Unique and the 170gr Keith 357Mag

[jonp]

I had a hard time tracking down any data on using this powder and the 170gr using 357Mag brass and a Ruger Blackhawk. I wanted to use Red Dot but could not find anything as it is just too fast I guess.

I finally settled on 5gr of Unique as a nice target load and was wondering what others are using with unique and if anyone has any data for the Red Dot? This loading is for practice only so near the bottom end is fine.

[Dan Cash]

You don't say in what revolver you are shooting this load. In a strong sixshooter (S&W 27-28 or Ruger Single Action) you might push it to 6 gr. I find 5.5 gr of current production Unique in a .38 Special case with that bullet ample for my heavy Smiths and M19s but won't go there for my older M&Ps or Mod 10.

[jonp]

I should have put in that its a 50th Anniversary Blackhawk. Strength is not a worry on this one. I am using 357Mag cases.

[rsrocket1]

Unless you are trying to load low velocity/low recoil loads, Red Dot is a little too fast for anything more than mid range Unique type loads. It excels at low recoil loads however. The equivalent Red Dot load for your 5g Unique load would be about 4.2g, but the pressure will be about 26 kpsi peak compared to 19 kpsi peak for 5g Unique (estimates from Quickload). I shoot the 158g Lee RF and use 5.0g Unique 38 special cases in my Ruger 357 and it is a good firm shooting load. For 38 special (158g bullet), 40 S&W (175g bullet) and 45 ACP (230g bullet), my bread and butter load has been 5.0g Unique or 4.2g Red Dot or 4.5g Bullseye, whichever powder I have the desire to load at the time. You could go maybe 0.7g higher with your Unique load, but unless you have need for more recoil and beating up your gun, I think it would be just fine to stick with 5.0g Unique.

[williamwaco]

For Red Dot in the .357 Magnum, use Bulls Eye or AA No 2 data and reduce loads by about 20% then work back up.

Accurate list data for No.2 with the 187 grain bullet on their web site. That load would certainly be safe with the 170 grain bullet.

[Blackwater]

The classic load for that Keith bullet is Keith's own 13.5 gr. of 2400. IIRC, he and many others used to use 7.0 gr. Unique with it in strong .357's, too, but I don't see that much recommended any more. I used quite a few of those myself some 20+ years ago, and they're a really good .357 load, and I never had a problem with them, but nobody recommends that much Unique with that bullet any more. Some manuals leave Unique completely out of their listings with that and 158 gr. lead bullets now, so .... you may want to peruse a number of manuals and see what the max recommended load is and use the top load listed. Your experience may differ from mine, but I always got best results from that bullet when I pushed it to near top speeds. I can tell you it penetrates more than any other bullet I ever tried or compared it to. I'd expect it to kill a grizzly DRT if you can hit the brain or spine with it, so it's not a totally unreasonable choice for protection in grizzly country IF you can shoot well under extreme duress. Elmer knew what he was doing, and the proof is in how that bullet holds up at what most consider rediculous ranges. I used to practice with it a lot, and it always seemed to me that practice with mild loads never really applied to real life situations with full loads. So, I used to shoot that load a lot, just for "practice." After all, only perfect practice makes perfect. FWIW?