Unique powder ?'s

[cheese1566]

Please don't beat me..I have never used Unique...:oops:

What type of powder is it (ball/sperical, flattened ball, flake, extruded)?

And does it meter well?

(I am thinking of starting with Unique for some light 308Win loads using a gas checked Lee 309-160-R.)

[Mk42gunner]

Cheese,

I haven't used it either. One of my cousins said he used it in his .32 mag; so I asked him how it metered. I'd tell you what he said but this is a family site. I got the impression that gravel metered better.


Robert

[cheese1566]

Yeah, I have heard both good and bad, mostly bad on the metering qualities...
But for what I would be using it for, I would be dropping the charge, then weighing it up with a powder trickler.

[RobS]

Unique is a great powder for many, many applications. IMO it is one of the best all around powders for handgun, shotgun, and even reduced rifle. Yes there is a powder that works best for every reloading situation but unique is very hard to beat for it's versitility. It does meter with a bit of difficulty if you are planning on dropping small charges though. I have used it alot and from 5 grains and up I have always been able to keep it within a tenth of a grain. Under 5 grains and the flake powder can bride up and make it hard to flow through the smaller cavities of powder measures and there lies the problem as squibs can occure. Since you plan on trickling powder then it wouldn't be a problem.

[ETG]

Looks a lot like Herco. I'd call it flake but I'm not sure what flattened ball looks like. I have been dropping it from an ancient (and I don't consider my lyman drop I bought back in the 70's ancient) Redding powder drop. Set it for 22.5 grs. for a buckshot blasting load. +- .5 gr is about the most spread I have seen. I think with a measure that had a finer adjustment (like the Lyman) it would be better. For sending 12 pellets of hand cast 00 buck down range it is good enough for me.

[.357]

Unique is a flake powder a BIG flake powder, in a uniflow it's like cutting rocks to meter it, however on the lee disk measure i have on my lee pro 1000 works really well! i just picked up a lyman powder measure to try it on unique see if it works better.

[skimmerhead]

i agree with ROBs it is a good all around powder, i use it in many different cals. it is a flake powder there for you will need to adjust your measureing method. i use lee auto powder loader on a 4 hole classic turret press. now in the lee loading guide it tell's you wich disc to use for a certain load, but due to large flakes it does not give you that load, have always had to go up a couple numbers on the disc. what i do now is log in every load and what disc number i use for every load. all my loads checked with my dillon beam scale and then with a digital scale several times before and during loading and have never had a problem. i like this powder and when ever i want to load a certain cal. i go to my log book and all the info is there no searching no guessing put the disc check the load and thats it works for me!

skimmerhead[smilie=f:

[Sur5er]

If you like the performance qualities of Unique, I'd suggest trying some Russian SALUT. I've been using 5.6gr in my Sig P220 w/200gr RNFP. Great groups, meters well and its about $11 lb. I even used it as a cast reduced load in my 300 Win Mag and it held <MOA @ 100yds.

Dick

[Matt_G]

RobS hit the nail directly on the head.
If I could only have one powder (God forbid) it would be Unique.
Like Rob said, it may not be the best powder for all situations, but it will work for every gun I have. Pistols, cast in rifles and 12 gauge.
Great all around powder. Not real great metering wise though...

[Shootn]

I use it in .38 Special, .357 magnum, .45 ACP and .45 Colt. It meters great in my Dillon 550 and all I do is adjust the powder die as needed. I also use it in low velocity cast rifle.

[Adk Mike]

I use it every week in a US model 1917 enfield with a Lyman 311041 bullet. I use 13 grains and it meters well in my Uniflow measure. Low recoil and shoots out to the steel swingers. I buy it in four pound cans. Good Stuff. Mike

[35remington]

If you guys think Unique has big flakes, you must not have seen 800X, Steel, or American Select!

It's not because of its "large flakes" that Unique meters light from the Lee fixed charge disks for the Pro and Auto Disks; it's because Lee is conservative on listing what the disks actually throw for liability reasons and to allow for a worst case situation. Easy metering Bullseye, 231, and Titegroup meter light, too. Thrown charges are normally a bit lighter than Lee lists.

Do NOT use below 3.5 grains Unique through the Pro or Auto Disks; bridging will occur and drop light charges. This from a fellow who's tried just that in small cartridges like 25-20, light loads in 38 Spl and 380 Auto.

Heavier charges than this meter fine, and with good technique and a proper measure weighing is NOT necessary; although some measures and users are better than others. Extreme spreads in velocity are as good as any other powder when I adhere to my recommendations here, which have been obtained through practical experience and usage.

[Three44s]

I like Unique.

I load it in medium charges and the relatively poor metering characteristics are not an issue as there is plenty of allowance for pressures spikes at those levels. In a hot load with Unique there would not be such room for error. But at those levels you are exceeding the compressive strength of most boolits ....... so it's a moot arguement.


Three 44s

[Lloyd Smale]

yes there are better metering powders. If your anal about it use power pistol or universal clays but id never give up my unique. Even with its metering flaw it will most times outshoot anything else. I think it goes back to the bench rest shooters trick of metering powder by volume not weight. Either that or the couple of tenths differnces betweeen charges just doesnt matter. I find the same thing with even more metering problem with herco. Bottom line is i couldnt imagine being without either of them.

[Shiloh]

Meters great for me. Well within a tenth from Dillon and RCBS powder measures. A very versatile powder.

Shiloh

[atr]

I make it a point never to run out of Unique.....its a very useful powder
it meters well in my Lyman 55

[Scrapper]

I make it a point never to run out of Unique.....its a very useful powder
it meters well in my Lyman 55

Same here.

[winelover]

Meters great for me. Well within a tenth from Dillon and RCBS powder measures. A very versatile powder.

Shiloh

I have no metering issues with Unique in my RCBS Uni-flow measure. I especially like it for my 9mm and 38 Spl loadings. Most everything else gets 2400.

Winelover

[Shooter6br]

I use Universal Clays. It is close to Unique but cleaner. i would buy either one depends on what is available at the time

[excavman]

I have been using unique and a lyman 55 measure for forty years and have never had any metering problems.

Larry

[rockrat]

If you check out Ed Harris over at the CBA site as he recommends 13gr of Red Dot with calibers like the 30-06. I have been trying out 12.8 gr.
You might want to check out Promo powder too, I believe that some say it is Red Dot without the red flakes and the price is nice. Have some to try out.
I also like Unique. Trying it out in my 30-30, as soon as I can get to the range.

[diehard]

Last week I tried some Unique loads and am now hooked! First I tried a 123 gr j-bullet in a sportertized Mosin Nagant ( sportered long before I resurrected it from the grave), over 11 grains of Unique. Not only did it shoot to the exact POI at 50 yards as the Winchester 180 gr SP loads I sighted in my scope with, but it shot tighter groups as well! All with the crack and recoil of a .22 WMR.

Next I tried a 165gr cast bullet (w/gc) over 8, 9, and 10 grains of Unique through an open sighted Savage 340. While I needed to push the rear sight elevator up a notch to get near the bullseye, at 50 yards the three loads shot pretty close to the POA in tight little clusters. The 10 grain load seemed most accurate, and will become that rifle's woodchuck load from now on. Quiet....and with the recoil of a stiff shooting BB gun.

Anyway...many thanks to those here who turned me on to this type of reduced load shooting. Many thanks also to Ed Harris and to Rocky Raab for thier excellent articles on using shotgun powders for reduced loads.

BTW...I have now used Unique for 30-30Win, 7.62x54, 12 gauge field loads, slugs, and buckshot, .38 special, .380 ACP and .32 S&W Long. Good stuff!

[BCB]

Although this powder is highly praised by many, I have used it with limited success!...

I show 32 different combinations of this powder with 10 different cartridges and only a couple I have used repeatedly…

A 95-grain boolit in the 357…

A 148-grain boolit on the 38 Special…

A 95-grain boolit in the 9mm Makarov…

A 283-grain boolit in the 45 Long Colt…

I do use the 45LC load the most. I keep a 50-pack loaded for just fun shooting. There are much better powders for that cartridge as far as I am concerned…

In all honesty, I probably got the best use from Unique years ago when I was using it as a shotgun powder—those days are long gone!...

It meters just average and can be a bit inconsistant as far as I am concerned. But I never really was a flake-powder guy!...

BUT, I do keep a canister of Unique in my powder collection—ya just never know…

Good-luck…BCB

[wild_weasel]

For handgun reloading I keep plenty of Bullseye, Unique, and 2400 on hand. They all meter well through my RCBS Uniflow and Little Dandy.

Cheers,
W-W