8 lbs of Unique

[Barry54]

I walked away from 8 pounds of Unique today. With Alliant putting hand loaders at the bottom of the list. It being unavailable so long. Making do with other powder. Doing an advanced search with Unique in the title, and spending several hours going through more than ten pages reading about it, I’m having a hard time bringing myself to go back and shell out $375 for it.

[Markopolo]

I would have prolly bought it..

[35 Rem]

I gladly paid that for 8lbs a few months ago. Reason being that I was down to about 2lbs and have so many favorite loads using Unique. I would do so again no regrets. I understand your thoughts on Alliant seeming to not prioritize hand loaders but keeping myself supplied overcame those feelings.

[Barry54]

I’ve got Titegroup and N310 for fast pistol powder. HS-6 for shotgun and pistol use. Longshot and H-110 for heavy hitters. Half a 25 lb keg of DuPont 3031 I plan to reduce charges with slightly and use for cast rifle loads.

I’m hitting all around it on the checkerboard, but I’m getting by without it just fine and afraid to get hooked on it if it’s magical and unavailable for who knows how long.

The poor metering threads don’t help. Maybe it’s a lot of user error but it’s not going to flow like a ball powder.

[dannyd]

it's hobby, so you have to weight it out, unless your old because I have way more money than time left to shoot, so I would have purchased It.

[jdgabbard]

I hate to be that guy that says don't cave until they get they supplies in order, but don't buy until they get their supplies in order. Until prices are reasonable, I'm not purchasing any more of their nonsense. There are other powders out there that offer more bang for the buck. Yeah, I might have to work up loads. But that is the price I'll pay.

[trapper9260]

I hate to be that guy that says don't cave until they get they supplies in order, but don't buy until they get their supplies in order. Until prices are reasonable, I'm not purchasing any more of their nonsense. There are other powders out there that offer more bang for the buck. Yeah, I might have to work up loads. But that is the price I'll pay.

That is the way I am looking at it now if I need powder. For what the prices are now on it . My wallet tells me what to spend and not to spend. It tells me more then anything else. Also work the lads up is the fun part of it all. Tells you alot as long you do your part . I always playing with loads to work up .

[dannyd]

I hate to be that guy that says don't cave until they get they supplies in order, but don't buy until they get their supplies in order. Until prices are reasonable, I'm not purchasing any more of their nonsense. There are other powders out there that offer more bang for the buck. Yeah, I might have to work up loads. But that is the price I'll pay.

Did not work for me 50 years ago about gas, finally had to buy some.

[Noah Zark]

I walked away from 8 pounds of Unique today. With Alliant putting hand loaders at the bottom of the list. It being unavailable so long. Making do with other powder. Doing an advanced search with Unique in the title, and spending several hours going through more than ten pages reading about it, I’m having a hard time bringing myself to go back and shell out $375 for it.

That's ~ $47 / lb. The couple shops within an hour's drive with one or two 1 lb cans remaining want mid-$50s per lb. Call it $55 / lb. Eight lbs x $8 / lb difference = $64 in savings, more than enough to justify the fuel to go buy the eight lb jug, IMO. Just sayin'.

Noah

[Barry54]

I’m working six hours away from home this week. The gas is a non issue. The service truck comes with a fuel card.

I don’t even look for components locally anymore. Buy online or out of town.

[dannyd]

But, just think if you started reloading today instead of 35 or 40 years ago, you would never know the difference in price.

[762 shooter]

I think of all component purchases as if this were the only time this item would be available forever, is it worth the price.

Still works.

762

[Barry54]

It’s at Full Circle in St Charles Missouri. Someone should go buy it today and remove the temptation from me.

[dverna]

We have different needs, situations and resources.

I do not need to buy anything at this time unless it is a deal. But that is because I am one of those evil hoarders who stocked up over many years.

But powder is not a big cost element. Full power .357 mag loads run about 7.5 gr. Cost of powder to load a box of 50 with $375/jug powder is $2.50. Cost with $275/jug powder is $1.85.

IMO that is not worth worrying about. I don't think I have ever fired more than 100 full power loads in a range session. If I shoot 2000 rounds a year the cost difference is $75. I can still afford to waste that much money.

[Mauser88]

I agree. It's tough to shell out that kind of money when your used to buying it for so many years at way lower prices. But that's life today.

[dannyd]

It’s at Full Circle in St Charles Missouri. Someone should go buy it today and remove the temptation from me.

Personally I don't need it, I think my new unopened 4 pounder has a sticker of 54 dollars, I got when they moved from the paper can to plastic container.

[Soundguy]

I would have prolly bought it..

I bought a 4# jug of unique a short while back..glad i found it. Wish i could find a 4# of tightgroup..and trail boss...

[jdgabbard]

Did not work for me 50 years ago about gas, finally had to buy some.

I understand something that you "HAVE TO HAVE". But there are alternatives to Alliant. And honestly, if you're talking about the type of Ammo Unique would be used for primarily, it can be found almost as cheap if not cheaper than you can load it in many cases. I've pointed this out several times over the last year or so, but you CAN find deals on ammo, for example 9mm, for about $0.20/rd shipped to your door. I can't justify spending $0.25/rd loading for something I can buy and have shipped to my door cheaper.

I agree, it still too expensive most of the time. But you have to shop for deals. They are out there.

[Half Dog]

How long would 8#’s of powder last you and how much enjoyment would you get? It’s your money, spend it on what you like. I’ve seen people spend $175 on a shirt to wear while watching football or $120 for shoes that might not last 6 months.

[35 Rem]

I agree with buying in large enough quantities when prices are low to get through these bad times and that's what I normally do. But there were a few areas where I found my supply maybe not sufficient to get through a 8-year Harris presidency (I know - don't even THINK the possibility of that) so that's when I pulled the old wallet out and stocked up on those items at the best deals I could find in the present. For some reason, the last time I had purchased Unique I only bought a 4lb jug rather than my normal 8lb. That left me lower than I wanted to be. I never use it in rifle loads but love it in mid or full power handguns - depending on the cartridge. Sure it doesn't meter well, but I've gotten used to that and using a loading block then comparing powder levels with a flashlight before seating bullets takes care of that. If you load on a progressive, I can see being hesitant to use a flake powder.

On the bright side, you can see all the reloading suppliers offering Free Shipping/Haz Mat or even small price discounts on powders and primers. It's obvious that they aren't moving the volume they want to, which is odd since we are facing a Presidential election where an extremely anti-gun candidate could win. When Hillary was running, people were grabbing up anything gun related like it was the last chance they would ever have. For some reason that's not happening now. Not sure if people don't think kamala can win or if they are just so crisis shocked from the past 4 years of shortages that they don't react in a normal way. Lots have stockpiled all they want too I'm sure.