hercules unique

[ostie]

Hello, new member here. I am just starting to reload and my dad gave me 2 pounds of hercules unique powder. I cannot find any info on this powder other than it is now owned by alliant. Does anybody now where i can find more info on this? I just don't want to assume they are going to work the same. I plan on loading for 9mm and 45acp. Thanks for the help.

[Alan550]

It's the same powder. The company changed their name when Alliant Tech Systems bought Hercules. My only concern is that the powder is still good after all these years! Open it and give it the smell test. If it smells like ammonia, dump it in the yard and use it for fertilizer. Otherwise, if it hasn't been exposed to high temps, it should be good to use. Get the load data on the Alliant web site or any good reloading manual.

Alan~^~

Edited April 8, 2013 by Alan550

[Jacksonj]

Another newbie here, and like the gentleman said...same stuff.

I've been using Unique for better than 25 years for .38 spl, 9mm, and 5 acp. I mostly shoot 9mm 147 gr lead using Unique these days. Love the stuff.

I am still using IMR 3031 in the tin can dated 1991 for my .30-30 and it works like it just came from the factory. But I have stored it in a dry and climate controlled environment for the most part.

The Alliant website has some solid load data.

I've noticed there's some pretty solid load data here as well.

[DFABOVE]

Great powder!All reloading manuals will have data on Unique....very popular pistol powder!

[ostie]

Thanks for the help.

[zaphar]

My only concern is that the powder is still good after all these years! Open it and give it the smell test. If it smells like ammonia, dump it in the yard and use it for fertilizer. Otherwise, if it hasn't been exposed to high temps, it should be good to use.

I too was gifted a pound of this powder that was purchased in '83 with a lot number of "UN 180". It doesn't have an ammonia smell but has a faint (fruity?) smell to it. After pouring some out onto a piece of paper, I didn't see any "red dust" which I read is a sign that it's bad. If the powder is bad, is the smell very sharp? I can't really determine what the smell is or if it's just "old cardboard" smell.

[kneelingatlas]

My buddy and I have been loading 9mm from an old cardboard tube of Unique and it works great! 5.5gn at 1.143" with a 124gn plated bullet made 146PF and was still softer than factory ammo. We plan to back it down to ~130PF.

[zaphar]

Yep, it's still good. Tested some new loadings today and everything went well. Now I just need to check them out with the chronograph and see where they're at.