BryceA Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 My father gave me a pound of Unique and I've been testing it out with 135 gr TC Blue Bullets and am pleasantly surprised. Considering how common Unique is on the shelves (relatively, at least) it seems like a reasonable backup powder. Common wisdom says it's dirty but I didn't find it to be much different than Sport Pistol after a hundred or so cartridges. As far as recoil, even though I had them loaded a little hot (137 pf) they were absolutely manageable in my G17 when shooting mock stages and I'm sure I can drop the charge by a couple tenths. How many others are using Unique for their sport loads? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKP Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 I have used Unique for years and like it. When things started getting scarce last spring I couldn't find any so I stocked up on Universal. It burns about the same rate and takes a little less to get me there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannyd Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 I use it for pistol, rifle and shotgun. Loves cast bullets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 (edited) They seemed to have cleaned it up a bit. I always had a love/hate for it because the old formula was filthy and stinky, but at the same time very accurate. Haven’t tried any of the newer stuff but have heard it’s much cleaner. I heard one fellow call the old stuff “flammable dirt”. Edited November 22, 2020 by Farmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdrr72 Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 I haven't used the new formula either, but yes, the old was a mess. Tried it a while back for 38/357. Soot all over the gun and my hands. Put that pound on the shelf and it sat for maybe 15 years. A few years ago, I got involved in silhouette shooting with my Marlin 1894 (38/357). Broke out the Unique to try some new loads (along with Titegroup and N320). Unique grouped the best by a small margin, but I ended up going with Titegroup just to avoid the mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcc7x7 Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 Newer unique is cleaner for sure. Unique is one of those Powders I always Keep around. It's to useful not to have some . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffz Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 Unique is my main powder. I use it for 45 Colt, 9mm, and 38 Special. My driving force was my 45 Colt reloads. I get very accurate loads for all three. My 9mm loads is with 115gr Blue Bullet with 5.9 gr of Unique. Just as an FYI my 45 Colt is with 250gr Blue Bullet with 8.4 gr of Unique and 38 Special is 125 gr Blue Bullet with 4.7 gr Unique. All very accurate from my guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryceA Posted November 22, 2020 Author Share Posted November 22, 2020 Does anybody have a problem with charge consistency? As I dropped much below 4 grains I started to see very large velocity spread. I don't know if it's because of my lee auto disk (main culprit) or if it's just too far below optimal charge and starting to get inconsistent burns. Or possibly both. My understanding is that quite a few people like it for 147 grain 9mm loads but that would put me even further down in charge so if it's the disk it would only get worse but if it's the burn consistency it might clean it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 (edited) Are you using the disks or the adjustable bar upgrade? Edited November 23, 2020 by Farmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slayer61 Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 My loving wife has tolerated me loading everything from bunny farts to fire breathing, from 9mm to 9X25 and other crazy stuff. She has come to love & favor 147 Blue Bullets & some (about 4 grains?) Unique. It's her pet load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryceA Posted November 24, 2020 Author Share Posted November 24, 2020 On 11/22/2020 at 3:38 PM, Farmer said: Are you using the disks or the adjustable bar upgrade? Disks. I have the adjustable bar with some epoxy stuffed in the front so that I can actually use it for 9mm volumes without getting truly random charges, but I haven't used it with Unique yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 (edited) Yeh the adjustable bar doesn’t go back far enough for light loads and gets really radical. I’ve had pretty good luck with the lighter loads with the disks. I have put masking tape inside of the holes of the disks to get closer with pretty good success. Have heard of people drilling and inserting a Allen screw to adjust volume but haven’t tried that yet. I like to be able to “undo” things. With your epoxy at the front it should help. Edited November 24, 2020 by Farmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jejb Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 Using up some old Unique right now. For 115gr 9mm, the powder height is pretty high in the brass. To the point I've got to be slower/smoother with pulling the handle on my 650XL. Not enjoying loading it, but I only have a pound or so left in the jug, and want to get rid of it. Shoots well, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzShooter Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 I found Unique to be one of the most accurate powders I've used. It takes up a lot of space but if you want a really good powder to work up a load it's the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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