New to reloading , throwing unique , bad idea ???

Unique is an outstanding powder in the 45 Colt. It also works well in many other application, though oftentimes there are better choices. I have run at least 3 pounds or 231/HP-38 through the 45 Colt with good results, but I like Unique better in that caliber. So I would gladly trade 231 for Unique, especially if a beginning reloader would be better served by doing so.
 
FWIW; I got a Lee turret press mebbe 17 years ago and disabled the auto index 3 days after I got it. I was setting up the press and it indexed when I didn't want it to so I disabled the auto-index.
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I was just the opposite . I wanted mine to auto index so I don't forget to turn it and double charge . I also disabled my safety feature on my Auto drum that forces you to basically push a button every time you want to charge a case . That was just another thing I did not want to have to remember to do when reloading . If you don't push the button it looks and acts like it's throwing a charge but it doesn't . I just saw me loading squibs with that feature . FWIW , disabling that feature is an option in the directions so you all don't think I modified the powder measure .

All that said I had been loading rifle for years prier to loading for hand gun . When I started loading handguns cartridges I loaded on a single stage at first but about 7 or 8 hundred rounds into it the single stage was not cutting it so I went to the LCT press . Very happy I did .

OK so far this is the plan

I've already told him to read the entire Lyman book until he gets to the load data . I told him he can skip the black powder section if he wants . I'll know if he read it because he'll have more pointed questions after , I know I did

Take him out my Hornady beam scale for him to use instead of the Lee beam scale

Trade powders for HP-38 or maybe HS-6 ???? HS-6 will fill the case nicely and is fairly forgiving ???

I had him buy some check weights :)

Start him off loading as if it's a single stage before moving on to the auto indexing capability .

Have him weigh each charge for awhile before he starts using the auto drum powder measure

I'll ask if he wants to start with 38/357 but all he has firearms wise in that caliber is a 38 LCP ( little tiny thing ) and a uber high end 357 lever gun . so that caliber is not shot much by him . 9mm is his range caliber . He has a Sig & Hi-power in 9mm .

Safety , SAFETY , SAFTEY first . Only have one powder out at a time .

Anything else ?
 
Start with HP-38, HS-6 is OK in 9mm but can be hard to ignite uniformly in .38/357 without firm crimps and magnum primers.

HP-38 is a great powder to start with. It has no 'yah buts'.
 
I used Unique for about 2 decades before switching to Universal (VERY similar and cleaner burning). I have always used a RCBS powder measure and have never had an issue with Unique or Universal (or any of the rifle stick powders). Once scale-verified, using a consistent method will result in consistent drops.
 
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I have no experience with a Lee Auto Drum. That said, in my RCBS Uniflow (the only powder hopper I've ever used), Unique can throw a little more wonky than many other propellants, but I can't hardly imagine it being a "show stopper" issue for a beginner loader with an auto drum. Just start low - as usual.

Aside from the fact that I wouldn't trade a # of W231 for 8 #'s of Unique :p, I believe Unique is a rather good choice for a beginner handgun loader.

Unique is considerably slower than W231 and thus, affords more forgiveness. It also has a good fluffy fill rate. Lighter bullets also affords more forgiveness btw; and so starting with 115's (9mm) and 110's/125's (38's) might be a good idea. (By dumb luck, I started with light bullets back in '84 and it probably spared me a gun and a couple fingers.)

Either way, the 9mm part is a little concerning as I wouldn't recommend starting with them. I'd crank out a hundred or two of 38's before moving to 9's - just my two cents.

At any rate, I think Unique is a good starting propellant. If the powder throw thing remains a lingering issue, consider HS-6. It's about the same burn rate as Unique (a little slower, actually), and is a very predictable, cool running (low energy), smooth metering, forgiving propellant. HS-6 runs sooty when underloaded - but that's a concern for the more advanced loader. A little soot and grainy residue is just fine for the novice.
 
Unique is not the best metering powder out there...flake is too large..

So I would recommend Hodgdon Universal as well as a much better option.
 
I use Unique in 9mm, 45ACP, 38 Special.
I use the Lee Turret press with the indexer for pistol. I take the indexing rod out for rifle.

I'm "throwing" charges with the auto disk.
The Lee expander/ through die will "stick" at the top of the throw. This is intentional from Lee as to help dislodge any powder left in the die or powder measure.
 
I've used Unique for 30 years

I love unique. 5.6grains makes a great load for my 9mm. In fact, that identical load has produced great results in 45ACP, 10mm [light] and 40SW].

My issue with Unique in the 9mm is the bulk of the powder. It tends to bounce around a bit in progressive presses. Also tell your friend, that Unique [due to its shape] will show more throw-to-throw deviation than a ball powder [with respect to weighing]. But, based on my experience, I get better results [month to month, year to year] throwing charges than I do weighing.

Lastly, make certain your friend knows about military brass/primers/crimps. 9mm can be finicky to a new reloader if you are picking up brass from your range. If purchasing brass new from Starline, or using the case from store bought ammo, then it is the same as any other case.

Rick
 
Unique runs fine through my Dillon 550b......Metal God mentioned that his press jiggles around a little while in operation.....this will help immensely. My press is bolted to the bench but move slightly too.....this will keep the powder measure happy.

My two main pistol powders are Unique and Universal. While I have others I would not be without one or the other.....Unique especially. It has such a huge range of usefulness that it should be standard in any reloading room.
 
Bought a pound of it (800X) ..... used dippers .... won't buy it again....
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I bought a pound of it years ago. I think about half of it served my lawn well.

To circle back to Unique: I'm not a fan. But our OP asked how it will do for a beginner loader. And I think it's a good idea for a beginner loader to start with an intermediate burn rate propellant, as opposed to the fast stuff. Intermediates give a little more margin for charge weight errors, etc. And they fill the case more than the fast stuff. I think that's a good way to go.

No, Unique would not be my first choice. I'd go with HS-6 because it's all those things and it meters better than Unique. But if Unique is what our beginner loader has, I think it'll serve quite well enough.
 
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If the small volume loadings are hand weighed. Unique will get the job done. It meters very poorly at volumes of less than 1.5 cc. The larger the volume is over that. The better it will meter. HiSkor 800x is about the same way. I have 3/4 of a pound left from 2008 when it was all I could get. I have never used Unique as I do a lot of loading for handgun rounds, and prefer to use powders that meter well at small volumes. Bull's Eye, and Hp38/Win231 top the list.
 
I love unique. 5.6grains makes a great load for my 9mm.
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I see stuff like this all the time, and it still makes no sense to me. I know that differing components can make a big difference in a small cartridge running moderate pressure, but my own "go-to" load settled in at 4.6 gr Unique with an assortment of 120-125 gr bullets.
What I have loaded now, a 122 gr LFP at 1.090" COAL, was fired for over 10 years (and multiple lots of powder) before I ever checked velocity. It crosses the chronograph at 1,130 fps, 12 feet from the muzzle -- which is pretty much right where a full power load should be for that weight range.

Even with seating depth changes, primer changes, lighter bullets, and different cases, I just can't figure out how 5.6 gr isn't +P+ (or more).

In no way am I accusing someone that uses 5+ gr of Unique in 9mm of being unsafe, or inferring that a person may have unsafe loading practices - especially since I know some of those loads are published. But my own experience flies in the face of all of the 5+ gr Unique charges being sane.
 
FrenkenMauser

5.6 Gr. Unique
115 Plated bullet
WW small pistol primers

1134fps
1156fps hi vel
1108fps lo vel
20 Standard Deviation
48 ES
1.25" group @ 25yrds

Glock 19

Chronograph Oehler 35P

First loaded 4/10/01 - repeated 7/22/09 [numbers a bit higher due to outside temp]

Hornady manual lists 6.3 as max for the 115
Sierra manual lists 6.4 as max for the 115
Alliant Powders lists 6.3 for the GDHP and 6.0 for the CPRN 115

In the future, if you have a question about something I post, do me the courtesy of referencing me in the reply. Though new to the forum, I've been reloading for 30 years.
 
I'm getting a buddy of mine started in reloading . He's loaded before but many moons ago and he only used the Lee loader ( the one you use a hammer etc ) . This time he bought the Lee classic turret press kit on my recommendation . He'll be starting with 9mm then likely moving to 38/357 and then on to rifle rounds like 223 , 7.62x54r and maybe some 270 .


Metal God I believe you've been doing this long enough to have a good idea and feel for what is happening. Your friend isn't a complete noob either.

Best thing for him would be to have you mentor him through a few cycles and let him go. Single stage press or turret press I don't see a difference. The shell can still be removed and replaced at any stage of the process w/o interrupting anything. Heck it can even still be removed after each step and not disrupt anything.

He or both of you can drop a charge of powder from any measure you choose into an empty case, remover the case and then weigh that charge on a scale and then pour it back into the case and move on. I do it all the time.

After trying this myself using a 9mm and an Auto Disk or Drum, as I have both, I find that I cannot feel or see any difference in bullets that are loaded within .2gr of each other which is well within the variance I see with either measure. So if staying in the middle range of whatever the powder is it should be safe as long as everything else is as it should be.

I was out of reloading for over 20 years and when I came back it was with a Lee Pro 1000 press, 9mm and plated bullets. Which I had never used any of previously and there was no one there to mentor me. All my guns are still in one piece and I still have all my eyes and fingers. So there are all three things that people bitch and complain are so problematic yet me , your average Joe was able to accomplish it on my own.
 
Any powder in your reloading manual will work OK. 90% of the recommendations are opinions, OK but not necessarily what a new reloader needs to hear. I have use Unique for a long time and mebbe it does measure/meter a bit more difficult than other powders and in lower end charges it may be "dirty". But these are only things that bother those that are wanting faster reloading and gun cleaning. I am in no hurry assembling my handloads and I don't wear my white tux when shooting and it all comes off with a bit of soap and water. I clean my guns after every shooting session and no gun I've owned quit working from a bit of soot...
 
I started with Unique and 38 Special in a non-progressive turret (Lyman). I used the Lyman #55 powder measure, which has three adjustment points that create different shape of cavities. I recall one allowed a flat (relatively) chamber, that I found to meter "good enough".
However, 38 Special is easy to load. It is the 9mm part of this I don't like. It is also very true that Bullseye, and Power Pistol, also Alliant, meter much better in any measure.
 
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