Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting Alternative to Unique?

I cast bullets for my two Rugers - GP100 in .357 and Super Blackhawk in .44 Magnum. For the .357 I cast 158 grain SWC and for the .44 200 grains RNFP and 240 grains SWC TL.

I use Unique in both, it works well enough, this is mine 3rd or 4th pound of Unique, i.e. I shot quite a few of these bullets.

Now when I am running out of Unique again, I was wondering what would be the best alternative. I am getting bit tired of the diesel exhaust looks my revolvers get after a trip to the range.

Opinions, suggestions?

Filthy or clean burning is not high on my list of characteristics for choosing a powder.

Very good, ok, the burn cleaniness is one of the reasons.

Let's say I want to try a different powder, just because.

How is that for a reason?

You have more options that Carter has peanuts. Take a look here.

More an issue of what you can find than need for best performance?

I've been substituting Universal Clays for Unique of late. Mainly because I have a sh*t ton of it not because I dislike Unique. Frankly the dirtiness of Unique has never bothered me- I clean my guns after shooting them anyway, no matter how clean or dirty they are. Now, you want a cheesed up revolver to deal with, try putting 50 rounds through a .44 cap-and-ball revolver on a summer afternoon. It'll make a Unique-dirtied .357 look like heaven.

I shoot a lot of Universal in my forty-fours. Burn rate is about the same as Unique, (not exactly but close) but it does burn a little cleaner and accuracy is as good, at least in my revolvers. I do keep a couple of pounds of Unique around just in case. I've been wanting to try some Power Pistol but can't find any.

Thanks everybody. I looked around a bit and found this article:

http://www.castpics.net/subsite2/GeneralReference/Cast%20Bullet%20Powders.pdf

based on that, I am thinking 2400, it covers a lot.

Can't go wrong with 2400. Your good loads you end up with might be a little hotter than the Unique loads your used to. You might want to look into Titegroup if you can find some. Win 231 also for lighter loads.

I think you'll find 2400 dirtier than unique.

I been using Power Pistol and 231 wth good results with cast boolits lately.

Not a fan of 2400 myself; I've never found an application for it that another powder couldn't do better. As a replacement for Unique, you can expect more flash, blast, and recoil to generate the same velocity.

WSF is my favorite Unique substitute. It burns relatively clean, and meters nicely, being a ball powder. In all the loads I've tried, the velocity numbers match Unique grain for grain.

Universal Clays is a close second favorite, and gives me a little better accuracy in 45 Auto loads than the equivalent load of Unique. Charge weights are pretty similar as well.

Boils down to what Digital Dan said, what can I find, my supplier have not seen 2400 in 6 month or so.

And that is the real problem. I can find plenty of rifle powder around, but almost never see pistol/shotgun powder.

IMHO, most of the residue from cast bullets is from the lube anyway so the powder isn't a big deal - from the cleaning standpoint.

I love Unique. But if you cant get it the closest powders on the relative burn rate chart I see are Winchester 231, Alliant 20/28, Hogdon Universal, and Alliant Power pistol. Herco is not too far away either.

If 800fps or so is good enough, look into Trail Boss. It fills the case and it's pleasant to shoot. Loads for .38 and .357 158s run about 3.2 to 4.2 grains.

It's also very versatile as there's lots of data for CF rifle loads using jacketed and cast bullets. Accuracy in rifles is excellent, according to the articles I've read and my own limited experience with a .243.

Trail Boss, unlike a lot of pistol powders, is usually easy to find.

I had to press Green Dot into service when I ran out of Unique.

I guess I'm an odd duck for not caring for Trail Boss. Too much of it is required versus a lot of other good faster burning choices making it a poor "bang for the buck".

Tried it in 357, 44 mag and 45 colt. Only about half of it burns from my observation. Velocities were all over the place, so accuracy was terrible.

Working with 240gr Lee TL bullets now, interesting results, I think I will get one more pound of Unique after all

I have found Universal Clays to be the cleanest burning powder in handguns. Followed by W231. However, all that dirty stuff might very well be the lube you are using on your cast bullets, which usually contributes significantly to the grime.