Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns .38 Special - Unique and 158-grain cast SWCs

Anyone have a preferred load recipe using Unique and 158-grain cast SWCs for .38 Special?

I'm loading up some rounds for my S&W Model 15. Bullets are 158-grain SWCs at ~17 BHN. Planning on 4.5 grains Unique, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this load. I definitely want to stick with Unique.

Loads will be used for killing rocks, paper and rabbits.

Thanks much!!

That is one of my favorite loads, although I started with 4.0 grains of Unique and worked up to the 4.5 grain load. Good luck!

Shooting 4.2grs of Unique in mine with a 158gr Keith style LSWC home poured from a Lyman mold out of wheelweights.

I normally go with 4.7gr of Unique with the 158gr SWC. This load goes well with my M-13 and M-586.

4.5 gr. Unique has been an old standard for my .38's for the last 25 or 30 years.

I shoot 6 grains with 160's,..not that I'm recommending it.

Thanks everyone for the input. I think I'm going to load up 100 tonight. If I can get my veggie garden planted and other chores done in time I'm hopeful I can get out into the desert and shoot a few dozen rounds this Saturday afternoon.

The factory duplication load listed in older manuals with a 158 gr. RN or SWC lead bullet was 5.0 grs of Unique. I have used that load since 1968 and haven't broken anything yet...except some clay pigeons.

I'm at 4.5, a nice, soft load.
But I don't bother taking it after rabbits, anymore- far too many jacks lost. That little solid, at that low speed, is not an anchorer.

I used to buy a LOT of Unique because it is just SO versatile. I used it in 9mm, .45 ACP, .38 Special, .357 mag .44 special, .44mag, .45 Colt and 12ga, and lower power cast bullet loads for .30-30. For target shooting back in the day, I used commercial cast 158 grain SWC�s and I too used the 4.5 grain load. Back then Unique was known as a very dirty, smoky powder. It�s still kinda that way today, but there was a time when Unique thought it was black powder. Still, even with all the smoke and soot, it was just such a versatile powder that I just couldn�t get enough of it.

KG is right its a good all purpose powder for many caliburs,and works good with cast.In 38spl I use 4.3 to 5.4 depending on purpose,bullet and which revolver I use.

I've transitioned to Universal for almost all my previous "Unique" loads, but 4.5 of it would be peachy keen, too.

Today, PowerPistol is the "new" Unique.............fits almost all the same applications equally well & is much cleaner.

Unique performs well but is simply dirty by today's possibilities.

MM

I recently stumbled across 5 lbs of Unique so that will be the powder I start to learn on.

I like Unique.

Then again, I like almost all my powders... and I've got about 34 of 'em now, and the count keeps growing...

Unique is all I used before I became a commercial reloader in 1981 at which point I went to Winchester 231/HP38 as it was cheaper and metered a little better... But after I stopped the commercial reloading all I now use for everything from .380 to .475 Linebaugh is Unique.

I have never been able to figure out why everyone calls Unique "dirty". I've used a lot of different powders and have never noted Unique being any "dirtier" than any of the others. I think one of the main problems is not the powder but those who use it... A lot of shooters lightly crimp their cases so as to increase case life...this reduces bullet pull which isn't conducive to good burning... I "crimp the crap" out of all loads and have no soot, unburned powder or anything else to speak of regardless of the powder used.

The powder I've had the most problem with leaving unburned powder behind is everyone's darling...2400. But then it may have been because the loads were not heavy enough...

Mild to Wild...Unique works well...that is why they call it "unique"...

Bob

I never considered Unique "dirty" either. With jacketed bullets it seems no worse than any other powder as far as I am concerned, and certainly not troublesome.

Cast bullets, especially with soft Alox lube, are very dirty to shoot and cake the revolver up with all sorts of grey crud. Unique is very commonly used in cast bullet loads, so I think the powder gets blamed for the sins of the bullets.

I still use the data from Speer No. 9 reloading manual with 4.7 gr of Unique for the 158-gr LSWC

As others have said, I use 5grs of Unique with 158 and 170gr SWC.

My first centerfire pistol was 6" blued Ruger Security Six, 357 mag. The only load I shot with it was a hardcast 158 grain SWC in either 38 special or 357 mag brass, with 5.0 grains of Unique. It was very accurate from both cases. Never did any load development to optimize a load. It met my needs from the first batch of reloads, and I just kept going with it. Sold the Security Six 20+ years ago. Wish I kept it. Very nice shooting revolver.