Alliant Unique Powder

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mikemyers

mikemyers

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I'm getting close to where I can actually start reloading again, and have read quite a bit about what kind of gunpowder to avoid.

My application would be 38 Special, 44 Special, and 45 ACP. Years ago, I always made "light loads" (30 years ago), and would like to do the same again.

I've read these two threads today:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=527433 (old) and
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=772485 (current)
....but I don't want to re-start an old thread or change the topic for the newer thread.

Alliant Unique seems to be a reasonable choice, better than Bullseye which I had been reading about earlier. Apparently it's "flakes", not "balls", meaning it's more difficult to measure in the RCBS Powder Measure, but it's "slower" burning, and makes it very obvious if one ever gets a double charge.

Whether or not it's available is yet another question, but right now I'm mostly asking if it's suitable.

I realize there are hundreds of different powders available - I'd like something that's common, easier to find, slow burning (as I've been told it should be), and while I thought I preferred "balls" over "flakes", I like the idea of making it easy to verify that the amount of powder being dispensed is correct.

There may be better choices for the future - but having not done any reloading since the 1980's, I'd just like to get started again. Are there any reasons not to select this?

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Plenty of reasons. Unique doesn't meter well. And if you load it weak, it burns so dirty you will spend more time cleaning your guns than shooting. Don't do it. Try Universal, instead.

But if you find some Unique in stock, please PM me with location.
 
I love Unique and meters well in my Pro Auto Disk. Like already mentioned. Low to midrange loads can be dirty.
 
I have a RCBS Uniflow. Takes a little bit to get it flowing smoothly, but it's no problem. Only issue is finding some.
 
I use Unique and dispense it in a drum style powder measure such as the Uniflow. It meters fine for me as with other flake powders (700-X). The key is to operate the powder measure the same way every stroke.

Besides a bunch of pistol cartridges, I like Unique in 20 and 28 gauge shot shells.

While powder inventory is improving, there still is a shortage and one might have to take what he can find.
 
Try some Alliant BE-86. Meters well and can be used with a lot of different calibers . You will have to go to Alliants website for load data.
 
I use a little Hornady Pistol Powder measure with bushings, which beats the stuffing out of the Lee dippers that I used for years. It meters Unique amazingly well.
Unique has been my go-to powder in .38 Spl., 357 Mag. , and cast bullet loads for 40+ years. It is scarce now, but so is everything else! I do have enough to see me through the present dry spell, + one lonely can of Universal that I have had since forever.

I have flirted with some others...all very good...4756, Universal and 2400,... but, if it ain't broke... :)

If/when I get my heart's desire, a Browning High Power, then maybe another powder? Buuuut...maybe not? ;)
 
I use Unique in a RCBS Uniflow. I use the small cylinder and it meters Unique quite well. If you can find Unique, I wouldn't hesitate to use it.
 
To each his own, but I don't like Unique for light loads in .38 Special. It isn't bad when you get to +P or low end .357 Magnum levels, and I like it in .38 Special shot shell loads. I don't particularly like the way it meters either. I haven't tried it for .45 ACP and don't load .44.

My personal favorite is HP-38/Win-231 but I haven't seen any for a long time.

On my "to try" list is CFE Pistol, Universal, and Titegroup for .38 Special, 9 mm and .45 ACP mild target loads, if I ever see any.
 
Since all 3 cartridges you are loading are low pressure rounds you are lucky to be able to use one powder for all 3 and it will work very well.

Unique is quite suitable for what you're loading but I prefer W231/HP-38 because it's cleaner and since it's a Ball Powder it meters like water. There are so many good powders for loading what you are loading and that's a good thing.

If you can't find Unique or W231/HP-38 you might look for Zip, True Blue, AA#2, Red Dot, American Select and a handful of others.
 
Unique is tough to meter. Very difficult with a progressive where you don't weigh each charge.

Bullseye meters much better. As does Tightgroup, Autocomp, CFE Pistol, or any other finer powder.

I bought 8 lbs of unique a few months back, and am dreading the day that is all I have left. When I tried it, I had a spread of 0.4 grains (loading 115gr 9mm). Too much variation for a target of 5.7 gr.
 
Not sure why you want to go with a "slower" powder for those cartridges. Fast powders like Red Dot, Bullseye and TiteGroup work very well with them. Green Dot, HP38, 700-x and several others are good also. As others have noted, I would not use Unique for light loads.
 
I use pounds and pounds of Unique. Never had a problem when my Uniflow was the measure I used. Have no problem with the Hornady LnL progressive I now use.....Sure, it might vary +/- a tenth of a grain every now and then. That's close enough for my usage.

True, it is kinda a dirty burner in .38. Unique is my favorite .45. .45 ACP powder. I have no complaints in .45 regarding being dirty.
 
Unique meters well enough, even on my progressive. Like 700X, it shoots better than it meters. It is very versatile and a favorite of reloaders. It isn't super clean, but not overly dirty with normal loads.

W231 and Unique are two of the biggest sellers and for good reasons, they work well in many applications.

Right now finding exactly what you want can be a wait for it kind of thing.
 
If you are after light loads I would say go with HP38/231 if you can find any.
However finding powder right now can be a pain.
I have used BE86 (might have a better chance of finding this, seen some around) for lighter loads and it seemed to work ok for me. Meters much better than Unique, seems cleaner for me, burn speed is close to Unique.
I prefer Universal over Unique (cleaner and meters better).
The plant making Universal is supposed to be back online now after the fire so hopefully we will see some soon.

There is a BE86 thread here, so you can see lots of others results.
 
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I like Unique and use it plenty, but don't be afraid of Bullseye or other faster powders either. If you load in a block and carefully look at the charged cases before seating the bullets I don't think it's hard to spot a double charge. Obviously a little tougher if you're loading on a progressive. But Bullseye is top-notch powder for light/target .38 special and .45ACP loads IMO, and I assume it's similarly suited for .44 special (although I haven't tried it for that). It is nearly twice as economical also, for .38sp it only takes around 3gr (158gr lead bullet). True that Unique is more forgiving, but it also needs to be pushed up at least midrange to burn cleanly. For your stated goal of light loads, there are better choices IMO.
 
Unique is quite suitable for what you're loading but I prefer W231/HP-38 because it's cleaner and since it's a Ball Powder it meters like water. There are so many good powders for loading what you are loading and that's a good thing.
Click to expand...

Agree with all of this.
I used a lot of Unique when I started handloading and still like it. However, I've started using more HP38/W231 in .38 Spcl, 9mm and .40 S&W. Still use a ton of Unique in .45 Colt though, and if I had to use it in the others I'd be just fine with it.

Bullseye meters well and I've used several pounds of it as well with great results. However, it is such a fast burning powder that you could double charge a case and it would be harder to detect than with Unique. I don't know if that is a concern of yours or not, but it is worth thinking about. I'm careful all the time, but I double and triple check charges when using Bullseye.
 
I have used Unique in 38 spl, 357 mag, 44 spl, 44 mag, 45 ACP, 45 colt and 45-70.
I like that it works well in all these cartridges for me. Dirty ... maybe but I clean my firearms after every use anyway. I use a Lee perfect powder measure and check every so often that it is dispensing constantly with my beam scale, every 5 or 10 loads and it seems to hold good. I bought 10 lbs online from GB and have loaded probably 1200 rounds and still have 8 and a half full bottles left. I would try Universal but don't see it anywhere. I found some Unique and bought enough to make the hazardous material shipping costs worthwhile.
 
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I thought Bullseye would be a good choice, but (because it's faster burning) people here suggested I use something slower. I don't think I've ever double-charged a case, but it's always something on my mind. I like the idea of quickly being able to confirm that all my powder loads are good.

I definitely want to stick with ONE powder for all my needs. No reason not to.

I'll be at a gun show this coming weekend - are there any reasons to avoid buying powder at a gun show (in case I actually find some)? I'd rather buy it from a dealer at a known shop, rather than from an unknown person I'll never see again....
 
just try to check that it is sealed - for safety reasons even major retailers or the typical LGS will not accept returns/exchanges of powder no matter the reason. Opened or not.
 
I have bought more than one jug from more than one supplier that the seal came off with the cap. I believe cold weather makes the seal glue let go.
 
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