dirty powder ?

[tuckerdog]

I have seen on this forum and heard from others that unique is dirty and some of those folks wont use it. I have been using unique for around 30 years (since I was 15) and while it does leave a little grit behind in the barrel I have never seen a loss of accuracy or accelerated wear from using this powder except after extreme shooting. ie; 1500 rounds in one day without cleaning (actualy did this once just to see if I could)

even then a few swabs and good to go. so umm what is the issue? I use more unique than any other powder. not trying to start a frakus just wondering what the definition of a dirty powder acctually is.

[JayinAZ]

All powders leave residue, I don't see the issue, either.

[btroj]

Dirty powder isn't an issue in cast shooting in my opinion. The lube leaves far more residue than the powder.

Great example of a solution looking for a problem.

[jonp]

Until I head into a war when I might need to run off a 5,000 round string without cleaning I am not going to worry about a little unburnt powder. Can't say I've had a firearm stop on me for being too dirty outside of the military. Unique could not have survived 100yrsif it was that bad

[T-Dogg]

Good to hear. I just picked up a pound of Unique today for my very first lead loads (38sp). Not that I mind cleaning anyway.

[Sgtonory]

I love unique i would use more of it if i could find it. I like all alliant powders have to use up my 18# of BE first. Have used Unique from 9mm to .308

[MtGun44]

IMO, baloney. Never noticed Unique being particularly dirty. It is often particularly
accurate, and that trumps "dirty" instantly. I never really consider cleanliness as
a selection factor in powders. Unique is one of the most versatile powders out there,
and for anything with a larger volume than a .44 mag it seems that about 10 gr of Unique
is often a wonderful load - regardless of cartridge or boolit wt. In the really big ones,
that can bump up to maybe 15 gr, but in any of the big milsurp bottlenecks of the late
19th and early 20th centuries, 10 gr of Unique often a delightfully accurate and mild
load.

Bill

[prs]

Dirty is relative. I have never seen "gritty", now that would be really bad. I like Unique, have used many kegs of it and have a full keg on hand now. Like was said above, the lube residue and smoke seem to dominate the residuals. Then again, the otherwise same loads with Tight Group do seem to leave the actions of semi autos less messy. But, I don't mind messy as long as she go bang!

prs

[tuckerdog]

seems many mirror my opinion of it. I was hopeing some of the dirty powder crowd would chime in so as to understand where they are comming from.

[paul h]

As an asside, I once traded a shooting aquantance some bullets I'd cast that I'd lubed with lith-bee. The bullets were extremely accurate, but he complained that the lube was too dirty. So yes, there are some people that are more concerned with the cleanliness of their gun than their group sizes.

Personally I'm more interested in accuracy than cleanliness and hence Unique is one of my most used powders because of it's accuracy in both hanguns and rifles. When you try and load powder puff loads it can be a bit dirty, but run the charges up a bit and it's great stuff.

[cbrick]

just wondering what the definition of a dirty powder acctually is.

Hhmmm . . . Me too!

ALL powder leaves residue, ALL powder. I think there are those that wish to spend the day at the range shooting and then go home and put a sparkly clean gun away. I have long range match revolvers that haven't had the bores cleaned in the last few years, no need to. I do clean the cylinder after each shooting session. Because of dirty powder? Nope, because boolit lube will build up in the cylinder.

I wonder how many of the dirty powder crowd have ever fired a front stuffer. :mrgreen:

Rick

[felix]

Don't like dirty guns? Use v-v powders and dirty goes away! The smokeless powder formulations (by all the manufacturers) are slowly changing to being more temperature tolerant as well as burning without leaving any visual residue due to itself. ... felix

[David2011]

Most noticable for me is the residue from 2400 in my .44 Mag Contender since I see down the barrel after every shot. The loads are stiff so it's not that the pressure isn't developing. A single "lightly loaded" (full house .44 Special level) round of Win231 at the end of the session using the same boolit and lube as with the 2400 leaves the barrel looking like it hasn't been shot.

David

[Moonie]

With Unique the down side is it is slightly dirty, but it has been reformulated and isn't as dirty as it was 30 years ago. The upside is all of its uses. I currently can't find any and I really need some. I like using it for reduced loads in 30-06 for my younger daughters and soon my grandchildren.

Not to mention all the pistol loads I have built around it.

[ofreen]

I like Unique for a lot of things. The only issue I've seen is unburned flakes can get under the extractor of double action revolvers, tying things up a little. The solution is to elevate the muzzle more when ejecting empties.

[willk]

For a long, long time, Unique has been just about the only powder I used for general shooting of revolvers and my used to own, 9mm. SR4759 is my standard powder for mid range necked case loads. Never had a problem with either. Still use both with Unique being my favorite mid range loads for the .44 Magnum. I use all the popular favorites for (WW296, IMR4227, and AA#9) for full power revolver loads. Love that Unique though and purchase it in 8 pound lots

As stated, the lube causes more smoke problems than any powder. Our son, who shoots cast in his 9mm's always complains about the smoke from my cast bullets (says its like shooting black powder) and he Never uses Unique. (don't know why, must be something from his Mother's side of the family:lol: )

[mdi]

"Dirty Powder" seems to be the new buzz phrase. Mostly by new or lesser experienced reloaders. The most Unique loads I've shot was about 400 rounds of 45 ACP in my 1911. Yep, it was sooty, had some gunk from lube, but never failed to feed, chamber, fire, or eject. Mebbe a couple hundred more rounds an it would start choking, but mebbe not. All my guns (except .22s) get cleaned after each session, and I don't have a failure chart for number of rounds fired before any failure/loss of accuracy due to "dirty powder" (and I think the numbers would be pretty high for some of my revolvers).

When I shot indoors exclusively, I would take a hand towel to wipe my hands and wipe down the outside of my guns to remove soot (I shot revolvers 80% of the time). All the ranges I frequented had restrooms with soap and water, so I would clean up before I went home. When I shoot outdoors today, I bring along water and can clean up a bit when I'm done shooting.

But, I expect to get a little dirty shooting (anything except my M1), that's the nature of the game. I don't wear my white tux when shooting and I usually clean up at home before I go out after a day of shooting. I don't change the oil in my car without expecting to get my hands dirty and the same applies to my shooting. As stated earlier; if you don't want to get your hands dirty (sooty) while shooting, don't shoot...

[el roboto]

I dont understand why people act like its so taboo to want to take care of a 1000$ piece of machinery.

[roysha]

I would say that "sooty" would be a more accurate term. I use it exclusively in my 44 Mag. and at the end of a 100 round or so session, because I use primarily a modified Weaver Stance the thumb and fingers of my left hand are literally black. However, I usually get around 750-800 rounds through my 629 before I need to seriously clean it and like others have alluded to, it is mainly because of the lube from the cast bullets making the ejection difficult.

That said, I don't particularly like it in auto loaders because of the sootiness and especially since I have a much better and efficient powder available. But if that was all I had, I would use it without a second thought!

[MtGun44]

I see zero connection between "dirty" and "taking care of". Wipe down a gun after shooting,
and clean the chamber area occasionally and your $1000 gun will last for 200 years.

Bill

[LenH]

I've heard the same thing about Bullseye being dirty. But with any powder you are going to get your hands dirty. I've used Unique for upwards of 40 years
and have never thought that much about it. I shoot BullsEye matches and most of the guy's I shoot with all use one of the 2 powders.

[paul h]

Most all smokeless powders will burn sooty if you drop them down below the pressure at which they burn cleanly. I've tried to find an accurate 700 fps load for my 480 using a 275gr swc bullet, and bullseye, red dot and unique are all sooty at the low velocity level. Once I jack up the loads to 900-1000 fps they burn cleanly. I could have lived with the soot if they were accurate, but no luck in that gun.

So either live with the soot with powder puff loads, or jack them up until they burn clean. As I get older I enjoy the powder puff loads more and more, and it's only a few minutes work to pass a solvent soaked brush through the barrel and cylinder and then a dry patch. For cleaning the recesses of the frame an old tooth brush and solvent or a blast or two of break cleaner does the trick. I've yet to have a gun fail to function due to sooty loads, though I suppose depending on the guns tollerances 500-1000 of them might cause some problems in a gun with tighter tollerences.

[el roboto]

I see zero connection between "dirty" and "taking care of". Wipe down a gun after shooting,
and clean the chamber area occasionally and your $1000 gun will last for 200 years.

Bill

My truck will clean up too but i dont make a habbit of dragging it through tthe mud if i can avoid it. Things stain and not wvery bit of everything will clean out.

[el roboto]

I have no safe queens and shoot the devil out of every gun i own. However when i sell my guns i get top dollar and remarks on how clean they are. For most cleaning a gun means running a tooth brusg over it, for me it means being able to run a wet patch over everything and have it come up clean. So when every crevice is filled with crud it is a time consuming task to get it all out.

[GabbyM]

Two of the cleanest loads I use are Unique under cast boolits in a 243 AI rifle and a 270 Win rifle. Bores look cleaner after shooting than after cleaning. Pressure is just enough to cause a gas seal between case and chamber so even the chambers and receivers stay clean. It's a well known fact that when you get some higher pressures on Unique it burns fairly clean.

[felix]

About all of them do, Gabby! It's a matter just how much pressure (heat) will burn the powder's carrier (cellulose) plus remaining deterrent. ... felix

[mdi]

About all of them do, Gabby! It's a matter just how much pressure (heat) will burn the powder's carrier (cellulose) plus remaining deterrent. ... felix

When I was experimenting with 2400 in my .38 Specials I got a lot of debris. Kind like a sand blaster effect! Yep that was "dirty" but the powder was not use to it's potential, therefore lots of unburned stuff all over me, my gun, and the range! Wasn't the fault of the powder, just not it's optimal application...

[MtGun44]

Amazing. :bigsmyl2:

Bill

[Airman Basic]

Unburnt granules are my problem with 4227. This at recommended load levels. When I start easing into uncharted territory I stop getting the problem. No pressure signs, either. Makes one wonder as he wanders.

[ElDorado]

I dont understand why people act like its so taboo to want to take care of a 1000$ piece of machinery.

It isn't taboo. But part of taking care of a gun is cleaning it properly. You're going to clean it whether it's a "clean powder" or a "dirty powder", aren't you? So what difference does it make? 2 minutes? 5 minutes? An old toothbrush in your kit?

Unique is a good powder, and it is worthy of any handgunner to sample and not discount it solely on how much residue it may (or may not) leave behind.

When someone pops up in the forum and wants to find a "clean powder", it makes some of us wonder what the shooter's goal is. Maybe that is the goal - clean shooting. I don't think that has been a historically significant endeavor. Maybe some of the "clean powder" crowd can do some experiments and report back here on their findings. I'm being serious here. If it's so important, if that's what makes shooting enjoyable, someone should study it.

I recommend that you find an accurate load for your gun, make sure it's safe, cycles the action, and meets your velocity needs. Shoot it, enjoy it, and then clean it up. Don't worry about the residue, it will all come out.

[waco]

Unique is, well.....Unique.
It is one of the best, most versatile powders out there. A little dirty, yeah, but so what. You have to clean your gun anyway, right?
I'm glad I still have about 7LBS on hand
I can make it work for lots of things if need be.

[Jeff H]

I assert that powder and lube residue in/on a gun, it's NOT "dirt."

Powder and lube residue on the swicthplate and hand towel in the bathroom IS "dirt!"

If you need proof of the validity of my assertion, go rub some on a switchplate and see what happens.

Warnings, disclaimers, fine print and miscellaneous boiler plate:
Further observation indicates that marital status may have an effect on the results of the experiment - and that marital status may be affected by the results of intentional concentrated applications of powder and lube residue on switchplates and hand towels.

Consult your doctor before engaging in such experiments or you may be consulting your doctor after such experiments. May lead to hunger, emotional discomfort, insomnia, mental anguish, physical pain and the inability to forget.

Just like the use of others' reloading advice - these experiments are unsafe in MY household using MY switchplates and MY towels. Start low and work up. YMMV.

[dudel]

My truck will clean up too but i dont make a habbit of dragging it through tthe mud if i can avoid it. Things stain and not wvery bit of everything will clean out.

So what fuel do you burn? Got any soot on your exhaust?

Guns are less clean after getting shot, regardless of powder. So, when you finish you clean them back to whatever level you feel comfortable with.

Unique is too versatile a powder to be dismissed because it's "dirty". That's like dismissing a powder because it's too loud.

[tuckerdog]

I use unique in everything from 38spcl to 20ga. A little residue is a very small price to pay for a powder that versitile. It shoots good it's comparativly cheap and best of all the load I used when I was 14 still works now that I'm 45. When most powders are reformulated the load changes.IE;2400. I have never had a powder burn "clean" but I am an opinionated person. Yes you may have "cleaner" powders buuuttt very few can do what unique does over such a broad spectrum.

[paul h]

The thing with unique isn't that it just can be used as a propellent for so many chamberings, it's that it produces exceptional accuracy in so many different chamberings.

I'll always choose a "dirty" accurate gun or load over a mediocre clean gun or load.

[Love Life]

Hoppes is cheap so I don't worry about it.

[h8dirt]

I grew up on FFFg so Unique seems pretty clean to me. And, at least in my big bores, it consistently outshoots most of the others. For me, it's easy to tidy up and I like pretty, accurate guns. Call me a Unique supporter.

[colt 357]

I use Unique in every thing I got from 9mm to 30-06. I buy it by the keg. I love it, and it cheaper than most other powder. I also use Varget and H110.