Unique & 9mm

[TroyUT]

So I have a couple pounds of Unique and I'm trying to load 9mm (115 grain). I use a Lee perfect powder measure and my books point to a starting load of 5.5 grains. I have two questions:

When I put 5.5 grains in the 9mm case it looks very near the top. Will seating a bullet into that compress this charge and make it dangerous?

Also, with the Lee powder measure I'm using it says to use the .61 disk to get 5.6 grains but it's throwing way under that (4.8). Does anyone have experience with getting this to work better? I also have the Lee charge bar but have not had good luck with that in the past.

I appreciate any help that you guys can offer.

 

[TBH]

I believe my load is 6 g Unique for 115g 9mm. No worries. You don't have to worry about an accidental double charge.

 

[rcmodel]

Unique is all I use in 9mm.

And in my young and foolish days, lets just say, much more then 5.5 grains with a 115 JHP!!!

Now, I use 6.0 with a Hornady XTP or Sierra JHP.
And 5.5 with a Berry plated.

Compressing it is not at all dangerous.
As long as you are 100% sure your scales are right and you are reading them right!

rc

 

[Potatohead]

For the disc part, just go the next size up and see if it gets you closer. You cant always hit the exact weight you're aiming for since the cavities are fixed. You can manipulate the cavities if you really want to by filing them down. I think some people add little inserts also.

If your powder doesn't meter well or your charge is very small, you can pretty much set the charge bar aside as it will probably have problems with that recipe.


I don't know much but I do know this.

 

[lee1000]

My load:
Glock 26 4th Gen
5.3 grains of Unique
COAL 1.130
Winchester SP Primers
Winchester and Federal Champion Cases
115gr Berry's plated bullets.
Taper crimped at first with a Lee Factory Crimp Die but I no longer do this due the fact I am unable to manually set the bullet (good neck tension) and the uncrimped rounds slide in my chamber just fine.

Please keep in mind that I am new reload though. I think I have it right though.

This load cycles my G26 well and is accurate.

5.5 worked well too but I settled on 5.3 because it was more accurate and saved powder.

Here is my write up
http://www.glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1505590

 

[tightgroup tiger]

When I put 5.5 grains in the 9mm case it looks very near the top. Will seating a bullet into that compress this charge and make it dangerous

No it won't, that's not truly a compressed load. Large flake powder doesn't fall in a nice ordered fashion like ball powder does.

Unique powder is light and fluffy and so the same volume of it doesn't weigh what a the same volume of a more dense powder would measure.

If you use that Lee disc measure a lot you will eventually find a powder that weighs more for a given volume than the chart your reading from Lee says it should.

Difference between a volume measure and a weight measure.

 

[deadeye dick]

So I have a couple pounds of Unique and I'm trying to load 9mm (115 grain). I use a Lee perfect powder measure and my books point to a starting load of 5.5 grains. I have two questions:

When I put 5.5 grains in the 9mm case it looks very near the top. Will seating a bullet into that compress this charge and make it dangerous?

Also, with the Lee powder measure I'm using it says to use the .61 disk to get 5.6 grains but it's throwing way under that (4.8). Does anyone have experience with getting this to work better? I also have the Lee charge bar but have not had good luck with that in the past.

I appreciate any help that you guys can offer.

Are you using FMJ or lead? The Lee book says to use 5.1 to start max 5.5 for FMJ I use the hole closist to the weight I want and if I'm real fussy I weigh and trickle the rest

 

[TroyUT]

I'm using 115 grain plated RN. All my manuals show 5.5 as the starting/low end load. I finally just tried my adjustable charge bar again and managed to get it to throw in the neighborhood of 5.5 however I miss how HS6 meters....

 

[roval]

I've been trying to figure out unique and 115 fmj also. I had also posed a similar question a couple of months ago regarding the level of powder in the case .
I found that ff the speer manual with the exact speer bullet still put me way over the listed velocities. I've gone below the recommended and still can't get down to 1100 fps. the lyman manual for a 115 jhp is actually more in line with the velocities I'm getting with 115 fmj . I had just gone to the range yesterday to chrono the 2 latest loads I tried, unfortunately I chronoed over the last string for 4.9 grains unique and so it got erased but here are my recent chrono results for 4.7 grains. shot from xdm 5.25. temp in 40s . the higher grains data was from a month or 2 ago. ymmv

cci small pistol, federal brass

4.7 gr unique lo 1172(Remington 115 fmj)
hi 1252
av 1221
es 80.72
sd 23.68

5.4 gr unique lo 1193(Remington fmj)
hi 1274
av 1240
es 81.54
sd 25.01

5.6 gr unique lo 1235(Remington 115 fmj)
hi 1326
av 1286
es 90.76
sd 25.88

5.7-5.8 unique lo 1266(speer bullet)
hi 1324
av 1302
es 57.50
sd 18.78

5.9-6 unique lo 1330(speer bullet)
hi1367
av 1343
es 37.12
sd14
the velocity drop seems to plateau at above 1200 feet for me.

still don't know what is an accurate load. when I shoot it from a rest my main concern is not hitting the chrono and making sure I'm at the higher level of the tape in my sunshade supports.

 

[taraquian]

I use unique in all my 9mm and have found that when I use the double disk I get a more consistant powder dump. Its still not quite what the Lee chart states but it helps.

 

[mljdeckard]

Troy, I asked the exact same question a while ago. I use the Lee measure, and I was using Unique until I ran out and switched to Titegroup. Yes, some Unique loads will take up so much volume that you will have to squish them in with the bullet, and yes, it is safe. I am out by Tooele, msg me if you have any questions.

 

[Foto Joe]

I use a Lee perfect powder measure...

It sounds like you're actually using a Lee Auto-Disk powder measure. The LPPM is fully adjustable and is what sits beside my Lee Classic Turret simply because when I'm working up loads I can use it to drop "exact" charges unlike the disks or the even the adjustable charge bar.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

It sounds like you're actually using a Lee Auto-Disk powder measure. The LPPM is fully adjustable and is what sits beside my Lee Classic Turret simply because when I'm working up loads I can use it to drop "exact" charges unlike the disks or the even the adjustable charge bar.

I was about to say the same thing, it sounds like you're using a Lee Auto-Disk.

Unfortunately Unique doesn't meter well but I wouldn't worry too much if the disk you need to use doesn't match whet the chart lists. That chart is a guide where to start and many times you will need to use a larger or even smaller disk to throw the charge you want.

If you're looking for a powder that meters better you might look to Ball Powders since they will meter like water.

 

[Foto Joe]

I'll add to what ArchAngelCD said and say that if you want to drive yourself nuts try comparing the auto disks to the adjustable charge bar. For example the 1.36cc auto disk versus setting the adjustable charge bar to 1.36cc, good luck if yours are even close.

The key is to "WRITE STUFF DOWN!!" and I'm afraid that I've been as guilty of failing to do this as anybody else. I've taken to noting CB or AD in front of the charge on my loading log sheets recently to cut down on my confusion.

 

[sexybeast]

I use the lee auto disc too and for 9mm I found Unique frustrating. So I used it for 45. Sweet shooting powder but when you discover Universal which burns about the same you will be forever spoiled. If it were given to me I would not turn it down but why buy difficult measuring powder.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Large flake powder doesn't fall in a nice ordered fashion like ball powder does.

Correct. If you held a finger over the case mouth and gently tapped the base on the bench it would settle lower in the case.
My Lee Pro Auto Disk doesn't do great with Unique either, but heck, we're not loading match ammo here. Pick a charge in middle of the data and load em. 0.03 + or - isn't going to make a noticeable difference IMO.

 

[sexybeast]

Correct. If you held a finger over the case mouth and gently tapped the base on the bench it would settle lower in the case.
My Lee Pro Auto Disk doesn't do great with Unique either, but heck, we're not loading match ammo here. Pick a charge in middle of the data and load em. 0.03 + or - isn't going to make a noticeable difference IMO

Completly agree! But,,,
Have you ever taken a plastic funnel and poured powder from one container into another? With unique or red dot it binds up and stops pouring sometimes? But with titegroup or hp38 it does not.
I think my biggest fear [and it may have happened] is that I've loaded a few very light loads or squibs because of this.
Not to scare anyone but with some flake powders the attention to detail is just so much more important. When you get into a routine its easy for something to get by you.

 

[Potatohead]

I was about to say the same thing, it sounds like you're using a Lee Auto-Disk.

Unfortunately Unique doesn't meter well but I wouldn't worry too much if the disk you need to use doesn't match whet the chart lists. That chart is a guide where to start and many times you will need to use a larger or even smaller disk to throw the charge you want.

If you're looking for a powder that meters better you might look to Ball Powders since they will meter like water.

Good point. I rarely pull out the list anymore (I just load pistol). I actually just look back at past loads in my log and I can usually deduce from there a good starting point.

 

[TroyUT]

Thanks for the information guys. All great advice that I will gladly try.