moral dilema for .45acp

[JKH]

Hey Guys!

Okay, maybe not a moral issue but an issue none the less :wink:

I am about to load another 1000 .45acp rounds for my stash and have decided to change powders, here is my minor problem.

I have basically a full pound of Uique on hand for cast rifle loads, I went out and bought a pound of Red Dot to load these .45's, but have since been reading "The Load", and am having second thoughts about using the Red Dot and maybe saving it for my cast rifle loads.

Would I be better served using Red Dot for rifle loads than Unique? From what I am reading, Red Dot is supposedly insensitive to position whereas Unique is quite position sensitive.

So which should I load and which should I keep?

TIA

Jeff

[Mavrick]

RD or Unique are both "flaky" powders that will vary a little going through a measure, neither worse than the other, tho'. 6.0-6.5gr of fills a case, and 15-18gr would be very easy to ignite in a rifle, ie '06. Location-sensitive? Not really. Neither is RD.
Or you can use Kapok. I use both, and several calibers from .250/3000 to .300 WinMag.
Both powders are on the fast end, and easy to ignite.
It comes down to which rifles and boolit weights you're going to use.
Have fun,
Gene

[quasi]

I have found Unique to be very postion sensitive in rifle loads. Red dot and 231 are not in my rifles, neither is 2400.

P.S. I do not use any kind of fillers in my loads.

[Bass Ackward]

Two full pounds and you have a quandry? :grin:

Anything far enough from the flame will get hard to ignite uniformly.

Magnum primers increase the reach and fillers decrease the distance.

Rifle powders start at 2400. Eases the the dilemma now doesn't it? :grin:

[mike in co]

buy a pound of accurate number 2 and use it for the 45acp while you work on your delima....

[JKH]

hmmmm, I can see powder choice for cast boolit loads is a very personal issue for some ;^ )

I also have 2400 for cast rifle loads and tend to prefer it over Uniques, I have used Dacron filler with Unique, IMR4227 and H4895 and find it to be a royal pain in the butt! Everything I have used 2400 in has been accurate without problem, I will experiment with fillers more for cast loads that will cycle my M14S and Garand's.

So, Is Red Dot better than Unique overall for cast lead rifle loads? I know both will serve admirably in the .45

[Kskybroom]

????????

[35remington]

No, it is not better. Both will do essentially the same thing, which is shoot mild cast bullet loads with decent accuracy. Both are rather fast as cast bullet powders go, and charges that get identical velocities aren't that far apart in charge weight in rifle cases. Which proves the point that they're both fast burning and reasonably close in burning rate.

When pressures are ramped up to the higher ranges, say the 30,000+ class, accuracy is usually poorer than at lower velocities and pressures, most especially so with plainbase bullets. Overall, confining them (in rifles) to pressures of 20Kpsi or less usually produces better results for me.

If Red Dot or Unique is truly "position sensitive" then trust me, ALL powders are.

Given their relatively high bulk and easy ignition, I can't think of too many, if any, powders that would be substantially less position sensitive, this from actual testing.

It is of course possible to make the powder charge so light that position sensitivity would increase greatly due to a very great amount of airspace in the case, but I'm talking about midrange charges rather than super light squib loads.

Generally, if midrange charges are used, neither powder is all that position sensitive. This is a point that's pretty well known as long as powder charges and pressures are not too low. Since they're shotgun speed powders, running them in the shotgun range (8,000 kpsi and up) is probably advisable to avoid position sensitivity.

[Bass Ackward]

The one point that I find VERY interesting about easy to ignite shotgun powders is that in shotgun applications, these powders are compressed, crimped completely, and ignited by the HOTTEST primer class available to achieve consistent ignition and burn.

What is the testing criteria that determines the exact classification a powder receives that makes it a shotgun, pistol, or rifle powder?

[JKH]

I puzzled till my puzzler was sore!

Not really, just some concerted thinking and reason.

Going with 4.5 grains Red Dot, with the LEE 230 TC boolit that is 240grn as cast with ACWW's.
This will leave me plenty Red Dot to experimeint with and all my Unique which has a long and storied history with cast rifle loads and a plethora of documented load data.

1000 .45 cases sized and flared, 1000 boolits sized and lubed, time to fire up the old Lyman powder measure and the old CH single stage press and finish the job!

Thanks for all the great input guys.

Jef