Hodgdon Universal, use or sell?

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anothernewb

anothernewb

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Going through my Powder inventory these days. Finding out I'm better than I thought with all my usual powders at this point, several years at my current usage. So I'm considering whether to keep or unload some of my alternatives I picked up the last time things were short.

To whit, Picked up 2# of Hodgdon Universal during the last shortage. this one:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1009110922

Anyone have a preference for this in any particular loading between 9, 38spl and 45acp? Searching the web has brought up all kinds of results from what people like and dislike. but it's often tough to winnow through the clays posts

Originally I had picked it up for some more full load 185 HP's in 45acp. but now that I have a full compliment of my preferred BE86 and WSF in my stash. this kinda seems redundant to me, as those powders also work well with 9 and 38 - which are the only other pistol calibers I load. And I'm considering send it on.
 
anothernewb said:
Going through my Powder inventory these days. Finding out I'm better than I thought with all my usual powders at this point, several years at my current usage. So I'm considering whether to keep or unload some of my alternatives I picked up the last time things were short.

To whit, Picked up 2# of Hodgdon Universal during the last shortage. this one:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1009110922

Anyone have a preference for this in any particular loading between 9, 38spl and 45acp? Searching the web has brought up all kinds of results from what people like and dislike. but it's often tough to winnow through the clays posts

Originally I had picked it up for some more full load 185 HP's in 45acp. but now that I have a full compliment of my preferred BE86 and WSF in my stash. this kinda seems redundant to me, as those powders also work well with 9 and 38 - which are the only other pistol calibers I load. And I'm considering send it on.
Click to expand...
If ammunition was an investment you would not be losing money or opportunity by holding. Your excess could be used to help family or friends, but in this unknown market having a resource is better than money IMO.
 
AJC1 said:
If ammunition was an investment you would not be losing money or opportunity by holding. Your excess could be used to help family or friends, but in this unknown market having a resource is better than money IMO.
Click to expand...
very true. I'm wrestling with it. The desire to hang onto everything is warring heavily with the OCD of having too many cans of "random" alternatives, and adding up the math of how much I'll realistically use. I'd hate to hang onto it just in case, only to find later it had gone bad from age, lol. Perhaps the best question is what's the realistic shelf life of powder these days when stored decently. Maybe I should just vacuum seal them up and stick them away.
 
I’d keep it, it lasts a long long time and seems to be a good powder similar to Unique. I haven’t used a lot of it because I have Unique and Herco but the little I’ve messed with it the more glad I am that I want to keep the several pounds I acquired
 
If you are not going to use it, might as well trade it off.

I have an open pound that I use to work up some loads. It works well. I have other favorites. If I had another unopened pound it would be on the trading block.
 
I couldn't find any Unique in one of the previous "shortages", but did find some Universal. It worked very closely the same as Unique, and meters better. I bought one pound the first time then wound up with 9 lbs shortly thereafter. For several years I have been using Universal in all my handguns, quite successfully (32 ACP up to 44 Magnum, cast and jacketed, mild to wild). My "Just in Case" 9mm ammo uses Universal under a 124 gr JHP, works quite well in 4, 9mm pistols with consistent performance...

2 pounds of Universal will load a lot of four and a half gr. 9mm rounds... :D
 
It works well for all the cartridges you list. The plus sides of Universal is it is clean burning even at lower charges, it is brownish-orange so it is easy to confirm in a case has been charged and it has good case fill on modern cartridges.

I personally wouldn't sell a pistol powder unless I actively disliked it.
 
NWcityguy2 said:
I personally wouldn't sell a pistol powder unless I actively disliked it.
Click to expand...
Fortunately I haven’t found one of those yet!
I bought Universal and Titegroup at the last ObigOne shortage since they were about the only powder I could get. Turns out they both work well in the calibers you listed . It’s tough to predict when “this” shortage will abate so I’m hanging on to all I’ve got unless friends are in need. Unless you’re hazmat certified, you can’t ship powder or primers so you’re selling to a local crowd. If it bothers you to have extra, by all means get rid of it, but I’d wait till the shortage is over. Good luck.
 
I am not too picky about powders and do not chronograph. I have used Universal in 9 mm, .357, and .41 mag. I like it. Can use it in 20 gauge but I buy Alliant 20/28 in big jugs for that. But there seems no point in keeping a powder that you do not want to use. I doubt if it will sell at a premium but I bet you can unload it if you want.

As Hodgdon said the uses for Universal are pretty universal.

Too bad there are not 20/28 loads for handguns.
 
I really like Universal and if the OP lived near me it would be already sold. I still have a pound and a half of it but that won't last long.
Works great in small capacity cases like 9mm at up around max load with 124 gr jacketed bullets. Burns so clean you don't have to clean your gun after shooting.
I passed up an 8lb jug of it last year, Maaaannnn! did I screw up. I do have lots of BE-86 and it works about the same way.
I'd use it if I were the OP. There are a lot of the older powders that have been up staged by newer formula powders. The new ones work well but I so do the older ones seem to me to have a wider range of usefulness than the new recipes have.
 
I'm in a situation where I bought 16# of Universal without ever having used it before. I saw a great many calibers, everything that I load for in pistols, and so getting that much powder for as cheap as I got it I was happy. Until I actually tried to load it. I'm over that now after investing in a FA Intellidropper, and so I don't scream and shout any longer when loading with it. Sadly, the loads are rather small, and so it will be many thousands of rounds before I can use the first 8# jug. Meanwhile, the 2nd jug sits, waiting its turn. If I lived anywhere near @tightgroup tiger I'm sure he'd have his 8lb jug afterall.
 
anothernewb said:
Going through my Powder inventory these days. Finding out I'm better than I thought with all my usual powders at this point, several years at my current usage. So I'm considering whether to keep or unload some of my alternatives I picked up the last time things were short.

To whit, Picked up 2# of Hodgdon Universal during the last shortage. this one:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1009110922

Anyone have a preference for this in any particular loading between 9, 38spl and 45acp? Searching the web has brought up all kinds of results from what people like and dislike. but it's often tough to winnow through the clays posts

Originally I had picked it up for some more full load 185 HP's in 45acp. but now that I have a full compliment of my preferred BE86 and WSF in my stash. this kinda seems redundant to me, as those powders also work well with 9 and 38 - which are the only other pistol calibers I load. And I'm considering send it on.
Click to expand...
There’s no sense hanging on to powders you won’t use.
 
Well it’s already paid for, and depending on how long this craziness goes on it may continue to be hard or worse to get powder in the foreseeable future, I’d sit on it. You may yet need it. Also depending on how long this crap lasts, prices may double or triple and the trade value could net you a new gun(s) down the road.
 
If I didn't like it, or was running out of room, or my wife was telling me to clean out my shop, I'd just put it on a shelf and forget about it. I have 3 different powders I haven't used in a few years, but I'm not gonna toss it as it ain't bothering me on the back of the shelf..
 
If you want to burn it up.
It makes killer cast bullet rifle loads.
I ran 12 grains in 8x57 with a 205 grain cast.
Same charge worked well in a Krag with a 170 cast.
Cast rifle shooting is like a bigger caliber 22lr.
I like it for 38spl +p and 357 target loads.
 
markr6754 said:
I'm in a situation where I bought 16# of Universal without ever having used it before. I saw a great many calibers, everything that I load for in pistols, and so getting that much powder for as cheap as I got it I was happy. Until I actually tried to load it. I'm over that now after investing in a FA Intellidropper, and so I don't scream and shout any longer when loading with it. Sadly, the loads are rather small, and so it will be many thousands of rounds before I can use the first 8# jug. Meanwhile, the 2nd jug sits, waiting its turn. If I lived anywhere near @tightgroup tiger I'm sure he'd have his 8lb jug afterall.
Click to expand...

I'd buy it too! My Hornady measure works well with it. I've heard others complain about it metering poorly, but I don't have much of problem with it for some reason. My recipe for 9mm is 4.3 grs of universal with a 124gr jhp bullet at 1.25 OAL. I admit I get more velocity from BE-86 though.
 
Bfh_auto said:
If you want to burn it up.
It makes killer cast bullet rifle loads.
I ran 12 grains in 8x57 with a 205 grain cast.
Same charge worked well in a Krag with a 170 cast.
Cast rifle shooting is like a bigger caliber 22lr.
I like it for 38spl +p and 357 target loads.
Click to expand...

Couldn't even begin to count how much universal I burned up in the 38spl p+ loads.
 
If you don't use it I'd try to trade for something you need.I have been selling some stuff to friends normal prices.But I think from now on I'm only going to trade.No one knows how long this is going to last.Not being nasty or gloating but I thought ahead a little why should I cut myself short to help those who didn't.
 
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