9mm unique 115 gr fmj

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09-09-2023, 03:21 PM
Rusty Shackleford

9mm unique 115 gr fmj

New to 9mm looking to see if anyone would share their pet load using this combo.
09-09-2023, 09:10 PM
stinjie

lately I've been hooked on a max load of Blue Dot.
09-09-2023, 10:04 PM
Dave W.

Unique is a pretty forgiving powder, it is cleaner at near max loads. Grab your favorite reloading manual and see what it says. I have used plenty of Unique, but generally use 125 grain lead bullets.

You are just starting out, I would trust the reloading manuals more than the advice some internet person gives. I do not think anybody on this site would purposely give bad advice.
09-09-2023, 11:29 PM
CastingFool

I like to use bullseye, cuz I have lots of it. Besides you can load a whole lot of shells with one pound of BE.
09-10-2023, 07:09 AM
Rusty Shackleford

Alliant didn’t have much data. I own Speer, hornaday, Lyman, rcbs, sierra manuals. I was just if someone here had any experience that they would be willing to share.
Thanks
09-10-2023, 09:10 AM
1006

I would start at 5.0 Unique and work up as high as 6.3, as 6.3 is the max charge in the Alliant Reloader Guide for a Speer Gold Dot HP. I have used 5.0 as a target load with several 9mm bullets.
09-10-2023, 11:48 AM
Rusty Shackleford

Thanks! Loaded a few at 5.3gr and some at 5.7gr. Fixing to go shoot them.
09-10-2023, 07:33 PM
gwpercle

Been giving a WWII era Walther P-38 9mm some load testing and developed a few pet loads :
These loads can be used with 115 gr. fmj or 120 gr. cast Boolit (Lee #356-120-TC) size boolit to .357"

4.4 grs. W231/HP38 (same powder) @ 1086 fps.

4.7 grs. Acc #2 @ 1050 fps.

5.0 grs. Unique @ 1125 fps .(this is my standard go-to 9mm load)

These loads are standard pressure and not maximum but cycle the Walther P-38's action reliably and are accurate ... not punishing to old pistol or shooter .
Hope this helps you out ,
Gary
09-11-2023, 05:54 AM
Rusty Shackleford

Quote:

Originally Posted by gwpercle

Been giving a WWII era Walther P-38 9mm some load testing and developed a few pet loads :
These loads can be used with 115 gr. fmj or 120 gr. cast Boolit (Lee #356-120-TC) size boolit to .357"

4.4 grs. W231/HP38 (same powder) @ 1086 fps.

4.7 grs. Acc #2 @ 1050 fps.

5.0 grs. Unique @ 1125 fps .(this is my standard go-to 9mm load)

These loads are standard pressure and not maximum but cycle the Walther P-38's action reliably and are accurate ... not punishing to old pistol or shooter .
Hope this helps you out ,
Gary

Thanks for sharing
09-11-2023, 07:16 AM
michael.birdsley

I didn’t use unique a lot in 9mm basically because, it didn’t meter well from my perfect powder measure. so i’ve been running bullseye for my jacketed, plated, and cast rounds.

However, what load development i did do with Unique is as follows. extreme 124 grain plated RN 4.2 grains. hornady 124 grain XTP 5.6 grains and 4.0 grains in 120 grn lee TC TL mold. it worked good enough if i had to use it again i would. I ran these loads in my sr9c and Sr9E.

I still have a bit of bullseye and Unique left. I’ve have slowed down on shooting my pistols but, i’ve not seen bullseye or unique on the shelves in a while.

if i run out of bullseye i might have to go to cfe pistol. if i run out of Unique for my cast rifle loads. i’m not sure what i’m going to do yet.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
09-17-2023, 04:46 PM
rsrocket1

As with gwp, 5.0g works very well with 115-124g bullets. It will cycle any pistol and is not going to blow up a gun. That much Unique will definitely overflow a 9mm case with 10g so you won’t have to worry about accidentally double charging.

It’s also high enough in pressure to give you a reasonably clean burn as far a Unique goes.
09-18-2023, 08:48 AM
Hickok

Quote:

Originally Posted by gwpercle

Been giving a WWII era Walther P-38 9mm some load testing and developed a few pet loads :
These loads can be used with 115 gr. fmj or 120 gr. cast Boolit (Lee #356-120-TC) size boolit to .357"

4.4 grs. W231/HP38 (same powder) @ 1086 fps.

4.7 grs. Acc #2 @ 1050 fps.

5.0 grs. Unique @ 1125 fps .(this is my standard go-to 9mm load)

These loads are standard pressure and not maximum but cycle the Walther P-38's action reliably and are accurate ... not punishing to old pistol or shooter .
Hope this helps you out ,
Gary

I agree with your results.:bigsmyl2:

My standard load is 5gr Unique / Lee 356-120-TC seated @ 1.065" for 1135fps from Glock 19.

I have to use this seating depth to insure feeding in my CZ, Sigs and Glocks. My CZ-75B has the shortest throat of all my pistols.
09-28-2023, 07:49 PM
Divil

I have also used 5.0 grains of Unique with Hornady 115fmj. It worked but it was not my favorite.
09-28-2023, 09:56 PM
gloob

6.25 grains, under a 115 gr JHP.

By the looks, I loaded these long. Might be too hot at a more universal length. This comes pretty close to the top of the case mouth, but I'm not sure it is actually compressed. I bet the flakes would settle down with some tapping.
10-07-2023, 04:25 PM
rogerl7157

Same here 5.0 Grains of Unique with 115 Fmj
03-31-2024, 08:30 PM
PBnJ

Just getting set up to load after a long hiatus.
I haven't been able to find any load data in a 124gn DG Bullet.
So I started at the minimum load for a 120gn LRN. 3grains at 1.2 OAL wouldn't cycle the slide.
Today I worked up 124gn DG Bullets LRN polymer coated 4.2 grains WIN 231 OAL 1.105
The Dillon powder measure doesn't seemas accurate as I would like.
But we are loading again! 10 rounds worked like a champ.
1114 FPS
1115 FPS
1127 FPS
1122 FPS
1139 FPS
1116 FPS
1105 FPS
1108 FPS
1120 FPS
1130 FPS
03-31-2024, 08:40 PM
jdgabbard

Interestingly, I just looked up my data for 115gr FMJ, and I've never loaded it with Unique that I can see...

That said, 4.2-4.3gr of Red Dot at 1.100" is my go-to load. But that should be considered ABSOLUTE maximum. Turns out even 0.05" of setback can cause a pretty significant pressure spike according to P Flados here in this thread: https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...-for-9mm/page3

Quote:

Originally Posted by P Flados

Quickload says you are not over max, as long as you are talking 9mm +P.

Of course seating depth gets real important in the 9mm when close to or over 100% fill. With this charge, QL says the load goes close to 46,000 psi with 0.05" setback.

Code:

Cartridge : 9 mm Luger +P (SAAMI) Bullet : .355, 115, Hornady FMJ/RN ENC 35557 Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 1.100 inch = 27.94 mm Barrel Length : 4.0 inch = 101.6 mm Powder : Alliant RED DOT CAUTION: Figures exceed maximum and minimum recommended loads ! Step Fill. Charge Vel. Energy Pmax Pmuz Prop.Burnt B_Time % % Grains fps ft.lbs psi psi % ms +00.0 93 3.80 1082 299 29284 3690 100.0 0.454 +02.6 95 3.90 1100 309 30799 3770 100.0 0.444 +05.3 98 4.00 1118 319 32361 3849 100.0 0.434 +07.9 100 4.10 1135 329 33970 3928 100.0 0.424 ! Near Maximum ! +10.5 102 4.20 1153 339 35627 4006 100.0 0.415 ! Near Maximum ! +13.2 105 4.30 1170 349 37333 4085 100.0 0.406 ! Near Maximum !

To get a good velocity, any of the following would seem to be more forgiving if a setback were to occur.
Note that the COAL show below does reflect a 0.05" setback from 1.10" as loaded:

Code:

Cartridge : 9 mm Luger +P (SAAMI) Bullet : .355, 115, Hornady FMJ/RN ENC 35557 Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 1.050 inch = 26.67 mm Barrel Length : 4.0 inch = 101.6 mm C A U T I O N : any load listed can result in a powder charge that falls below minimum suggested loads or exceeds maximum suggested loads as presented in current handloading manuals. Understand that all of the listed powders can be unsuitable for the given combination of cartridge, bullet and gun. Actual load order can vary, depending upon lot-to-lot powder and component variations. USE ONLY FOR COMPARISON ! Powder type Filling/Loading Ratio Charge Charge Vel. Prop.Burnt P max P muzz B_Time % Grains Gramm fps % psi psi ms --------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Alliant BULLSEYE 99.7 4.7 0.30 1234 99.1 37500 5052 0.392 ! Near Maximum ! Accurate No.5 84.5 6.2 0.40 1229 87.6 37500 5376 0.393 ! Near Maximum ! Shooters World Auto Pistol 84.6 6.2 0.40 1229 87.6 37500 5377 0.393 ! Near Maximum ! Shooters World Ultimate Pistol 71.8 5.0 0.32 1227 99.4 37500 4928 0.397 ! Near Maximum ! Hodgdon Longshot 88.1 6.3 0.41 1224 92.3 37500 5171 0.394 ! Near Maximum ! Ramshot Silhouette 93.1 5.7 0.37 1223 96.9 37500 5016 0.394 ! Near Maximum ! Winchester WAP 93.4 5.7 0.37 1222 96.7 37500 5019 0.394 ! Near Maximum ! Hodgdon HS-6 91.8 6.4 0.42 1218 90.0 37500 5152 0.395 ! Near Maximum ! Ramshot True Blue 86.3 6.2 0.40 1217 92.3 37500 5087 0.395 ! Near Maximum ! Hodgdon Universal 104.0 4.7 0.31 1187 100.0 35154 4430 0.416 ! Near Maximum !