Unique powder for WB

[marshal stone]

 

Anyone using Unique for their WB loads.

 

The loads I've been finding in the load manuals is way hotter than needed.

As in  PF of 199 for  45 ACP using 230's

and the lowest load 45 Colt 250 gr. bullet out of a 7 1/2 vaquero was PF of 235.

 

I know there are better powder choices so lets not go there.

I'm trying to help out one of my shooters who is new to reloading and bought an old red round can of Unique at a gun show when another shooter said to him "you really need to buy that"

 

Marshal Stone

[Happy Jack]

Can't help but I think Original Lumpy Grits  (OLG) on the main SASS wire might be able to help. I think he does/has used it for 45ACP. Knowledgable guy. I would trust his advise.

[Tully Mars]

MS,

 

I sent you a PM. Unique is all I use for WB.

 

Tully

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Try 5.5-5.6gn of Unique.

OLG

[Rooster Ron Wayne 86029]

You can load anything with Unique. 

Unique will do all things good .

But not the best it can be done .

[Old Man Graybeard]

I was trying to get my power factor down too...I called and talked to one of the reps from the powder company. He said I would basically have to go down to a 225 grain bullet to get where I wanted to be, I had dropped down to 5.2 grains of Unique and still about a 180 power factor. He said to not go below that point as it might cause an overpowder flash and excessive pressure spike.

[Garrison Joe]

2 hours ago, Old Man Graybeard said:

I had dropped down to 5.2 grains of Unique and still about a 180 power factor.

NOPE!  I don't believe something with your data!   Lyman loading manuals for years have shown the starting load for a 225 grain cast bullet and Unique to be 5.5 grains of powder, which they report making 695 FPS.  That would be 156 Power Factor - just barely legal for WB.     Tell us your EXACT bullet weight and chronograph muzzle (5 feet away) velocity reading.   I suspect you have the velocity reading wrong.  I doubt you would ever need to be below 5.5 grains.   Otherwise, you have a 1911 that is able to make a much HIGHER muzzle velocity than would be expected.

I went way back in Lyman handbooks.  The 45th Edition (1970 vintage) shows a starting load for the 225 grain slug as 5.0 grains of Unique.  Manuals newer than that start the load data at 5.5 grains.

And as to "flash-over" (AKA Secondary Explosion Event)?   NEVER heard that concern when loading light loads in a 1911 or any other handgun using a normal speed handgun powder.  But, there is no real reason to be below Lyman's 5.5 grain starting load that I mentioned above. I suspect the "powder company rep" made quite a mistake with his advice, or you asked him a poorly worded question.  If he was from Alliant, he needs to go back to school.

Did you calculate Power Factor correctly?   PF = bullet weight (grains) x velocity (fps) / 1000

So, Lyman's starting load makes 225 x 695 / 1000   or 156 PF.

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Now, if by any chance you are using a 250 grain slug in the 1911 - STOP!   All the 250 grain bullets I have tried do NOT seat well in the short .45 Auto case.  The base of the slug bulges most brands of brass at the mid-case area when seated to put the top of the bullet lands at the mouth of the case.  There are several real reasons why no loading manual shows loads for bullets heavier than 230 grains in the .45 auto.  Potential failure to chamber loaded rounds is one of them.  Also, easy to get recoil that pounds the gun too hard.

My personal experience - when I was much younger and longed for my 1911 to really buck, I loaded the 225 grain cast bullet with 7.0-7.5 grains of Unique - kind of the standard load with Unique back when Col Cooper was holding court.   A load that will make you understand the 1911 is a potent gun.

But now I like the 5.6 grain load better with a 225 grain bullet, but not as well as I like several cleaner modern powders. 

good luck, GJ

Edited Friday at 01:05 AM by Garrison Joe

[Old Man Graybeard]

I have been using 230 and 233 grain round nose coated bullets. Velocity by using an Athlon chronograph. I am going to try 225 grain bullets

[Garrison Joe]

The change from a 230 grain slug to a 225 grain slug will make about 3 Power Factory numbers difference (lower).  It will NOT knock down a 180 PF to a 155 PF or so! 

There is still something really wrong in your understanding of the load.   5.2 grains of Unique cannot make that load have 180 PF.  good luck, GJ

 

May be time for another person to chrono your loads.  Not every chronograph is accurate nor is every shooter good at setting up and calibrating and operating a chrono.

 

Edited Friday at 11:00 PM by Garrison Joe

[El Chapo]

I think it's a really bad idea for a new shooter to be deviating from book loads.  He needs a faster burning powder, especially for low pressure cartridges like these.

[Garrison Joe]

I think there is so much loading data for Unique in the 45 auto that it was largely unnecessary to ask here where lots of non-sourced or even speculative info might be thrown around.    It's very hard to get in trouble with Unique cast bullet loads in the 1911. 

Unique has been used since the cartridge's introduction - if there were lurking dangers in it, they would have been reported by now. 

At worst, shooter will stick a slug in the barrel. 

On 3/24/2018 at 11:46 PM, marshal stone said:

The loads I've been finding in the load manuals is are way hotter than needed.

Quote

really bad idea for a new shooter to be deviating from book loads. 

If we start insisting that new loaders in SASS stick to nothing lighter than published starting point loads in pistols (and rifles, too), it's going to be hard for them to make the soft-ish loads our rules allow (even encourage).  And since Alliant rarely publishes starting point loads, it's even tougher. 

And over the last year or so, if you were to trust what Alliant publishes, you would not use ANY Alliant power except Sport Pistol with cast bullets in the .45 auto!  They have removed Bullseye and Unique and any other fast Alliant powders from the on-line listing.

good luck, GJ

Edited 18 hours ago by Garrison Joe