Late to the show, but I'll opine nonetheless.
1) I used to shoot 38 SPL, but when I got into reloading, I opted for 357 Mag brass and 38 SPL loads. The brass lasts forever. I use Starline brass for my EDC and use 1-fired from Gunbroker for my plinking loads.
2) Universal is cleaner than Unique. I switched to Hodgdon Universal about a decade ago, and was so glad I did. Some folks say they can't get the same velocities with it-- Unique is the faster of the two. At practice load levels, it makes no difference.
3) If you're using a progressive, I use Universal. For single-stage loading I use Titegroup. You can make a pound of it go farther. However, you use so little per round that a Progressive has a hard time sensing no powder or double powder conditions.
