Unique for 9mm or 357Mag? Where do you use it?

[Stealthfixr]

I about to reload my first batch of 9mm, and bought a pound of Unique to try. I have the Midway 9mm LoadMAP to guide me, and 500 Berry's 124gr double-struck RN bullets. Unique is one of the powders listed for this type of a bullet in 9mm, but some guys at the gun store were talking it down. They mentioned that Unique does not provide much "bang for the grain", and that it is a very dirty powder. I know that Unique is cleaner burning now, but I am not sure which variety they were referring to (neither did they). I will be using these rounds in IPSC Production class shoots and for my own practice with a CZ 75BD. I also will be reloading 357Mag for a S&W Model 66.

Comments? Suggestions? What is your fav 9mm powder, and why?

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. I use Unique for warmish jacketed handloads and like Blue Dot for the plated ones. I use 6.9 gr Blue Dot with the Rainier 124 gr PRN for something over 1100 ft/sec. I use the "old Unique" as I have quite a bit of it. Yup, it's dirty, but it's never caused me any problems.

Best.

 

[WESHOOT2]

Unique, while still 'dirty', is excellent for your 357 (and can provide great accuracy in your nine).

Universal Clays is its clean-burning easy-metering alternative.

Advice: use your Unique in your wheel, use Alliant Power Pistol in your CZ, and next time around try Hodgdon Universal Clays.

 

[clown714]

i have found unique to be very accurate in .357

with a range of bullet weights.i have found no difference

between the old and new types of unique.

still kinda of dirty but works for me

clown

 

[Arub]

Using Unique in .357 125grain SJHPs. Pushing about 1450 ft/sec (not a maximum load).

 

[Dan Morris]

Used Unique in 357 for years......just dirty. Got 8 lbs of AA9 at a give away price....gonna be using that for a while!
Dan

 

[Stealthfixr]

Loading done!

I did my first reloading with a friend's generous help and equipment. I just bought a Dillon SQB, but it will likely not be here until Monday. We loaded 600 rounds of 9mm with the following parameters:

Berry's plated 124gr
Unique 5.0gr
WSP primers
Various brass, mostly Winchester White Box stuff
1.167 OAL

The LoadMAP showed a velocity of 1075 for this load with a 4" test barrel. The chrono we tested with showed an average velocity of 1103fps in my CZ 75BD (longer barrel). It did not seem to be that dirty (Unique reputation), and cycled just fine with my Wolff 16# recoil spring. I'll take this stuff to the range either tomorrow or next weekend and see how it does. If anyone is interested in the results, let me know.

Thanks all for the help--sounds like Unique was a great starting point, if not an end point for 357. In the 9mm, Unique was good in that I found it impossible to double charge at any reasonable charge weight--good first powder (or it seems to be right now).

 

[stans]

The first pound of powder that I bought when I first started reloading was Unique. I picked Unique because it was adaptable to 9mm, 357 Magnum, and 45 ACP. I did find that Unique was a bit dirty, I have yet to try the improved formula, and it did not meter well in small charge weights.

 

[Trsnrtr]

I started using Unique recently for standard .38 Super loads when I ran out of my regular powder and had some Unique sitting around. I got a pleasant surprise when I took the new rounds to the range and found the Unique had given me a soft shooting and accurate round. The gun is a little dirtier than normal, but I can live with that.

Bottom line... I bought 2 more pounds of Unique last weekend.

 

[Bacchus]

I don't use it in 357, but I do in 38

I don't use Unique in 357, but I load lots of 38 with it. No problems whatsoever.

 

[Shooter973]

Unique ?

I use alot of Unique with cast bullets in 357. I use 7gr. of Unique with a 150-158 gr, cast bullet of any shape and the do a fine job. This makes a modrate 357 load and shoots to the sights of a 3 inch Ruger Gp100 and I adjust the sights on my others to shoot to the top of the front sight. Unique and a cast bullet are a little "Dirty" but then it just wipes right off too. Most of the smoke from a cast bullet load is from the lube on the bullet and any powder will still smoke some with a cas t bullet. With this load (7gr Unique) you get 1000 rounds out of a pound of powder , making it very cheap to shoot.

 

[Johnny Guest]

I think the "DIRTY" aspect of Unique - - -

- - -even the "Old" type, is highly overstated. Most of the dirty-looking thing is more like soot than real fouling. Try this test: Fire 50 or 100 rounds loaded with Unique and jacketed bullets. Use a jag tip and a snug fitting patch and run it through the barrel, WITHOUT any solvent. Repeat once if needed. See the shiny barrel? Anything that is left is metal fouling, and you'll have that with any powder you use.

Back in the days when I shot lead bullets, home cast from wheelweights, and the lubricated them with the old, soft, black Lyman Ideal lubricant, I did get a lot of smoke, and there seemed to be quite a bit of fouling. A snug dry patch took care of most of this, too, but some solvent was really better. When I began using alox-based lubes, most of that problem went away.

I'm discussing loads at moderate velocities, of course-- .45 ACP and .38 Spl, mostly. Soft bullets at much over 1000 fps, of course, left some lead deposits.

Unique is such a versatile powder, I think it is wrong to sell it short on the basis of being "Dirty." For speciality loads, wring out every bit of velocity in a magnum, there are other powders which may serve better.

Shooter973, you mention one of my favorite .357 loads. I've only chronographed the 7.0 Unique with a 162 gr. LSWC bullet, hard cast with Saeco blocks-- I used WSP primers.

Colt .357 (Pre-Trooper) 4" bbl 1074 fps
My brother's Taurus 6" 1144 fps

Accurate and pleasant to shoot. Stealthfixr, if you use this light mag load with 158 gr lead bullets, you'll probably get slightly more velocity from your M66 than I did from my Colt. That's the way it works out with other loads, comparing the colt and my M19.

Glad you're getting good results with the Berry's 124 and 5.0 Unique. You CAN run a bit hotter than that, safely, but if it works, why mess with success. If you really want to try another powder, the same bullets with 4.6 gr. of H. Universal should run about 1080 from your CZ.

Best,
Johnny

 

[WESHOOT2]

MIDWAY LOADMAPS

They don't show an OAL for "real gun", just a test barrel.
Generally their longer OAL's WON'T function in real guns.

For your 9x19 'ball' ammo suggest OAL of 1.150-1.160".

 

[Kimber Kid]

For "HOT" top performance loads with the 9 mm try Power Pistol, it was made for the 9. H 110, 4227 for the 357 or Lil Gun comes close with lower pressure. These powers are to hot for lead bullets. For practice with hard cast, Universal Clays is cleaner than Unique, Of course the Blue-dot will work also, as well as many others.

 

[goon]

Unique is the only handgun powder that I have ever used. I chose it because at the time that I started reloading, I had a 357, a 45LC and a 9mm. I wanted something that would work well with all, so I looked through a reloading manual and tried to find out which powder would be a "jack of all trades". Unique ended up being the choice. I has worked well with everything that I have tried it in.
I may have been able to get better groups or cleaner burn with other powders, but so what? Handguns are by definition designed for close range work. Factor in that I just wanted to be able to shoot cheaper at first, then I wanted to shoot more for the same amount later, and a half an inch in a group from a handgun a 25yds doesn't really matter that much to me. I can still shoot the face out of a B-27 with them, so they are good enough.
It also helps me be safer, because it means that I don't have a bunch of different powders sitting around to get mixed up.
I like simple.
I have been thinking of trying some Win 296 lately, but only because I want to try some Win bullets, and I only have reloading data for Win powders.
At the very least, a pound of powder only costs about $16. Try it, and if you don't like it, just burn it up and try something else.

BTW- You would have to shoot your CZ for about three years without cleaning it before it would give you any problems. Don't worry about the dirt.
CZ's eat it for breakfast.