Unique vs Trail Boss

[Taildragger-J3]

I've got an almost new canister of Unique (<100 38 rounds loaded) but I've been reading good words about Trail Boss here. I'm going to start reloading my "new" 44 Special too, now that my dies have arrived. Basically being a cheap-skate, I'm hesitant to go buy a new can of Trail Boss and waste the Unique. BUT . . . If it's REALLY that much better than the Unique I might do it.

Opinions?

 

[Balrog]

Trail boss metered poorly for me, and the little cheerios get everywhere. I have used it with an RCBS Uniflow and Lee powder measure with equally messy results.

 

[R.W.Dale]

We literally just got done with a 2page discussion with this exact same title

 

[Jesse Heywood]

Is there a reason to limit your loading to one powder? Both have their advantages. One 9 oz. can of Trail Boss is $15, so the cost to compare is low.

 

[TonyT]

When purchased in the 5 lb. container Trail Boss is no more expensive than any other powder. Trail Boss meters excellnetly in my Dillon 550. I use trail Boss for reloading all my straight walled revolver loads - 38 Special, 44 Special, 45 Colt and 45 ACP.

 

[Walkalong]

TB meters well in my 10X. No problems. It really loves lead, but plated not so much.......

 

[atblis]

No, no it's not. I like reloading and experimenting as much as the next person, but truthfully I don't think it's worth worrying about. Go out and shoot. Tons of matches have been won using Bullseye and Unique. THey just aren't new and sexy. They simply work.

 

[Cosmoline]

I sold off my unique in favor of TB. I'd been using Unique for many years. It works OK, but it's greasy and very very sensitive. Even a few grains can make a big difference. Double charges in a big cartridge are hard to spot. Plus you sometimes need to use fillers. I also found it to be messy shooting.

TB is a piece of cake to load at least with my table-top setup and has been giving me excellent accuracy. I also prefer the way it shoots, physically. It's like BP without the mess.

 

[Steve C]

Trail Boss shines as a target powder for Cowboy Action loads in large cases but is limited to relatively low velocity as its a fast powder despite its bulk.

If you ever want to load to optimize velocity for hunting or defense in low pressure cartridges like the .38, .45 acp and .44 spl Unique is the powder to use.

 

[Taildragger-J3]

We literally just got done with a 2page discussion with this exact same title

OOPS. I thought I had looked for this info. Didn't mean to clutter the forums.

Thanks for the comments. I plan to keep the Unique and will probably give TB a try.

 

[Palehorseman]

Trail boss metered poorly for me, and the little cheerios get everywhere. I have used it with an RCBS Uniflow and Lee powder measure with equally messy results.

I guess I lucked out with the Dillon, for it flows and measure perfectly through the powder dispenser. I ran 20 each trial runs for 9 & 12.5 grains, is never varied so much as a 10th of a grain.

 

[Eb1]

Okay I will post here as well. With Trail Boss you just need a dipper that will fill the case per the instruction from IMR, or if there is a listed charge for the cartridge. I use the Lee Dipper with TB. I feel there is no need to weigh. I have some really nice targets that back this up.

 

[Balrog]

I guess I lucked out with the Dillon, for it flows and measure perfectly through the powder dispenser. I ran 20 each trial runs for 9 & 12.5 grains, is never varied so much as a 10th of a grain.

I have since switched to a Dillon 650, but have not yet tried Trail Boss in it. However, my Dillon powder measures show more variability than 1/10th of a grain with Winchester 748, AA#9, Unique, and Winchester 231, so I do not think Trail Boss will be any different.

 

[SASS#23149]

I prefer Unique over TB because it's more versatile.imho
I can load mild to farily wild with Unique,Mild to milder with TB.
it's a wimpy powder,and was designed to be just that ,for CAS shooting.

 

[orrwdd]

I have since switched to a Dillon 650, but have not yet tried Trail Boss in it. However, my Dillon powder measures show more variability than 1/10th of a grain with Winchester 748, AA#9, Unique, and Winchester 231, so I do not think Trail Boss will be any different.

Are you sure your scale is accurate? All 3 powder measures for my Dillon 550 is rock solid once set, including with Unique (old formula). I verify mine on a RCBS 5-10 balance beam scale.

If you are using electronic, are you sure that IT is not the one drifting? Another consideration could be humidity. Is it very humid where you are?

Bill

 

[Balrog]

Actually, I am using an RCBS electronic scale. I live in Georgia, so it is humid here, but I load inside an air conditioned area, so humidity should be constant.

How reliable are electronic scales?

 

[atblis]

How reliable are electronic scales?

They can be quite twitchy actually. Ditched all of mine, and just use the RCBS.

 

[thewilbur]

I tried Trail Boss, Titegroup and Unique in my 45 Colt Blackhawk with 200 Grain cast lead bullets and discovered the following successful loads:

1. 200 Grain Cast bullet, 6.7 Grains of Trail Boss (using a LEE Dipper 1.6) for about 860 fps, CCI Standard large pistol primer, Remington brass (fired a few times) - 1.3" groups (best 4 out of 5) at 25 yards.

2. 200 Grain Cast bullets, 7.5 Grains of Titegroup (using a LEE Dipper 0.7) for about 1000 fps, CCI Standard large pistol primer, Remington brass (fired a few times) - 1.1" group (best 4 out of 5) at 25 yards.

3. 200 Grain Cast bullets, 8.3 Grains of Unique (using a LEE Dipper 1.0) for about 1025 fps, CCI Standard large pistol primer, Remington brass (fired a few times) - 2.1" group (best 4 out of 5) at 25 yards.

The Titegroup load proved to be the most accurate, but not by much (as I found in continued testing). However, since I use LEE Dippers, I prefer Trail Boss because small variations don't seem to make any difference; and I am not as careful loading in the field.

Both Titegroup and Trail Boss outperformed my Unique load. These powders also work exceptionally well for me with cast bullets weighing up to 270 grains. This was not the case when I moved to the Hornady 250 Grain XTP JHP. With this bullet, Unique was the most accurate powder.

 

[Win1892]

I got hooked on Trail Boss with my 38-40, 44-40 and other WCF rounds. I use TB or W231 in handguns depending on velocity I'm after.

 

[zxcvbob]

You need to try Red Dot (see if you have any buddies that load 12 gauge shotgun shells and maybe they'll give you a quarter pound to test.) If you like it, run don't walk to the gunpowder store and buy a keg of Promo powder. It's only about $10 per pound, and it is the most accurate powder I've found in any cartridge. It doesn't measure very well, but small variations in the charge weight don't seem to bother it.

Velocity will be pathetic in .357 Magnum, but not too bad in most other pistol cartridges.