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Thread: one powder to do it all?

  1. #11
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    Aug 2014
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    Northern Virginia
    Unique.

    I've used it in:
    32swl
    32-20
    38spec
    357mag
    44spec
    44mag
    45acp
    45AR
    308win
    35Whelen

    I used it's cousin, Power Pistol, in 32acp, so I'm sure I could make Unique work there.

    Chris

  2. #12
    Member
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    Sep 2015
    Location
    Southern AZ
    It ain’t cheap but VV N320... used it for 9, .40 & .45 for a long time. Great stuff...but not cheap.

  3. #13
    I’ve used N320 for more than 20 years for .45 ACP with my Dillons, meters perfectly and very clean. Works great for 9 as well. I have enough to last a while, and I’m glad for that as the price has more than doubled in the past 12 years.

    I loaded an average of 35k rounds of .45 per year between 2001-2004 with it, never once had any kind of malfunction over those ~200k rounds. Went through nearly 30 lbs in one year back then- 2003.
    Last edited by Archer1440; 08-16-2020 at 11:59 PM.

  4. #14
    Site Supporter Hambo's Avatar
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    Are we talking about the ideal powder, or one you can actually buy right now?
    "Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA

  5. #15
    Member olstyn's Avatar
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    Sep 2014
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    Minnesota
    Quote Originally Posted by Hambo View Post
    Are we talking about the ideal powder, or one you can actually buy right now?
    N320 shows in stock at Powder Valley right now. Probably need to buy at least 8 pounds plus some primers for the hazmat shipping to be worthwhile, but it's available.

  6. #16
    Site Supporter Hambo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by olstyn View Post
    N320 shows in stock at Powder Valley right now. Probably need to buy at least 8 pounds plus some primers for the hazmat shipping to be worthwhile, but it's available.
    Then that should be his starting point. Unique is fun to talk about, but not in stock anywhere.
    "Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA

  7. #17
    Even with hazmat and paying a premium for N320, I would think it still beats paying 35cpr or more for factory 9mm ammo right now.

  8. #18
    Member NETim's Avatar
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    Dec 2011
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    Nebraska
    I've been burning W231 in 9, 45, 38 Special for years now because I have a ton of it. It might not be the best powder for all applications, but it works well enough.

    It burns dirty compared to newer powder formulations though. It does meter well, so there's that.

    I would not hesitate to use it as my "do all" handgun powder (with the exception of heavy big boomer loads in 44 mag or the like.)
    In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

  9. #19
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    May 2012
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    South Louisiana
    Odd man out here, but I have used Red Dot. for virtually all of my bulk range practice ammo reloading over the last 28 or so years (wow, I am starting to feel that birthday coming on saturday). Works well in most pistol rounds. It will fill a 9mm case. Shot may thousands of .45ap 230 LRN over 5 grains and .357 158 over 5 also. Don't like it for .380, but oddly it is great in.32 long. Got good accuracy with it in 9mm with lead, but not as good with FMJ. Load data isn't always as plentiful as it once was so I have started using unique and bullseye more.

    I have a buddy that uses Unique for every pistol caliber he loads with good success. Both Red Dot and Unique have been reformulated in recent years, so use old manuals with caution.

    That all said, the cleanest burning powder that i have seen so far is BE-86. Another friend uses it a lot and has been very pleased with it and he doesn't get the carbon fouling buildup that Red Dot and Unique can cause. No personal experience with it yet, but it is on my list to try.

  10. #20
    I'll join the chorus for Unique or its modernized cleaner burning equivalent BE86. It meets the criteria of being hard to double charge and has the versatility to be used in a wide variety of loads from light to heavy. W231 would be a distant second for me, although I've been using it exclusively of late for 9mm and 40 practice ammo due to having been given an 8 pound keg a while back. It's easier to overcharge, however, and doesn't have as wide an operating window as Unique/BE86. I've always found Unique to be very forgiving and easy to work with. Maybe not always the best choice for a given handgun caliber and bullet combination, but never a bad one.

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