Universal Clays - Your loads?

I use it anywhere I use HP-38/Win-231 (my go-to powder) and the loads will be very similar. Also a very good substitute for anywhere you use Unique (I hate Unique and love Universal for the way they meter). I use it regularly in .38 Special up to +P loads and for .35 Remington "gallery loads" but have also used it in 9mm with good results. Haven't gotten around to trying it in 45 acp. I think you will like it.

At one time I was looking for the one powder to rule them all. Seemed like with a name of "Universal", it was a no-brainer. It was also during the dark time of powder shortage and it was one of the few available in 8#s. I used Hodgdon's online data for all you mentioned, and worked up from min to max. Most of the clean accurate loads were at the max end of the load data for me. I've got a supply of it, but use other powders for other purposes these days. Universal, Unique and Unequal seem to be in that same category of medium burn rate powders that will work well across a lot of different calibers.

I have been using Universal for years. 7.3 gr. ( light thump ) and 9.3 gr. ( a little heavier thump ) in 44 mag with a 240 gr. bullet. I did load 5.0 gr in 327 mag. when I had a Single 7, 13.5 gr. in 45-70. It is a great powder. I now have a 8# jug from Canada that I have not opened, the previous stuff was from Australia, not sure of any difference yet.

38 spl - 6 gr Universal, CCI 500, Rainer 125 gr FP
45 ACP - 6 gr Universal, CCI 300, Rainer 200 gr JHP
- 6 gr Universal, CCI 300, Hornady 230 gr FMJ

-mike

Bullet weights/types?
I used to use a lot of Universal until it was hard to come by due to the plant fire in Australia back when.

Meters better than Unique, lots of the same uses. Unique behaves a little better at MAX loads and offers a little bit better velocity on top but is not as clean.

4gr Universal with a 124/124 gr coated lead bullet in 9mm makes a nice practice load.

.zip file has chrono data for various thing I have loaded with Universal

Skgreen said:

Scored a keg of Universal at Gander Outdoors.

I haven't used any in a while, and IIRC, it wasn't exactly my most favorite powder,,,

But,

When the price tag said "Was $170.xx, now $79.xx",,,, I figured I could play around with it a bit more.

I have 9mm, 38 spl, 357, and 45 acp in my safe.

Anyone have any Universal loads in those calibers they like, or any that are at least worthy of an honorable mention?

Thanks!

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Look them up
their website is a great source of info.

mikey98e said:

38 spl - 6 gr Universal, CCI 500, Rainer 125 gr FP
45 ACP - 6 gr Universal, CCI 300, Rainer 200 gr JHP
- 6 gr Universal, CCI 300, Hornady 230 gr FMJ

-mike

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6 gr of universal is over max in 38 special and 38 special +P also. You might want to check that! (According to Hodgdon's website)

The op references "universal clays", then the responses refer to "universal". they are not the same powders.

Universal works well at about 10 grs. under a 150-180 cast bullet in 30-30/308.

jaysouth said:

The op references "universal clays", then the responses refer to "universal". they are not the same powders.

Universal works well at about 10 grs. under a 150-180 cast bullet in 30-30/308.

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Actually, they are the same powder. Hodgdon originally named it Universal Clays, but then changed it to Universal to avoid confusion with their much faster burning Clays powder. If you check the product info on their website, they refer to Universal as part of their Clays gunpowder technology and Clays gunpowder series. If it has changed, it is only because they have changed their source of production. Originally, it was a name change only.

I use Universal for reloading.380, 9mm, 9mm Largo, .40, and .45. I use either Rainier or Berry’s plated bullets. I use the starting/minimum charge for FMJ that is listed on the Hodgkin website.

HAPs that Hodgdon shows are larger Dia .356 at seated 1.069,
On Hodgdons site all the charges for the 125 HAP with various powders are lower, and and Max vels with that bullet are lower as well.
All the data for the HAP is lower than the 130gr BERB which is also .356,
I am sure Hodgdons data is good but it sure seems like a big drop in charge for 4.4-4.9 on other 124/5s to 3.3gr MAX for the HAP,I scratch my head every time I look at it.

2ndtimer said:

Actually, they are the same powder. Hodgdon originally named it Universal Clays, but then changed it to Universal to avoid confusion with their much faster burning Clays powder. If you check the product info on their website, they refer to Universal as part of their Clays gunpowder technology and Clays gunpowder series. If it has changed, it is only because they have changed their source of production. Originally, it was a name change only.

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Yup.

I use it for 9mm, 40S&W, 10mm, and soon 44Spcl and 44Mag. It meters great and is similar to HP38. Good all-'round, "universal" powder.

Universal has become my most used powder in .38/.357. I tried it after using Unique for many years. When I got my Dillon 650 a couple of years ago, I had a lot of trouble with Unique metering well. In fact, in the Dillon it metered horribly. Sometimes it would vary as much as a half a grain! Never had a problem with my Lead measures or my old Lyman stand by that is probably 40 years old. Universal was the obvious first choice since you can basically use the same load data as Unique. It meters beautifully and always dead on through all of my measures. It burns cleaner and is just as accurate if not more so. My pet charge is 5.0gr and I know this sounds a little crazy, but I use it on 130gr and 158gr coated lead, I also use the same charge on 145gr GT Lead SWCHP, Hornady 158gr Plinker and did use up my last 500 Berry's 158gr THP. They all shoot as accurate with the 5.0gr charge as any other powder charge I've tried. I use it in 6-7 different revolvers that I shoot the most and no matter what grain bullets is in front of it, it works great. I like to shoot steel plates at 75 yards which is as far as my backyard range allows and all do great. Pretty neat, just set up the powder charge and load away the afternoon. All I have to change is the seating die. BTW I use .38 Special cases no matter if I'm shooting in a .38 or .357. The only load I've found more accurate is the old standby 148gr LHBWC with 3.8gr of Bullseye but its only good up to 25 yards. It has become sort of a one size fits all for target shooting.

I have replaced every Unique load I have used with Universal (even in shotshell reloads), using Universal data of course. Now I have Universal loads for all my handgun cartridges (7) from 9mm through 45 Colt, all bullet weights, cast, jacketed and PCed, mild to wild. Nothing wrong with Unique but during a "shortage" a few years ago I couldn't find any Unique so I tried Universal. Works quite well...

FWIW, I don't post any load data on forums, mainly because I ignore any I see, and I tell new reloaders to do the same; ignore any posted data and get load data from their published reloading manuals...

possumbelly220 said:

6 gr of universal is over max in 38 special and 38 special +P also. You might want to check that! (According to Hodgdon's website)

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My 5th Edition Sierra manual lists Univ.Clays 5.9 gr starting to 6.7 gr max. for 125 gr JHP

mikey98e, I looked in all my manuals and they are all a little different, with Sierra being the highest! Makes me want to stand back and scratch my head in confusion. Stay safe, my friend!

When I use "any" powder from HODGDEN I use their data only, it is available on line. I also have a few of their printed manuals but it all reads the same.

mikey98e said:

My 5th Edition Sierra manual lists Univ.Clays 5.9 gr starting to 6.7 gr max. for 125 gr JHP

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Printed editions are out of date by the time they actually get printed and published.
Powder maker online sites are up to date and my preferred source for data

George P said:

Printed editions are out of date by the time they actually get printed and published.
Powder maker online sites are up to date and my preferred source for data

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Noted and will reduce my 38 special loads.
Thanks,
-mike

Skgreen said:

I have 9mm, 38 spl, 357, and 45 acp in my safe.

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I've used Universal in all 4 calibers.
357 is a mild, lower velocity, load but the other 3 have a pretty good range to play with.

I too have replaced Unique with Universal with all of the above mentioned reasons.
Don't use it in my Semi's as I prefer a slightly faster powder for those.
In .357mag. a 158gr. SWC with 5.5gr. delivers 1050fps. out of a 6" barrel.

Post removed due to inaccurate information on my part.

Don't forget, there is also their International which was called originally, International Clays adding even more confusion