Unique The Everlasting Powder

By Bob Shell
http://writerbobshell.com

Unique came out about 1900 during the dawn of smokeless powder when many inventions
were being developed. Many people still used black powder for almost everything as it has been
around for centuries. Like any new product smokeless powder took a while to catch on. Unique was
brought out as a shotgun and pistol powder. Back then there were no magnum pistol cartridges such as
the 357 or 44 magnums. It would of course be great in 38 & 44 special calibers. I don t imagine it was
used in as a rifle propellant at least not at first. Filling a rifle shell with it would effectively destroy a
rifle if not the shooter. Later on when someone discovered that it could be safely used as a reduced
load propellant in a rifle it got more versatility. Like any new product it took a while to discover the
usefulness of Unique as a propellant. As it turns out it is probably the most flexible powder ever
brought out.

I have not used much Unique in shotguns as don t load a lot of them. However in a 12 gauge
with 1 & 3/8 ounces of shot it would be great. It can also be used in other 12 gauge loads as well a slug
loads with good effect. It s also a great powder in the 20 gauge with many loads. It s also good with 3
ball loads in a 12 gauge. Several shotgun manuals list Unique in their loading data.

In pistols I have used more kegs of Unique then I can count. Anything from the 32 S & W long
to the 45 Colt accepts this powder. In 38 and 357 magnums it is one of the best from target to near full
power loads. 5 grains with a 158 grain semi wad cutter is one of my all time favorite loads. It s
accurate and consistent in any 38 gun that I have shot it out of. Velocity runs about 800 to 850
depending on gun used. In a 357 case I add 1 grain. It is an excellent reduced load powder in the 41
and 44 magnums. 7 grains in a 41 with a 210 grain or 8 in a 44 with a 240 grain slug makes a good
working load. The 45 Colt likes it as a cowboy load using 6 grains with a 250 or 8 with a 200. Since
Unique is a flake powder it ignites easily even with some airspace. It also takes up a lot of room for its
weight another feature making it a good reduced power load. With the light weight bullets it will
propel them to near max velocities in those calibers. It works well in the 45 Winchester magnum with
full power loads and a light bullet such as the 185 or 200 grain. With the heavy bullets and max loads
its better to use a slower burning powder. For many years it had a reputation for burning dirty with real
light loads but it has been cleaned up in recent years making a great powder even better. There are
other powders that burn dirty when under loaded which is one sign that the load might be increased.
Its burning characteristics have changed little over the years which makes life easier as you can depend
on its consistency. It does produce smoke but with cast bullets some of the smoke is produced by the
bullet lube being used. I have used many of its contemporaries over the years such as 700 & 800 X as
well as PB, Herco and others. While they work fine I just have a tendency to pick up the can of Unique
when it comes to that type of reloading. Honesty compels me to say that I have some great loads with
Red & Green Dot as well. All the flake powders ignite easily and properly used make fine loads.
Some don t respond well if you under load them too much. That is especially true with Blue Dot.

In rifles with cast bullets it s almost impossible to beat. I have used it in everything from a 222
Remington to a 375 Weatherby. With the right load combination it produces excellent accuracy
combined with a light report. At 100 yards I have shot many a group of 1 inch or occasionally less.
Velocities average from 12 to 1600 feet per second in most cases. It also produces excellent results
with light weight jacketed bullets at reduced velocities. Even with standard weight jacketed bullets at
reduced velocities it works well. It will shoot a light weight bullet up to about 2000 feet per second or
so depending on the gun and bullet. It is not suitable for a full load in any rifle even the 22 Hornet.
Trying to hot rod it will get you in trouble pronto. If you get a max load and try and stretch it even by a
grain the pressure may spike dramatically. Such an incident will ruin a rifle. There are dozens of
powders better suited for full loads. Unique is for reduced loads and it shines in that area. Unique does
have a serious competitor which came along fairly recently. IMR brought out Trail Boss which is a low
density powder meant for reduced loads. It is quite a bit less dense then Unique which makes it useful
for large pistol cases and some rifle ammo. I have used it quite a bit and it does supplement Unique in
some areas and as much as I like Unique there is a better alternative in some instances.

Since I don t have any control over anyone using this data I can t be responsible for its use.
Like any loading data approach it with caution and common sense.

Here are some loads all using Unique

222 Remington 10 40 grain Speer velocity 2676 accurate
22-250 10 40 grain Speer velocity 2328 nice load
22-250 12 40 grain Speer velocity 2603 accurate
22-250 14 40 grain Speer velocity 2858 22 Hornet velocity
220 Swift 10 40 grain Sierra velocity 2243 accurate
30-30 10 110 grain Speer velocity 1561 ok
30-06 10 110 grain Speer velocity 1281 accurate
30-06 15 130 cast velocity 1799 ok
8mm Mauser 15 165 grain cast velocity 1740 accurate
300 H & H mag 7 86 cast velocity 1326 ok
300 H & H mag 10 86 cast velocity 1666 fair
300 H & H mag 10 173 cast velocity 1209 accurate
300 H & H mag 20 100 Speer Plinker velocity 2264 accurate
300 H & H mag 20 110 Speer velocity 2105 good load
300 H & H mag 20 110 milt rn velocity 2206 accurate
300 Winchester mag 20 110 grain Speer velocity 1918 minimum load
375 Weatherby 20 250 cast velocity 1570 accurate
45-70 15 300 grain cast velocity 1265 ok
458 magnum 17 296 grain cast velocity 1311 accurate
458 magnum 15 500 grain cast velocity 1039 consistent

As you can see it is useful in a lot of rifle applications. Some of the larger caliber loadings
would take a deer at woods ranges.
32 Long Colt 3 77 grain cast est vel 750
38 TC 9 barrel 5.5 150 grain cast swc velocity 951 accurate
357 magnum 5.5 125 grain Speer velocity 663 very slow
357 magnum 5 141 grain wc velocity 897 accurate
357 magnum 5 150 grain swc velocity 816 favorite load
357 magnum 6 158 grain swc velocity 1043 working load
357 magnum 7 158 grain cast velocity 963 Colt Python
357 magnum 7.5 158 grain cast velocity 1165 leading
357 magnum 7 158 grain cast velocity 1150 Ruger
401 Power magnum 7 185 grain cast velocity 876 slow
401 Power magnum 8 185 grain cast velocity 1031 better
401 Power magnum 9 185 grain cast velocity 1106 accurate
44 magnum 10 180 grain Sierra velocity 1190 pleasant
44 magnum 8 235 grain cast velocity 1027 accurate
44 magnum 10 240 grain cast velocity 1200 Contender
45 auto 8.5 185 grain Sierra velocity 981 mild
45 auto 8.5 185 grain Hornady velocity 1040 accurate
45 auto 8.5 200 grain cast velocity 1141 stout
45 auto 6.5 230 grain cast velocity 768 ok
I have designed some lightweight bullets for self defense. The 38 and 357 magnum uses a 75
to 115 grain. In the 44 magnum the bullet can weigh anywhere from 115 to 140 grains. The 45 Colt
uses a 125 to 155 grain while the 454 Casull uses the same weights. The lighter weight bullets work
best with Red Dot and the heavier ones prefer Unique to produce the high velocities desired with such
a load. Unique does work well with some full loads in such handguns as the 38 special and 9mm with
some bullets. Another thing to keep in mind is that cast bullets require less powder to obtain the same
or more velocity then a similar jacketed slug.
These are just some of the loads that I have and still use. For small game a reduced load rifle is
just the ticket. The lead bullets won t destroy much meat and the noise isn t very loud. Lead bullets at
reduced velocities are good for campsite food where legal. For instance a 170 grain 30 caliber lead
bullet launched at 1200 feet per second or so can be effective at 100 yards or so. Those types of bullets
have much more killing power then their ballistics may indicate. The secret is the penetration achieved.
Lead bullets have a well deserved reputation for achieving deep penetration due in part to that they
don t expand. That s because the low velocities don t stress the lead bullet as much as a higher velocity
bullet. In other words slower bullets have less push against them all other factors being equal. The
other part of the formula is high sectional density. High sectional density contributes in large part to a
high ballistic coefficient. It is also an important factor in penetration. Of course if your rifle is sighted
in for a full power load then you will have to adjust the sights or scope.
Unique works well in blanks as well. Depending on blank and noise wanted 10 to 15 grains
works fine. In the 30-06 15 grains works fine as does 12 in a 30-30 blank. Other flake powders also
work well also due to ease of ignition. In small blanks such as the 223 or 38 special I generally use Red
Dot. The loads for both are 7 X Red Dot. Flake powders ignite easily and take up a lot of space making
them ideal to make blanks. So for the reloader that likes to experiment with reduced loads you can do
a lot worse then Unique.

Copyright 2010 by Bob Shell. All rights reserved.