alanwk
Member
What are some alternatives for "Unique" powder? Primarily for 9mm and 45acp. Thanks.
UNIQUE alternatives
- Thread starter alanwk
- Start date
CoalCrackerAl
Member
Bullseye i like.
.45Coltguy
Member
IF you can find it. BE-86 sure is showing promise.
epags
Member
Here is something I put together so I could compare what I had against what I had (since this is the internet, you should verify anything you find including this):
| Trust but verify | 38 SPL | 357 Mag | 44 Mag | 45 ACP | 9 MM | 223 | 243 |
| Hodgdon - Universal Clays | X | X | X | ||||
| Hodgdon - Tite Group | X | X | X | ||||
| Hodgdon - Benchmark | X | X | |||||
| Hodgdon H110 | X | X | |||||
| IMR 3031 | X | X | |||||
| IMR 4198 | X | ||||||
| H4350 | X | ||||||
| IMR 4350 | X** | ||||||
| IMR SR 4756 | X | X | X | X | X | ||
| IMR SR4759 | X | ||||||
| IMR 4831 | X | ||||||
| IMR 4895 | X | X | |||||
| Accurate #7 | X | X | X | X | |||
| Ball 231 | X | X | X | X | X | ||
| Bullseye | X | X | X | X | |||
| Reloder 15 | X | X | |||||
| Reloder 22 | |||||||
| CFE 223 | X | ||||||
| HP-38 | X | X | X | ||||
| H335 | X | X | |||||
| *cast lead bullets |
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J-Bar
Member
Agree. I bought a pound of BE-86 at a gunshow for testing. It meters well in my Dillon powder measure and burns cleanly in my .38 Special and .357 Magnum revolvers. My impression is that it is as good as HP-38 and Titegroup for those calibers.
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.45Coltguy
Member
Doesn't want to load.^^^^^ epags post. At least I can't get it.
epags
Member
I found it would go to your computer's download (where you could possibly print it) but would not show on the post.....so I deleted it and did an insert....now you can see it (I hope)
.45Coltguy
Member
Yep, have it now. Nice, thanks.
Larry in wyoming
Member
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2021
- Messages
- 611
Since all I am looking for is range fodder, I find that red dot works just fine in 9mm and 45acp.
124gr match winner in 9mm and a Lee 205gr cast TC in 45acp.
124gr match winner in 9mm and a Lee 205gr cast TC in 45acp.
During one of the "powder shortages" I was looking for Unique, but found none. Found Universal, bought 1 lb. Liked it so I bought 2 more lbs. Didn't want to be unprepared so I bought a 4 lb. jug. I have used it in all y handgun calibers (8 different calibers).
Blue68f100
Member
I replaced unique decades ago with WSF, works for most any med speed powder and meters good. WSF is my go to powder for 9mm workd good for full power 45acp. I use WST for mouse farts loads, aka BE loads.
LiveLife
Member
If you are looking for similar velocity range alternatives, there are BE-86 (I consider BE-86 modern Unique that meters better), Universal, Power Pistol, WSF, N330, CFE Pistol, AutoComp
If you are looking for similar "fluffy" filling of case that will overflow double charge, Red Dot/Promo and Herco.
If you are looking for lighter recoil target loads, Bullseye, Red Dot/Promo, WST, No 2/Clean Shot, Titegroup, Sport Pistol, N320, W231/HP-38
BTW, here's same/comparable powders thread for your reference - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...ble-powders-during-component-shortage.890865/
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25-20 WCF
Member
As others have stated, Universal (NOT Universal Clays!) is pretty close in performance to Unique. In some loads it is almost identical in fps per grain, in other loads it is not so they should not be considered as “universally” interchangeable. I find it burns cleaner - if that matters - and while it doesn’t bulk up quite as much as Unique it still meters better and seems only moderately position sensitive (most all pistol powders are position sensitive to some degree). It works well for me in 9mm and .45 ACP.
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black mamba
Member
- Joined
- Feb 29, 2020
- Messages
- 361
Vihtavuori N330 is the closest in burn rate that I've found, and even though it is slightly less bulky than Unique, it still gives much better case fill than most of the other contenders. Meters good, burns clean and gives great accuracy.
epags
Member
Always go to the manufacturers' website for the proper load data. Notice the difference in charges, actually clays and Universal both work for 9, 38 and 45.:
Random 8
Member
I would take a long look at Autocomp, WSF, Longshot and HP-38/W231. I can't speak for .45 ACP, but I have been loving Longshot and Autocomp in the 9mm. I have sworn off Alliant powders. Fool me once....
sparkyv
Member
+1 on Universal
I'm saving BE-86 for my 10mm loads. Very good accuracy, decent high end velocities.
I'm saving BE-86 for my 10mm loads. Very good accuracy, decent high end velocities.
.45Coltguy
Member
Don't know anything regarding loading for 9mm, but, Clays and Universal work superbly in .38 spl and .45 auto. Both are mighty hard to come by as of late tho.
As to Random 8's post; whats the issue with Alliant powder? Simply curious is all.
That is my feeling also.
When I first started into reloading, the second powder I bought was BE-86. I intended to pick up some Unique and Bullseye as Classic powders. After using BE-86 for a while I know longer saw a reason to look for Unique
Mr_Flintstone
Member
I would like to second AutoComp. I have found it to nearly duplicate Unique in most of my loads.
A powder I found which duplicates unique velocity and pressure is True Blue.
I like it for heavy loadings
Random 8
Member
Repeated poor availability, goofy and deleted or abridged data, and unreasonable pricing. It's like they don't want me to use their products, so I won't. There is nothing in their lineup I can't replace with a St Mark's or GD (rifle) offering.
AJC1
Member
Understand that 9mm is a high pressure loading and 45acp is a low pressure loading like 38spl. Optimized for one is sacrifice in the other.... if I was dowin those two and only those two I'd look at hp-38/w231
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