POWER PISTOL for 41 Magnum

[pdman]

HeY All..Am looking for a replacement for UNIQUE for my 41 magnums...I know they supposedly made Unique less FILTHY...does not seem so..have use 9gr Unique with H&G #258 Keith SWC for quite a while now...after 10-12 rounds any revolver is just a FILTHY MESS...
Am using 10gr Power Pistol in my 10mm Glocks...with 165 Speer Gold Dots...it burns VERY clean..and is a proven Hunting Load...
Looking at the burn rate charts Power Pistol is right close to FILTHY UNIQUE...seems that charges would be VERY close...also Hodgdon Universal is right there also...woud like one powder for both 10mm and 41magnum....full power 41 Magnum loads are a very heavy beast in a 4 5/8" Ruger New Model Blackhawk...less so in a Model 57 S&W...
WELL.would Y'ALL be comfortable with using similar charges of FILTHY Unique with Power Pistol..??? Am thinking I could just use
9gr. Power pistol in place of 9gr FILTHY Unique...
Please dont think I am knocking Unique...it performs splendidly in my 44Magnums..!!!!???
WHAT say ye LEARNED gentlemen..????
Pete in Central Texas...

[djgoings]

Are your H&G #258 SWC's lubed or Powder Coated? My 357 and 44 revolvers stay MUCH cleaner when I switched to PC, regardless of the powder being used.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

If you want to switch to powerpistol, I'd use published data as a starting point, instead of "Looking at the burn rate charts" and concluding from that "...seems that charges would be VERY close".

regarding the "FILTHY UNIQUE", if you don't get near enough to the 'ideal working pressure' of unique, the cases and gun will be more sooty than if you were to load to that 'ideal working pressure'. Add to that, some lubes are messier/greasier than others. If you are using a lube that is more messier/greasier, then your lower pressure Unique load will make your gun a sooty greasy mess.
I use SL68B, it has a lot of positives, See #7.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...how-to-make-it

[vzerone]

Alliant Power Pistol is a medium burn-rate pistol powder. It
thrives when loaded with standard weight bullets (for caliber)
and at moderate pressures that
typically fall within 12,000 to
20,000 psi. When loaded to magnum-pressure levels that typically reach 35,000 to 36,000
psi, pressure curves can become
rather sharp, so maximum loads
should be approached with caution.

[Tim357]

So... Unique has been around since about 1899ish or there bouts. Pretty sure there are suitable cleaning solvents out there for keeping your gun clean. Bag on Unique all you want, but regardless of what powder you end up using, you still need to clean your gun after shooting.

[osteodoc08]

Haven’t shot PP much but Longshot may be a decent contender for a suitable 10mm and 41 Mag powder

[rsrocket1]

Try BE-86. It's a little slower than Unique which means you can load it a bit more stout, it's way cleaner than Unique and measures better. It takes about 5-7% more BE-86 to get the same MV as Unique and BE-86 is a little faster burning than PP. It also has a flash suppressant which means you don't get quite the muzzle blast that you do with PP in low light. If there is a down side of BE-86, it has a higher NG content than Unique which means it will attack RCBS and Hornady powder hoppers if left in there for a long time and it has more effect on powder coated bullet bases although the jury is out on whether that affects the powder or not over the long run.

[pdman]

HEY ALL..Loaded 10 each 7...8. & 9grains...New Starline cases...CCI 300....My cast bullet...H&G #258 at 221grains....7 & 8 grains shot well...no pressure...etc....
AT 9grains the group really tightened up....TEN SHOTS....again no pressure or sticky extraction..cases fell out of the cylinder......primers were round...no flattening....and it is definitely not light target load....plenty of blast & recoil....25yds two handed hold....best I can do with my 68yr old eyes....now I have one powder for my Glock Model 40 10mm & this Blackhawk.....thanks to all for your help..!!
Pete

[LUCKYDAWG13]

That's some good shooting just asking but how well did the Unique group for you

[pdman]

HEY Luckydawg13... 9gr. Unique shoots the same but is VERY dirty...supposedly alliant made it cleaner burning....does not seem so....
Pete

[Don Purcell]

pdman, thanks for the results on your .41 Mag. I've been trying Power Pistol in .44 Specials (8 grains / 250 Keith) and am going to try it in the .41 Mag and .44 Mag. By the way, great shooting!

[ranchman]

A great charge of Power Pistol in 41 (special) if you happen to ever try special-length brass in your magnum is 7.0grains... I load a 237gr cast Keith bullet on 7.0 grains Power Pistol in special-brass for an outstanding load with accuracy just like you found with 9.0 in magnum brass. I get +/-1000fps with 7.0 out of a 4.75" barrel.

Unique really is a great powder, but I switched (just like you) specifically because of the soot & mess.. Power Pistol's a much cleaner powder for sure