Powder heaven!

[kjohn]

I scored a keg of Unique, nearly 10 lbs, at a show recently. It is the older stuff, so it might be a bit dirtier, but I will be using it for light rifle loads. I cast several WW bullets for .30 cal, from 93 gr. to 180, as well as for .303 British, 8x57, 7x57, 9mm, .44, .45 acp, and 38/357. This will likely keep me shooting for a day or two.

I've used a lot of 700X for light rifle loads, my favorite being 5 gr. 700x and a 93 gr. WW in 30-30. I also have a mold for .32 that I plan to load for my old 94 in .32 Special and some of my 8x57 rifles.

 

[MuthaFunk]

Nice find!! I too use UNIQUE for my cast lods in 7.62X54r, 7.62X39 and 7.5X55 Swiss. I like 16gr behind 155 gr WW in the 7.62x54r. Gives me decent accuracy at 100 yds.

What kind of $$ does a 10 lb keg of Unique go for these days? I've never seen them.

 

[curseyou]

I scored a keg of Unique, nearly 10 lbs, at a show recently. It is the older stuff, so it might be a bit dirtier, but I will be using it for light rifle loads. I cast several WW bullets for .30 cal, from 93 gr. to 180, as well as for .303 British, 8x57, 7x57, 9mm, .44, .45 acp, and 38/357. This will likely keep me shooting for a day or two.

I've used a lot of 700X for light rifle loads, my favorite being 5 gr. 700x and a 93 gr. WW in 30-30. I also have a mold for .32 that I plan to load for my old 94 in .32 Special and some of my 8x57 rifles.

700x in rifle loads? What kind of voodoo is this? I was unaware this was a thing and it goes against everything I've ever read. Do you have more info?

 

[donor]

In my experience any and all shotgun type fast powder can be used safely in 30 to 8mm caliber range (I don't shoot much outside of that range) with lead,gas checked bullets.
Old,new powder makes no difference.I go with 12Gr and do ladder as far as necessary with 0.2Gr increments.Usually 2.5-13Gr does the trick but it all depends on alloy I use.

 

[curseyou]

Assuming the cases are barely filled due to reduced loads, I'm trying to imagine the pistol powder sloshing around a largely empty case. What kind of impact does that have on the ignition of the powder? Hangfires? Incomplete burns? wild pressure variations?

Dont get me wrong. Im 100% certain it can be done. Im just not sure what the consequences of doing so are.

 

[kg]

700x in rifle loads? What kind of voodoo is this? I was unaware this was a thing and it goes against everything I've ever read. Do you have more info?

Look for "Cast Bullets in Military Rifles" (Older versions of the article mention Unique and similar powders):
http://curioandrelicfirearmsforum.yuku com/topic/2704#.V2YU7CrImkU

Reloading Manuals from companies linked to bullet mold production will have rifle data (Lyman, Speer).
Some bullet makers like H&N provide data too: https://www.hn-sport.de/en/reloading.
http://www.lhs-germany.de/en/powder/loading-data-download/

 

[kawicrash]

Assuming the cases are barely filled due to reduced loads, I'm trying to imagine the pistol powder sloshing around a largely empty case. What kind of impact does that have on the ignition of the powder? Hangfires? Incomplete burns? wild pressure variations?

Dont get me wrong. Im 100% certain it can be done. Im just not sure what the consequences of doing so are.

Dacron fibre as a filler is often used. Fast pistol/shotgun powders are sometimes ok without filler, but I have limited experience with reduced loads, so don't take my word for it.

 

[donor]

Assuming the cases are barely filled due to reduced loads, I'm trying to imagine the pistol powder sloshing around a largely empty case. What kind of impact does that have on the ignition of the powder? Hangfires? Incomplete burns? wild pressure variations?

Dont get me wrong. Im 100% certain it can be done. Im just not sure what the consequences of doing so are.

Mind you I said "shotgun powders" not pistol powders.I did use a few but in general I avoid pistol specific powders.
Yes,12Gr usualy does fill about 1/3 of the case.I haven't experienced a single hangfire ever.I never had unburned powder in the barrel or a case.
Providing I find proper OAL for the cartridge to match the throat the only cleaning I ever do on my rifles if couple of patches in the chamber.
The only caliber I had a chance to chrono was 8x57 and result was 1550FPS with just 15FPS variation.

Reminder-all of the above goes for CAST bullet-not jacketed.Everything I know I learned from Mr C.E.Harris articles ,starting with "The Load".Red Dot/Promo powder is still my favorite