480 Ruger and my Mountainmolds custom 435gr with Unique

[Rug480]

Hey all,

I'll be doing some load testing with my WLN 435gr with H110, CCI350, and home made lube 21-23gr H110

My question however is with Unique and how to determine a safe starting load. I have Trailboss, that's an easy one to figure out, but never really played with Unique.

my boolit will seat .47-.5 inside the case, I had some Lee 325gr reloads loaded with 9gr of unique, would 10-11 be in the safe range with CCI300? Does Unique require a filler? Odds are the boolit is too heavy for Unique but don't know until I try.

[mtnman31]

Sorry, can't help you with Unique. I've only really used W-296 and H-110 in the 480 Ruger. They just work so I haven't played with anything else.

Those are some good looking bullets. 480 Ruger is my favorite revolver round.

[Chad5005]

as mtnman31 said those are some good looking boolits,i just talked to mp this morning about there 385 hp mold for my 480,i think your bullet will be to heavy for unique,im gonna use h110 for mine

[DougGuy]

I won't even put 10.0gr of Unique in a 45 Colt! At that charge weight, it can become spiky and unpredictable. Some folks top out at 10.0gr Unique in the 44 Mag under a 240gr boolit.

If you can't find published data for Unique for a given caliber, it is USUALLY because it isn't recommended in that caliber or for that specific boolit weight.

I found this, let me pass it on here fwiw:


For a 400 gr cast boolit with GC, Quick Load lists the following;

480 Ruger Pmax pressure: 47,862 psi

400 gr GC boolit with a seat depth of 0.525 inches (QL SAAMI OAL)
10.0 grs Unique: 36,754 psi
13.0 grs Unique: 64,273 psi

400 gr GC boolit with a seat depth of 0.435 inches (my design)
10.0 grs Unique: 28,966 psi
13.0 grs Unique: 48,913 psi

Hopefully you were using a much lighter boolit. Here's a Lee 476, 325 gr GC;

Lee 325 gr GC with a seat depth of 0.447
10.0 grs Unique: 25,892 psi
13.0 grs Unique: 44,460 psi

Even the light weight Lee boolit is nearing max with 13 grains.

The SRH can certainly handle being a bit above SAAMI pressure, but I wouldn't be pushing it with a fast powder like Unique. Your best served with a slower powder like WW296 or H110 if you want to run them hard. Unique doesn't measure all that well to be pushing on it. 8.5 to 10.0 grains is a nice midrange load.

You also have to watch the brass used. New Hornady brass is about dead soft. It will stick even moderate loads when new. Once work hardened a bit by 3-4 firings, it comes around to what SL brass is new.

[RJM52]

Unique is "unique"...my favorite powder and have used it in everything. No it doesn't need a filler.

I had a 6" FA 83 in .475 Linebough. Using Montana Bullet Company Bullets:

330 grain LBT: 12.0 Unique/1060 fps

400 grain LBT: 12.0 Unique/1042 fps

420 grain LBT: 12.0 Unique/1087 fps

A 9-10 grains starting load in a .480 with a 435 should work fine...

Bob

[Beagle333]

Those are some good looking whompers. I'd imagine if you got them up to even 850-900fps, it'd be bad news for whatever was trying to slow em down.
Have fun! :Fire:

[Jeff Michel]

It's not a .480 but I use 10 gains of Unique and a 440 Grain Lee in a 500 S&W (Lee reloading 1st edition) Good practice load. I'm with Doug Guy on over ten grains Unique. There are better powders for the purpose. Just my opinion, others will differ.

[Rug480]

Appreciate the feedback, looks like I might get me another mold for plinking. Maybe a 330gr Keith for fun, save the 435 for h110 and 2400

[Tom W.]

I know it depletes your lead supply pretty quickly, at an ounce per boolit......BTDT

[dougader]

I've loaded 8, 9 and 10 grains W231 in 480 Ruger with a 370 grain RNFP boolit based on some Taffin data. This link also shows Unqiue data. I'm thinking I'd start with 8 grains Unique with your 435 and then ladder up 1/2 grain at a time to see what your accuracy is like... keeping in mind how fast pressure can spike with relatively fast powders and heavy bullets.

http://www.handloads.com/loaddata/taffin.asp?Caliber=480%20Ruger&Weight=370&type=Handgun&Order=Powder&Source=