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In defense of my "DIRTY-BURNING" friend, UNIQUE

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  • Kosh75287

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    Jul 6, 2008
    285
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    Nemo
    I think the rule of thumb is to reduce the charge weight by 10% & work up again. In cartridges with very small case capacities, like the 9x19mm & .380 ACP, the use of primers might give you unreliable ignition. The .38 Spl. case may be big enough that the magnum primers won't make a difference (as long as you reduce by 10% and work up again). MY recommendation would be to load up 10 or 12 in each caliber & see how they act.
     

    ireload2

    New Member
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    Jan 8, 2018
    10
    11
    USA
    Unique only became dirty when a new generation of "Monks" and other OCD type pistol shooters whined about it beginning about 20 years ago.
    I happily shot a mountain of it through a 20 ga autoloading skeet gun with never a single jam.
    I also shot a lot of it in a .357 Magnum.
    I shot a lot of it because my brother and I bought most of the Hercules powder inventory of a Gibson's Discount store when it closed.
     

    deemus

    my mama says I'm special
    Lifetime Member
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    30   0   0
    Feb 1, 2010
    15,589
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    DFW
    Unique only became dirty when a new generation of "Monks" and other OCD type pistol shooters whined about it beginning about 20 years ago.
    I happily shot a mountain of it through a 20 ga autoloading skeet gun with never a single jam.
    I also shot a lot of it in a .357 Magnum.
    I shot a lot of it because my brother and I bought most of the Hercules powder inventory of a Gibson's Discount store when it closed.

    That stuff has burned dirty since the 80's.
     

    ireload2

    New Member
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    Jan 8, 2018
    10
    11
    USA
    It has been the same stuff since about 1900. Hercules (now Alliant) has a 5 gallon water jug with some original Unique stored under the water. They take some out periodically, dry it, load it and shoot it over a chronograph. This was reported into the mid 1980s.
    I have been shooting the stuff since the late 1960s. Since then shooters demand jewelry finish on their brass and they spend lots of time and money on unneeded gun cleaning products.
    The only thing that changed was the later generation OCD types that think they must shoot a sterile clean pistol.
    My skeet gun was stood on its muzzle in a plastic cup in a corner. I gave it a short spritz of Birchwood Casey Barricade into the chamber after each day's shooting for about 10 years.
    That gun was cleaned about twice a year. It was shot about 500 rounds a month and never malfunctioned. All that ammo was reloaded with Unique. I still have some of the powder that my brother and I got when we bought a lot of Hercules powders at the going out of business sale of a Gibson's store.


    That stuff has burned dirty since the 80's.
     

    Charley

    Active Member
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    4   0   0
    Aug 7, 2008
    744
    76
    San Antonio
    Load up a box of 50 44 Russian or 45 Colt with fffg black, run them through your gun, then clean it. Now, do the same with Unique. Griping about how "dirty" Unique is will pretty much stop after that.
     

    jrbfishn

    TGT Addict
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    Aug 9, 2013
    28,316
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    south of killeen
    I reload .45 Colt black powder cartridges for a conversion. You only need 1-2 full cylinders and you will change what you call dirty. Promise.

    sent by an idjit coffeeholic
     

    deemus

    my mama says I'm special
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    Feb 1, 2010
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    Load up a box of 50 44 Russian or 45 Colt with fffg black, run them through your gun, then clean it. Now, do the same with Unique. Griping about how "dirty" Unique is will pretty much stop after that.

    Shoot a box of rounds loaded with AA5 and you won't need to clean your pistol when you're done shooting.
     

    LOCKHART

    Well-Known
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    0   0   0
    Apr 29, 2014
    1,354
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    Lockhart, Texas
    Unique IS a dirty burning powder and it doesn't meter well through most powder measures. I just use the Lee dipper set when I'm using Unique. No problems! And Kosh, brisance is a term used in the explosives industry to measure the shattering effect of explosives. Has nothing to do with smokeless propellants, sir.
     

    Deavis

    Active Member
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    1   0   0
    Oct 20, 2011
    827
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    Austin
    Unique IS a dirty burning powder and it doesn't meter well through most powder measures. I just use the Lee dipper set when I'm using Unique. No problems! And Kosh, brisance is a term used in the explosives industry to measure the shattering effect of explosives. Has nothing to do with smokeless propellants, sir.
    That's like saying, "that car was screaming in the quarter mile" can't be used because cars don't vocalize and scream. Relax, absorb the context like normal people.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
     

    LOCKHART

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    Apr 29, 2014
    1,354
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    Lockhart, Texas
    Beavis, I have no frigging idea about what you're trying to say, but Unique IS a dirty burning powder, always has been, and I don't think they are gonna change the formula for me, you, or anyone else. Put that in your quarter mile screamer!
     

    Kosh75287

    Active Member
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    Jul 6, 2008
    285
    11
    Nemo
    And Kosh, brisance is a term used in the explosives industry to measure the shattering effect of explosives. Has nothing to do with smokeless propellants, sir.

    I stand corrected, though I DID also point out that I was not certain if brisance was the correct term, thus:
    (I think the term is "brisance", but not certain).

    In any case, I WAS trying to complete the post with all due alacrity, and using the term "brisance" seemed to convey the meaning in fewer words than "relative standard rate of deflagration", which is probably somewhat more correct, but quite a lot for a fat-fingered redneck to have to type.
     

    Deavis

    Active Member
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    1   0   0
    Oct 20, 2011
    827
    26
    Austin
    Beavis, I have no frigging idea about what you're trying to say, but Unique IS a dirty burning powder, always has been, and I don't think they are gonna change the formula for me, you, or anyone else. Put that in your quarter mile screamer!

    When I read it, your reply came off as snarky/condescending and while he didn't use the technical term correctly, in context it makes perfect sense what he was trying to convey. That was my point, anyone with an understanding of the topic should get his point in context and not make a big deal out of it.

    Obviously he didn't take it that way and rereading it, I probably read far too much into it myself. I've developed a peeve about forum crusaders hanging on every word a person uses because they have access to Wikipedia and are magically experts on technical terminology and even subject matter with one perusal of a web page, so it's on me.
     

    LOCKHART

    Well-Known
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    0   0   0
    Apr 29, 2014
    1,354
    96
    Lockhart, Texas
    Are you talking about the word "brisance"? I was not trying to insult the man, or be " snarky". I was simply telling him what the word really meant. I did not look it up on Wikipedia, either. In my younger days I worked with a man who worked with explosives. I got that info from him. I'm sorry if my post ruffled your feathers. That was not my intent, and I was not even talking to you in the first place.
     
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