. when it is back I will get an 8lb keg of Unique. It simply WORKS!!

Randy

 

[gregintenn]

Beats the heck out of me. My basement is the only place I know where to find any. It's kind of like Bullseye and 22lr ammunition; I'm not sure it is still produced.

 

[rwsmith]

My closest LGS....

My closest LGS HAD Unique and Bullseye earlier this week for the first time since forever and they sold right out.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

So why has it been in production for over 100 years with great performance on target if it is that poor a powder choice? I have used Unique for many years and will continue when I can find it. Right now 700x is showing up and is my next choice for all that I used Unique for. when it is back I will get an 8lb keg of Unique. It simply WORKS!!

Randy

I agree Randy. I don't any problems with it. I use it in 12 ga/20 ga/45LC/44 Spl & 38 Spl.

 

[oldillini]

To my surprise I found Unique, Bullseye and Power Pistol at Gander Mountain yesterday. Some of it followed me home.

Power Pistol on the right out of picture.

 

[dla]

So why has it been in production for over 100 years with great performance on target if it is that poor a powder choice? I have used Unique for many years and will continue when I can find it. Right now 700x is showing up and is my next choice for all that I used Unique for. when it is back I will get an 8lb keg of Unique. It simply WORKS!!

Randy

Mainly because noobs read forums where the same old geezers tout the magic of Unique over and over again.

Then later comes the posts about how it burns dirty -can we clean it up? It meters poorly -what to do? And I sit back and laugh.

Lots of powders simply WORK. Unique is not one of the better ones. But you'd know that if you tried some of the others. Haven't you ever wondered why manufacturers didn't give up and simply admit that Unique was just too awesome to compete against?

 

[dla]

OK, there are powders that meter better I use alot of AA#5,#7 it meters like water.
But, Unique has published loads from 380 to 45-70. Yea, 45-70 has load data for this powder. What other powder has that kind of Range?????? I reload for 380,9,38/357,44spl/mag,40sw,45acp... all the way up to 45-70. Yes, I use other powders especially for rifles but was surprised to find 45-70 on the Unique list. Just a thought.

Universal, CFE pistol, Silhouette, True Blue, AA#5, AA#7, Power Pistol - I'm getting tired of typing. Hopefully you get the point. You can use any of the pistol powders for 45-70 and you can make nice rifle plinkers for nearly any cartridge with the same mix of pistol powders.

Nothing special about Unique. It's just an old, mediocre powder that people tout because they don't know about anything else - or they've been reading some old writers.

 

[Nemo288]

If the (part of) the factory that made Universal (and the other Clays) had not burned down
I wouldn't be having to break out my last canisters of Unique (less smoky!).
Once the Aussies get that line running again they will be able to sell all they make for several years.
My old Redding powder measure does fairly well with Unique but Universal is waaaaay nicer to meter.
Getting back into 12 ga. I notice that there as well the loads between these 2 powders don't vary much at all.
I have been having to dig out old Hercules manuals for Bullseye 12 ga loads.
It's not very far off from Red Dot but much touchier.

===
Nemo

 

[venomballistics]

Mainly because noobs read forums where the same old geezers tout the magic of Unique over and over again.

Then later comes the posts about how it burns dirty -can we clean it up? It meters poorly -what to do? And I sit back and laugh.

Lots of powders simply WORK. Unique is not one of the better ones. But you'd know that if you tried some of the others. Haven't you ever wondered why manufacturers didn't give up and simply admit that Unique was just too awesome to compete against?

I like it for its lack of voodoo magic.
It's an honest powder with predictable behavior, and no surprises.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Old doesn't mean it doesn't work , and work well.

Different people have different priorities, and if *your* #1 priority is metering , then for *you* Unique is a marginal choice.

Yes , there are lots of other powders that will work near the center of Uniques "pressure sweet spot" . Genuine Unique will perform reasonably well over a very wide range of pressure.

And yeah , it is partly a chicken and egg situation , but there is a whole lot of published data for Unique for every application you can think of . And probably more that you haven't yet imagined. Sure in a perfect world , there would be as much data for Nitro100 as for Bullseye , but don't hold your breath.

But for all my above defense of Unique , I have to be realistic about the current state of the slowly rebounding powder supply :

1. Give up finding it at local store. Check all the internet sources several times a day, and when some Unique is available , imeadately jump on it. And probably have to deal with shipping and hazmat.

2. Forget Unique for the present moment. Cruise local stores , and buy whatever medimum speed pistol / shotgun powder is on the shelf.

 

[dla]

I like it for its lack of voodoo magic.
It's an honest powder with predictable behavior, and no surprises.

And that sums up every powder I listed earlier.

 

[scooter123]

OK, there are powders that meter better I use alot of AA#5,#7 it meters like water.
But, Unique has published loads from 380 to 45-70. Yea, 45-70 has load data for this powder. What other powder has that kind of Range?????? I reload for 380,9,38/357,44spl/mag,40sw,45acp... all the way up to 45-70. Yes, I use other powders especially for rifles but was surprised to find 45-70 on the Unique list. Just a thought.

Just because Alliant has published loads using Unique for nearly everything under the sun doesn't make it a fantastic powder, it only means that Alliant will stuff it into any brass container with a bit of lead capping it. BTW, I just checked Lyman 49th, Lee 2nd, and Speer 14th and none of them listed a load featuring Unique. That's a rather distinct indication that using Unique for the 45-70 really isn't a good idea.

Yeah, I do keep some Unique on hand as a backup because it is a versatile Shotgun/Handgun powder that works well in every handgun caliber I load. However, it's poor metering qualities means that it's only a backup in the event I run out of my primary powders.

PS; for those really wanting some Unique in spite of it being a poor metering antique I can tell you to try giving Fin, Feather, & Fur in Ashland, Ohio a call. Because just about every time I've been there in the past 2 years they have had Unique in stock.

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

FWIW, I hear a lot of complaints about Unique metering poorly.

I did a lot of experimenting with my Lee Auto-Disk, and found that as long as one avoids the small cavity sizes(specifically .43cc and smaller) that it meters very repeatably.

I am relatively new to reloading, having been at it a little over a year. I am not adverse to experimenting-in fact I've built up a good enough relationship with a local shop that the guys in the reloading section go out of their way to point out every new pistol powder that they get back in stock(and I'll buy a pound of almost anything I don't have). Since I only reload for pistols(and the occasional 16 gauge shotgun shell), all I keep are pistol powders, and the last time I counted I had around 20 different powders on hand.

With that said, Unique was the first powder I used when I started reloading. I used it primarily because there was lots of data in the cartridges I started with(38 special, 357 magnum, 44 special/magnum).

Despite trying lots of other powders, my favorite loads in 357 magnum, 45 Colt, and 32-20 are still with Unique. There's a lot to be said for having a high volume, pleasant shooting, predictable and accurate load, and I've found just exactly that in the Unique loads that I've worked up for these cartridges.

I'm so happy that I was able to pick up an 8lb jub of Unique last fall that I've not yet opened...now if only I could find some Bullseye.

 

[BigBill]

I use unique for all my leadcast handgun loads. I use 2400 in all my handgun Magnum loads.