"NEW" UNIQUE....HEAVY FOULING...!!!???

[sargeny1]

Hi All...Just finished cleaning my Super Blackhawk 5 1/2" SS...it took me TWO days to scrub out the HEAVY BLACK fouling from "NEW" Unique...!!! Load is as follows...New Starline brass...CCI 300...10gr. "NEW" Unique...Lyman 429421 KEITH Hollow Point...239gr...#2 Alloy..from an ANCIENT Lyman Mold.....chronos at 1205fps and is EXTREMELY ACCURATE....cyl. throats are .431...bbl groove diam. is .430...NO LEADING in cyl. or bbl...BUT the amount of BLACK fouling is excessive....There was NO unburned powder......fired 50 rounds of this load and last 5 shots were just as accurate as the first 5 shots...the fouling does not seem to affect accuracy...BUT what a chore to get it out...!!!!!! SCRUB....SCRUB...SCRUB....!!!!! I like this load for its accuracy..its just the ticket for my self-imposed 50yd. limit for whitetails....

IS there another alternative to this FILTHY "NEW" Unique that does not leave such HEAVY BLACK residue...???????

What say ye learned gentlemen..????

Thanks..
Pete

 

[Rclark]

Haven't noticed any excessive fouling with recent off the shelf Unique ( I use quite a bit of it as it still is one of my favorite powders) on blued or stainless revolvers. Yes it gets dirty, but the powder residue just wipes off all surfaces. Now I am not zipping bullets out at 1200fps either with Unique. My hottest load is 8.5g under 240g bullet in .44Mag and 7.5g in .44Spec. Of course it leaves nice powder rings on the face of the cylinder which I leave ... Ie. what doesn't come off with a couple of swipes with Hoppes #9 stays. Doesn't hurt a thing and actually looks good .


Ya know if it is accurate ... that is all that counts!

There is Clays Universal which is almost a direct substitute for Unique. Some say it burns cleaner.... Just say'n.

 

[sailorb]

I have never found Unique to be any "dirtier" than any other powder. I got a couple of unopened cans from 1989 at an estate sale and I don't find them any better or worse than some purchased 6 months ago. I have used Universal Clays and it does seem slightly less sooty, but not greatly so. Try firing some light loads of Winchester 231 some time. Get a can of a product called Never Dull. Most hardware stores carry it. It will wipe off the worst crud pretty easily. It's a petrol based cotton wadding and won't harm blued or stainless finishes. The bottom line is if it works well as a powder, who minds a little extra cleaning?

 

[sailorb]

Hey, just another thought. What kind of lube does the bullet have? That can really affect the amount of soot and smoke.

 

[Hammerdown77]

Universal Clays is a slightly cleaner alternative to Unique, although I'd be willing to bet bullet lube is your real issue.

You can also try Power Pistol, it works GREAT in big bore revolver cartridges for mid-level loads. It's a little slower than Unique, but meters more like Bullseye out of the powder dispenser.

Try 11 grains under that bullet, with a good crimp. I load that under a 250 grain Keith in the 44 mag, and that's a 1" group load at 25 yards off sandbags for me, if I do my part.

 

[sargeny1]

Thank you all for your help...My Lyman 450 had White Label 50/50 lube in it.....when that ran low I put in a stick of Javelina Lube... but I do not know if the Javelina has made its way yet onto my boolits....I noticed that with the White Label Lube the lube "star" on the muzzle is BLACK...!!! Guess I will have to clean out the lube sizer and re-fill with Javelina which I remember using some years ago...
Thanks Again...
Pete

 

[HardBall]

I wondered what lube you were using...

I've always noticed extra gunk when shooting cast bullets compared to jacketed but I also noticed that there can be a different amount of gunk depending on the lubes used.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

#2 alloy is not as hard as Linotype. Could that have something to do with it? Powder stains are not as much of a problem as carbon build-up. At that pressure and velocity it should be burning pretty clean. Were you getting much carbon before this last load with Unique?

...Jimbo

 

[Olsherm]

Hey! It may be the amount of powder you are using.Sounds like you are stoking up a civil war cannon.HA HA Just funning.

 

[Olsherm]

Hey! It may be the amount of powder you are using.Sounds like you are stoking up a civil war cannon.HA HA Just funning.

 

[twobisquit]

Might try crimping a little tighter

 

[Hobie]

Not my experience even with old "dirty" Unique. I just do not understand such comments about Unique even though one sees them on the internet fairly often. Perhaps I'm comparing to something else, like BP, or perhaps I'm not so impressed by fouling.

I few years ago I shot my 629 100 shots at a single target from various positions all at one go just to see how the gun, the loads, and myself would do in such a test. Load was 10 gr. Unique under a 240 gr. swaged Hornady bullet. Here's a photo of the gun and target. What do you think? Took about 2 minutes to clean including reaching for the gun scrubber and rag.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

The guys have already touched on both issues I've experienced myself: bullet lube, and crimp.

Just for giggles, try some Lee Liquid Alox OVER whatever you're using in your lubricator/sizer. I've had good luck doing that w/ commercial bullets that are lubed w/ something that's a little too hard for the light loads I prefer. Others have reported similar results.

And Unique (the old flavor, at least--I'm still working off stocks from the '70s) has always liked a nice snug crimp. Suggest the Lee Factory Crimp Die or the Redding Profile Die and some experimenting...

Rick C

 

[WESHOOT2]

Do a bit of development using 3N37 and N350 with lead bullets and see what 'clean' really means.

While I still have Unique, I use Universal instead.

 

[Luckyducker]

I quit using Unique because a not so long range session turned my hands black with soot. I have heard the Vihtavouri powders burn clean as well as the Accurate Arms but I have never used either brands. I switched to Universal Clays as a sub for Unique and it isn't white glove clean but it is quite a bit cleaner, IMO.

 

[Cholo]

Unique is quite dirty, but I still like it! I shot my Colt .44 Special about 175 rds. on Sunday and my hands were black, the cylinder too. It looked like I was shooting black powder. It was the "old" Unique. Can't wait to try the newer 8# keg I have to see if I have as much fun with it :wink:

BTW: A lightly oiled rag and it cleaned right up till I got home and cleaned it properly.

 

[WESHOOT2]

The newer Unique seems about as dirty in handgun cartridges, but I've been informed it's a bit cleaner now in shotshell and some rifle loads.

Since it rarely offers me any advantage except plenty of data, I skip over it for Universal, 3N37, Power Pistol, N350, HS6, and WAP.
These ALL offer significant advantages in one or more factors, to include cleanliness, easier and more accurate metering, greater ballistic uniformity, on-target accuracy, reduced flash signature, and 'other'.
I still have Unique, though....

 

[44shootist]

You didn't say what round you were shooting, from what you did say sounds like a 44, spl or 44mag? in a Black Hawk sure it's a 44 mag you might try a mag primer CCI 350 may help burn more of the powder off before it turns to soot, I do agree it could be your lube that is part of the problem, you might load some jacketed bullets with this powder and see if they shoot any cleaner that will answer the question of lube real fast.

 

[anachronism]

If you think Uniques dirty, try Titegroup. My position has always been that I need to clean up afterwards anyway. However, the conditions the OP noted don't match my experiences. All I've ever had to deal with is a little soot, and it has always simply wiped off for me. I think there have been some very good suggestions made, but I don't think the powder or the lube is the real issue, and agree the OP is having some sort of ignition issues.

 

[oldthings]

i like it,seems just right for most calibers i reload in

 

[hedgehorn]

<power pistol convert, I really like it in 45acp 9mm and 44 mag

 

[Rclark]

I am confused. If it is so accurate and no leading.... who cares about 'black'???? :?: One my favorite powders. Works well in .45 Colt, .44Spec, .44Mag and .357 .

 

[powder smoke]

Use a lot of Unique don't hop them too much tho. Gun cleaning with no problems. I always use a firm crimp in revolvers. ps

 

[WESHOOT2]

I don't care about appearance; I care about fouling interferring with proper reliable functioning.
I try to choose powders that permit extensive firing without cleaning.

 

[DGW1949]

I don't care about appearance; I care about fouling interferring with proper reliable functioning.
I try to choose powders that permit extensive firing without cleaning.

Interesting point you got there.
Just for the sake of discussion; In your experience, how many rounds of "service level" ammo loaded with Unique could one expect to fire in say, a 38Spl revolver, 45LC revolver, a 1911 (or simular gun) before "proper functioning" becomes a concern?

Thanks.

DGW

 

[Tx gun runner]

Over the last 40 plus years of shooting . I did pistol bulleye shooting , PPC shooting , pistol silouette shooting and cowboy action shooting and my practice session run around a 1000 rounds at a time and NEVER once has Unique caused a problem , plus I have never found a gun that didin't like or didn't shoot great targets with it . All I needed was a little Hoppe's on a rag and a quick wipe and the outside of the gun is clean .

 

[Rclark]

Just for the sake of discussion; In your experience

I don't know about 45LC revolver, but in my .45 Colt and .44Spec revolvers, around 200 rounds before I have to pull the base pin and clean it. Cylinder starts binding a bit. Thing is, I notice this with other powders as well. I think it more 'lube' related than powder.... With 777 it only takes between 25-50 rounds before needing cleaned....

 

[Tx gun runner]

Just for the sake of discussion; In your experience

I don't know about 45LC revolver, but in my .45 Colt and .44Spec revolvers, around 200 rounds before I have to pull the base pin and clean it. Cylinder starts binding a bit. Thing is, I notice this with other powders as well. I think it more 'lube' related than powder.... With 777 it only takes between 25-50 rounds before needing cleaned....

I use a grease like S.T.O.S. on base pin instead oil and NEVER had a problem with fouling even with 3FFF blackpowder loads .

 

[Rclark]

What is S.T.O.S?

 

[Lee Martin]

Try Green Dot. It generally takes 1.0 grain less than Unique to hit the same speeds and burns much cleaner.