Unique powder

danyboy

CGN Regular
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Anybody ever used Unique powder in rifles before ? If so can one shoot cast bullet with it at 100 yards ?
danyboy
 
Andy does alot of neat stuff with cast bullets and old guns.......he's away moose hunting for another week or so though. He'd be the man to talk to.
 
THIS POST STARTED OUT AS UNIQUE LOADS FOR .43 MAUSER 71/84 THEN GOT EDITED, SO I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT IS NOW WANTED. UNIQUE is a fast burning pistol powder which can be used in light loads in rifle calibers but anything as large as .43 MAUSER or .45-70 you have a huge case, a heavy bullet and a very small amount of fast burning powder laying on the side of the case with the primer flash going right over it, I would suspect you would get inconsistant ignition at best and who knows at worst. For .43 MAUSER 71/94 loads try using the STARTING loads for the same bullet weight as for the .45-70 SPRINGFIELD TRAP DOOR RIFLE LOADS as listed in the LYMAN MANUALS. Do a little more research before trying this but it has worked for me. Bullets are available a www.thebulletbarn.com
 
Unique works great for cast bullet rifle loads. Get yourself a good reloading manual, or check on ebay for an old RCBS cast bullet handbook or the Lyman. Both have lots of good loads using Unique. You can also check out: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php There isn't much the regulars at "Castboolits" don't know about shooting lead. A lot of them are refugees from the now defunct Shooters.com Cast Bullet Board, so they're a friendly bunch of guys. You should check 'em out!
 
Lots of gallery or light loads in the old Lyman manuals. Some of them are described as "squirrel" loads. Not sure what calibre you are shooting but if it is a 30-06 you are in luck. Many of the loads are only 10 grains or so of Unique so that powder should last a long time.
 
I'm back - our crew got a calf.

As for Unique in the 43 Mauser, I am pretty well with Bearman on all counts. A very versatile (and economical) powder, but in a case as large as the 43 Mauser (bigger yet than the 45/70), that's just too much empty space. I use max Trapdoor loads in the 43M (for the M71 and M71/84), staying below 1500 fps with 405gr cast. I have over the last while moved away from pistol powders into fast rifle powders (4227-4895 range) - less position sensitivity, more consistent velocity, and less pressure for a given velocity. You will likely see unburned powder left in the barrel with these powders, but in my experience, it has not affected accuracy. You use 2-3 times the powder, but powder's cheap.

I won't use fillers (for another thread), so if you must use Unique in the 43 Mauser, at least tip the gun up before each shot to distribute the powder near the flash hole.
 
Unique

Hello there. I have used Unique in cast bullet loads in my 444 SS and it shoots good. I used a Dacron fiber wad about 1/2 grain to fill the airspace in the case. I have the 47 and 48 lyman manuals and also the cast bullet lyman manual and they are worth checking out. Regards
 
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