Is it time to move away from Unique?

[deces]

I really hope Hodgdon isn't infested with so many green weenies, that they think this is what we really care about. How about just import more powder, since you can't make any.

[Rapier]

We are now going to be shipping 6 million rounds of ammunition to the Ukraine, according to the talking heads. More and more looks like it is not a shortage, at all, is in fact a planned and executed product shortage created by priority federal contracts and ordering millions upon millions of rounds of ammunition. Play book 1, chapter 2.

[Winger Ed.]

We are now going to be shipping 6 million rounds of ammunition to the Ukraine, according to the talking heads..

In the scheme of things, that really isn't as big a deal as we're led to believe.
Just the Lake City plant can produce a million a day without running extra shifts or overtime.

Our military has so much on hand they throw some of it away.
A neighbor that is a Navy vet tells of doing interdiction/inspections by boarding foreign vessels during the Gulf War.

He was driving a Zodiac with SEALs who were a boarding party.
They checked out the ship, didn't find anything wrong, and on the way back to their ship, they were unloading magazines
and tossing the ammo in the ocean.

It shocked the heck out of him and asked them why they did it.
They told him the ammo had been exposed to salt spray and would corrode pretty soon.
So they dumped it and would draw new ammo for the next boarding.

[TXTad]

The fact that powder burns it's NEVER going to be green!!! What are they going to do, put a catalytic converter on the end of our muzzles?

Shhhhhh!

[TXTad]

I have experimented with the 244 replacing Unique. I LIKE it. When my supply of Unique is exhausted, I'll just move on to the 244. No problem.

So far I'm liking what I see with it, but I wish I had the ability to test it up against Unique for some of the slightly out of bounds pistol uses, such as .44 Special Skeeter loads, 1950s-like .38 Special loads, and .38-44 duplication loads.

I'd love to know what 244 loads give the same pressure as 5.5 gr in .38 Special under a 158 gr SWC, and 7.5 gr in .44 Special under a 250 gr SWC.

[deces]

More like 6 Billion probably...
Looking back at the shortage during the 2nd half of obama's term, it's obvious that a lot of the ammo was going to Syria in support of the moderate head choppers.

[HWooldridge]

6MM 7.62x39 rounds would consume about 24,000 lbs of powder - that’s obviously a lot to an individual but doesn’t sound like much for commercial capacity.

[TXTad]

Yeah.
I hope Win 748 doesn't have similar 'issues'.
That'll really give me itchy palms, an upset tummy, and night sweats.

I was a little concerned when 296 was hard to find six months ago. I see that it and 748 are available right now and at not excessive prices. You may want to jump on some 748 while you can.

[Winger Ed.]

More like 6 Billion probably...

American production figures are sometimes almost beyond velief.
There's a picture around that shows a train of some railroad cars that look like oil tank ones parked on a siding.
On the side of each one was big giant letters that spelled out HERCULES POWDER COMPANY.

I doubt if they were all of the ones they owned and there was others in other places.
Plus, they aren't the only company that makes gun powder.

[atr]

I am going to stick with Unique for as long as possible. It is harder to come by and its expensive but I like the powder.

[Kosh75287]

YES!!!
Yes, you should ALL move away from using UNIQUE! Do not look for it, do not BUY it, do not even USE whatever you have laying around! Just send it to me, and LET ME deal with it! NONE of you should be BURDENED with that nasty ol' dirty-burning EXCUSE for a propellant!

[Randy Bohannon]

I still have about a quarter of a pound of my original purchase of Unique for my 41 Mag. in 1982. It didn’t take long to discover better powders were available for my purposes, I bought 2 pounds of it 10 years ago when I learned 8-10 grains of Unique was magic in 32 Win.Special. Probably a life time supply as I have more than 50 firearms that get spread around . I won’t ever be without at least a pound or two.

[gpidaho]

I bough an eight pound jug of HP38. That should take care of my pistol loading here on out. Gp

[JimB..]

I bought 2x8 a few years ago when cheap just because everyone runs on about it, figured good to have stocked, but have yet to break the seals. Guess I’m waiting for a unique application.

[ddixie884]

Unique was my original handgun powder because it was so good in revolver calibers. Over the years I have discovered that another powder choices do better in certain applications. Meanwhile I always keep a couple of pounds put Back besides the one I have open because it can be used in so many different ways. I don’t think it is always the best choice but it’s nearly always a good choice. It is still hard to beat in revolver Loads except full house magnums. That last 200 fps is out of reach.

[poppy42]

If you check the labels on newly purchased Hodgdon powder( Hodgdon, Winchester, IMR) you’ll find a lot of them that are reasonably priced are not 1 pound (16 oz). I bought some Titewad at a LGS and I noticed that the price was pretty close to what it was a couple years ago, before the current drought. When I got home I looked closer at the label I found out that it was not 16 ozs it was 14 ozs! I went back to the store to complain and that’s when I noticed that there were very few Hodgdon powders that were actually 16 ounces ! Most were 14 and quite a few were 12 ounces! I don’t know about anybody else but I can load a hell of a lot of pistol rounds with either 2 or 4ounces of powder! When you do the math it turns out that the Hodgdon powder is roughly the same price as the unique! The difference being unique is still 16 ounces while the Hodgdon powder is either 12 or 14 ounces !

[RJM52]

Have been using Unique since the 1970s in just about everything...that said, I now reserve what I have left for revolver shooting, .41 and up, and have switched to other powders that shoot as well as Unique for semis like 9mm and .38 Super.

Bob

[GhostHawk]

All of you will be glad to hear I don't use much Unique! I do use a lot of Red Dot and I do have a good stash. I have not bought powder in 3 years and I am still sitting very close to my 30 lb mark.

I do have half a can of old unique in a tin, but it is just not worth working up loads for half a pound.

[pworley1]

I have enough Unique to last me several years, but I did buy several pounds of 244 when it was on sale. It has worked well in all my pistol cast, but I have not tried it in any cast rifle loads yet.

[charlie b]

I stopped using Unique decades ago. Went to ball powders for pistol and have been happy with the results. Mainly 231 but have 244 as well.