Powder quiz!

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AZAndy

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The photo below was taken after trying out my new-to-me Model 60 with a hundred rounds of .357.

If a beam of light left the Berlin train station in the direction of Bern at the same time I took the photo,

1. How many apples does Janet have in her basket?
2. What powder did I load the .357 cartridges with?

(You can approximate the speed of light to 182,000 miles per second, and presume a stationary Earth.)

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Unique. And for extra credit you were using cast bullets with conventional wax/grease based lubes and your pressure was in the 20000 or less PSI range. Janet has no apples in her basket as train travel to Bern requires proper papers at this time and Janet being a Barrister is classified as Unabteilung and shall not be issued transit stemplung.
 
I've never seen Unique do that, but Bullseye? That's the way it turns out every time!
So I guess Bullseye!
 
My hands were similarly smoked after shooting 2400 in this 44 Mag.

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This is clearly Unique

uTG9yWv.jpg

The greasy stuff is bullet lube. I carry Goop and water and always wash my hands before leaving the range. I am of the opinion that it gets the lead residue off, which is important as fingers get in the mouth and nose.

I don't have any 1911 pictures but it is my recollection that the muzzle gets coated with bullet lube and residue.
 
I didn't expect the very first response to have the correct answer, but you can't fool the denizens of The High Road! 158 grain coated lead semi-wadcutters over 6 grains of the dreaded Unique. It's a light load I use for small or light framed revolvers, or for new shooters.
Well, Bullseye, Unique and H110 are the only pistol powders I’ve ever used , so...
when I began loading, I quickly learned that it’s kinda sooty towards the bottom end. It cleans up nicely when you get to more stout loads.
It may be a bit dirty, but it cleans up real easy, and does make for a nice “gentle” load.
 
That's why I use Trail Boss for light loads in the .357 mag. I don't load less than 6.5 grains of Unique under a 158 SWC.
 
I didn't expect the very first response to have the correct answer, but you can't fool the denizens of The High Road! 158 grain coated lead semi-wadcutters over 6 grains of the dreaded Unique. It's a light load I use for small or light framed revolvers, or for new shooters.

Here's what's funny... I bought my mom a 3" Model 60 (.38SPC) many years ago. She has smallish hands, and the pistol fit her very well, but she had the beginning stages of arthritis. So, I loaded 4grn Unique under a Hornady swaged 158grn SWC (remember those messy swaged bullets?) and it was not only a tack driver, but burned pretty clean as well. I looked at your photos and... knowing what the consensus was going to be... just shook my head.
 
1. Janet doesn't own a basket, never has!
2. The powder you used was 100% without a doubt not pyrodex...
 
I quite using Unique and went to Universal. Mainly because Unique doesn't meter well in my Dillon 650. I'm totally sold on Universal for mid range loads. The data is almost identical and it burns much cleaner. I have found that Unique and Bullseye both will burn cleaner with magnum primers. I'm really surprised at how dirty your gun got after just 100 rounds using a coated lead bullet. None of my guns get near that dirty after a couple hundred rounds with coated lead. Yours looks like my 8 3/8" Model 14 after shooting an afternoon with Bullseye and Lead HBWC. Its the only gun that I shoot with non coated lead any more. It will still shoot that load in one ragged hole at 25 yards when I can do my part which is becoming harder and harder to do with my old eyes. When the last thousand I have loaded are gone, I'll probably be done with uncoated lead forever.
 
Years ago when I first started out reloading I "liberated" a pound of Blue Dot from my grandfathers keg and loaded some light 38 SPL SWC with it. Now THOSE were some sooty rounds with lots of powder skeletons left on the bench. Almost as bad as holy black it seemed back then. It seems a lot of different propellants are dirty when shot at low pressures but some seem much worse than the majority.
 
The +'s of Unique ----your gun is dirty so you will be sure to clean it (good).
your hands are dirty so you will be sure to wash them (good) to get the residue off.
you had the pleasure of shooting.
 
That has been my experience with Unique, plus it doesn't meter well for me.
I found Accurate #5 and VV n340 to work very well with 158gr lswc for upper end 38 spl and light .357 magnum.
 
The +'s of Unique ----your gun is dirty so you will be sure to clean it (good).
your hands are dirty so you will be sure to wash them (good) to get the residue off.
you had the pleasure of shooting.
Yes! When I shoot stuff I've done with, say, HP-38 or Titegroup, I don't feel as much a sense of accomplishment when I'm done. There's less evidence of my activities, so it's like it didn't happen. ;-)
 
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