Home Forums Reloading Handgun Reloading Has Unique become unobtanium?

Since Unique seems to have become unobtanium what are you using in its absence ?

WW231/HP38 is a pretty good substitute, but it’s been a while since I bought either.

I keep a couple pounds of Unique around just in case I get low on AA5. Not much I can do with Unique that AA5 won’t and it meters better.

Unique pops in stock online once in a while. Midway and PV have both had it in 1 & 8 pounders pretty recently.

BE86, 244 Win and CFE Pistol are readily available subs for most handgun cartridges that Unique are used in.

Universal is pretty darn close

I like #5 also as mentioned

https://loaddata.com/images/articles/burnratechartnew.pdf

I have moved on to Tight Group powder to replace my standard Unique loads. I still have a couple of pounds of Unique, but not using that right now

Power Pistol.

I used to use Universal, but switched during the Great Obama Component Shortage. Really can be happy with either.

YMMV

Another one of the “unopened” 8 pounder sitt’n in the reloading room! There are a few other unopened 8 pounders (rifle powders) as well as about 10 pounds 4198…..but, in 1’s! 😉

I’m sure glad that I was buying powders when they were available memtb

Just ordered a 4# jug of TG........along with others

Good for close to another 6K rds in 9mm......10mm & 45 ACP

Am good for awhile with 2# on hand.

I bought an eight pounder of Unique a month ago. Went home and Put it in storage and found another nearly full eight pounder that I’d forgotten about.
So I’m long an eight pounder of unique. Will sell it FTF in Minneapolis area. Will not ship it.
Pm me if interested.

Gonna wait until you get that memory hole fixed.

Saw some locally not long ago. I have W231 and CFE Pistol, so I left it for someone else. Looking for Power Pistol, kinda-sorta, if it doesn’t come too dearly.

Unique is probably one of those staples that is gonna be scarfed up by those who were running out, then when they have “enough” will begin to appear more often, unless we have another election before that happens……..

How much do you want for the 8 pounds? I am up by Mille Lacs.

Dean

Take the time to look at a powder burn rate chart. Powders that are friends on the chart will act alike. They may not be exactly the same but real close. Hasbeen

I've been substituting Universal for Unique for a long time for pistol loads (and Clays for Bullseye), because I stopped shotgunning and was left with scads of those powders. The several pounds of Unique (and Bullseye) get dipped into from time to time but not like as if I relied solely on them, and I may never have to actually seek out further alternatives.

Of course all that's a moot point because of the primer situation. You can have all the powder known to mankind but without primers you're screwed. My "lifetime" supply of primers, as judged two years ago, may not actually be a lifetime supply as my pistol shooting (and rifle shooting that requires pistol primers) ticked up dramatically since then...

I’ve not had a problem with most powders. Find sites that you can input notifications and be diligent with others. I wish you luck!

Many shooters are becoming "better shots" taking their time using scant resources.

Having a pretty good supply, I still buy 'em whenever I can...for years.

How true, find that my 22 pistols are getting a lot more use.

If you can’t get Unique, buy Universal. You may find that it becomes your preferred powder.

I spread the word around at the gunshow this Saturday and one of the guys had stopped using Unique, he had a 1# and an 8#. I took the 1#, he sold it to me for $25.00 and I was more than happy to get it.

If anyone is near West Point Lake in GA and needs a pound of Unique. I have one. I just never used it. I am sure we can find something to trade.

I consider Universal interchangeable.
Not exactly, but close enough in my handgun/shotgun uses.

No idea in cast rifle use.

This morning, I loaded up 100 .44 Mag Starline brass with a hardcast 240 grain LSWC bullet and a stiff charge of my dwindling supply of Unique. Almost felt guilty.

More position sensitive

For me, a bottle of "rare" Unique is more valuable than a bottle of rare wine or brandy.

It's been out of stock everywhere here locally. I finally found an 8# jug of Longshot which works pretty well in both the 9mm and 44 Mag which are the only 2 pistol cartridges I reload now. I'll probably just keep using it if I can build up a stock of it.

I picked up a 22 adapter kit for the pistol I shoot the most and having been shooting that a bunch lately. Damn thing is more reliable than my 22/45 with the same ammo. I'd be out of pistol primers by summertime otherwise.

I'm no chemist

But Universal is side x side with Unique

I use Universal in a lot of stuff

https://hodgdon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023-burn-rate-chart.pdf

Where are you finding Universal?

Powder Valley some time ago

Along with the jug I previously had

Good stuff

Titegroup used much too

No idea. I got enough to last four lifetimes if I were a young man, which I ain't. Last time I bought unique it was $84.00 for an 8 pounder.

Hoarding components for future use. Very American.

Is Universal bulky like Unique gnohhh?

My 223s have just burnt up a pound of Unique in the past 4 months or so.... 750+ rounds out of a pound of it...

I/m not getting low, but want to stock up on an alternative, if the day comes that the democRATS stay in office the next election..

figure my shooting life has about one or two more administrations left in it... so I have a lot of rifle barrels and bullets to shoot up before that day comes...

I'll give ya $85 for a couple of them... EACH... talking the 8 pounders...

When I was running low on Unique a few years ago I tried AM Select, e3, and a few other powders primarily reloading 38 Special with cast bullets. I have Unique now, but I am still loading American Select in it's place.
I have discovered that most shotgun and non magnum handgun powder will work reasonably well in the non magnum cartridges that I reload. ( The ones I load the most of: 38 Special, 45acp & 45GAP) Note: I do not load 9mm.
I worked with the 45GAP a couple years ago. I worked up loads for it using pretty much every available non magnum handgun powder as well as pretty much every shotgun powder I could lay hands on. I was not impressed with HS6 or 800X. All the rest performed reasonably well. I was pretty surprised at how many powders performed well during my testing.

Bob R

I've stocked up with reloading components in the 'good years'

Have plenty to use now with the high priced shortages

Never considered it hoarding

Do the same with food & other necessary items

Bulkiness is similar, possibly a little finer than Unique. I'd have to dig the two out and compare, and I'm not home and likely to forget when I do get home!

Could all be a moot point as I heard that the overseas manufacture of the Clays-series of powders is on hiatus for a while into the future. Anyone have the definitive skinny on that or is it yet another Internet fallacy?

When taking a physical inventory of my powder I discovered my stash of Clays isn't as healthy as I thought it was, Universal Clays is sufficient though. No biggie, I have a lot more of Bullseye than I thought I had, and the Unique jugs still gather dust. If push comes to shove there's the keg of Red Dot waiting in the wings. My stash of SP primers will be exhausted before the Clays/B'eye/Red Dot is used up - 10,000 isn't all that many, and they're used to feed an assortment of .22 Hornets too in addition to the handguns. LP primers on the other hand will see me through 'til the Second Coming.

I have some Unique, but have tried HS6 in my .38 loads. Works fine for my use. But I have been picking up some small pistol primers from time to time. Got some at Sportsman's at a reasonable price but 200 or 2 bx was the limit. Never got back .. They are showing up.

I am at the point where I have literally multi thousands of my handgun loads already loaded. .38, .357, .44 Mag and .45 Colt. I have components on hand to load as many more. I don't shoot that much these days. "Running out" is not in my future, particularly at my advanced age.

Hoping you can define "woman".

I've seen Unique in stock the last 2-3 times at a LGS.

But I've moved to PowerPistol in al the mid-size cases like 38, 9mm & 45 ACP; it's cleaner similar but not the same weights & PP has been fairly available.

MM

If you read Brian Pearce, you can keep some handguns running with PowerPistol. He is a big fan.

Expat