cjwils
Member
I have used Unique for most of my handgun reloading in several calibers for many years. I don’t reload a whole lot, so one canister of Unique lasts me several years. A few months ago, I finished an old canister, and shot up the reloads from that. Recently I loaded some .357 cartridges using a newer canister of Unique. Even though it is newer, it sat on my shelf for several years before I opened it and started to use it. The information on the canister says CE0519 637Z040314. I have no idea what that means, but maybe someone else knows.
Anyway, the newly reloaded .357 cartridges have 130 grain jacketed bullets and 7.6 grains of Unique. The primers are Winchester small pistol. My intention was to have loads that were slightly hotter than 38+P, but well below maximum magnum. When I fired a few of these, I was shocked at the recoil. It was like a firecracker went off in my hand. The recoil was way stronger and sharper than I expected. I intended to shoot at least half a box, but I quit after just a few. Later, I pulled a bullet and checked the powder weight, which was exactly what I expected. I am baffled about what is wrong. Could I have gotten a bad batch or mis-labelled batch of powder? With the old powder, I loaded bullets of 125 to 140 grains with powder charges of 8 grains for more with no problems.
The powder looks normal to me, but I don't have any of the older power to compare it to.
Anyway, the newly reloaded .357 cartridges have 130 grain jacketed bullets and 7.6 grains of Unique. The primers are Winchester small pistol. My intention was to have loads that were slightly hotter than 38+P, but well below maximum magnum. When I fired a few of these, I was shocked at the recoil. It was like a firecracker went off in my hand. The recoil was way stronger and sharper than I expected. I intended to shoot at least half a box, but I quit after just a few. Later, I pulled a bullet and checked the powder weight, which was exactly what I expected. I am baffled about what is wrong. Could I have gotten a bad batch or mis-labelled batch of powder? With the old powder, I loaded bullets of 125 to 140 grains with powder charges of 8 grains for more with no problems.
The powder looks normal to me, but I don't have any of the older power to compare it to.