Unique or Win 231 for 148g LWC .38 Special

For a wadcutter moving fast enough to hunt I’d say W231 over Unique. It’s a little faster and will expand the base nicely. Try both - both will work well - but I suspect W231 will get it done just a hair better.

231 will be cleaner. Unique is headed for collector status. Both are a little slower than ideal, and both will work just fine. (AA #2 appears to be available everywhere...)

I'd prefer W231 for use with a 148 HBWC.

Solid base wadcutters or even semi-wadcutters, either Unique or W231 would work well.

Sounds fun

Bullseye would be my first choice, W-231 would be my 2nd choice. I have not tinkered much with Accurate #2, but it could be a contender for this application.

I use nothing but W231 for my .38 Special ammo with a 148gr WC bullet. It's extremely accurate and clean in my revolvers.

Walkalong said:

W-231 does a great job.
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Be careful with that load using HBWC - Hollow Base Wad Cutter.

Shoving that HB along too fast could blow the base off. I would suggest no faster than 800 fps for a HBWC.

With a DEWC that problem doesn't exist.

Of your two powders and bullet, I’d load W231 first. That’s according to my loads but in a 6” 686. Good luck.

231 works good

I load all .38 with 231 mainly because it was available when I started loading again during this Chinese flu fiasco. I find it accurate. I have a buddy who uses Unique for most everything and swears by it...but I've not been able to find any and at this point, am looking hard at transitioning to VV powders because they are largely available and competitively priced where I shop.

cfullgraf said:

I'd prefer W231 for use with a 148 HBWC.

Solid base wadcutters or even semi-wadcutters, either Unique or W231 would work well.

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That... ^^^

FWIW, one of the most accurate handgun loads I ever worked up was a Hornady swaged 158grn SWC over 4grn Unique, fired out of a 3" J-frame... but for HB bullets, I'd pick W231.

We probably need a Wadcutters sticky with references. It's hard these days to find "true" wadcutters, lubed cylinders with no crimp. DEWC's, BNWC's, and swaged HBWC's are also more scarce than they ought to be (IMO) but BBWC's of every variety are EVERYWHERE! I wish they weren't. It's just plain stupid to hard-cast a BB lead bullet for accuracy. The bevel-base isn't for the shooter, it's for the caster (they drop from the molds easier) and the mass-volume reloader market, using progressive-style machines and bullet feeders (they drop from a feeder into a belled case more cleanly).

I really miss the old-style casters who knew how to cast a flat base bullet out of 30:1 Alloy.

When you say HBWC I'm guessing it's a swagged all lead bullet and that its pretty soft.
I would try 231 first. Fast burn usually means less barrel leading.

2.9-3.0gr of #231.
More National records shot with this than any others. All but one of my 240/240’s at 50yds were with Star 148gr or Delta Precision HBWC over 231/HP38. Only other was 2.7Bullseye.

I suggest an additional light coating of Lee LLA or liquid alox.

My favorite and most accurate .38 Special rounds are loaded with W231.

148gr HBWC over 3.2gr W231
148gr DEWC over 3.4gr W231 (sometimes 3.5gr W231 depending on bullet brand)
158gr LSWC over 4.0gr W231.

I went with W231, but to be fair I haven’t seen Unique on shelves is years. I’ve used CFE Pistol with equal accuracy if you need some flexibility.

I too would opt for W-231 over Unique for 148 gr HBWC .38 Specials. In my case, I would first exhaust my pound of Bullseye and pound of Titegroup, before I moved on to my pound of HP-38.

Out of the 2 I'd use the one I had the most of.

For what it's worth, I tried some W231 in 38 Special cases with Hornady HBWC this weekend and they didn't do very well. I have some more range in the charge chart to play with, but they will have to make a big jump in accuracy to equal the ones I loaded in 357 Magnum cases. I may try one more charge and retry the best from this weekend, but I'm inclined to just stick with what works and load the rest of mine into 357 Mag cases.

Shooting a 38 in a 357 chamber will almost always result in less accuracy then shooting 357 in a 357 chamber.

That’s what I was afraid of. I just found a good load on Friday with some RNFP that shoot almost as good as the 357 wadcutters. They use Silhouette powder though.

I have never used the HBWC but do use double ended wad cutters (DEWC). I have used both Unique and HP-38 (W231). Both powders seem accurate for me but Unique is much dirtier with the powder charges I use. Unique does not meter as well for me either, so I would recommend W231 or HP-38.