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Unique Powder , 12 Gauge recipes


Arcadia Outlaw, SASS 71385

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Not sure that Unique will work very well for light loads. I think 22 grains in a 12 ga 1oz load will run around 1200 fps. Win LN/LR is a couple hundred fps slower than that. Even the 22 grain load runs pretty dirty, and if you reduce powder it will get even dirtier. 
 

Most books I have looked at list Unique for 1200 fps plus, and loads of 1 1/8 or 1 1/4 oz. 
 

Maybe someone knows better?  Hopefully?..

 

If you can come up with a faster powder such as Clays or Red Dot, you can load 13 to 14 grains with 3/4 oz of shot. I use those loads and think they may be a little lighter than the Win Ln/LR.  

 

San Sackett 

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1 hour ago, Arcadia Outlaw SASS#71385 said:


How about 38 spl ?
 

3.5 to 4.0 grains with a 125 grain bullet. No recoil, good performance. As says my daughter. 

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3 hours ago, Arcadia Outlaw SASS#71385 said:


How about 38 spl ?
 

Both Green Dot and Unique make good loads for 38 Specials.  You are fortunate to find some.  I find the felt recoil from these powders is less than faster burning powders.  

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The interesting thing about powders is that really fast powders work well, but usually have a quick "pressure peak" that most of us can feel.  Going with a slightly slower powder such as Unique can help us reduce the felt recoil since the pressure is slightly more spread out of that very small time.

More interesting is that we used to think Black Powder was always slower and had a lower pressure peak.  Now with the improved pressure measurement tools, it was discovered that Black powder has a very high initial peak - but since it is SO short it time, it doesn't do the damage smokeless powder does - having a little lower peak pressure but for a much longer period.
If you do a search you may find of pictures of the pressure curves.

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Unique's good stuff.

 

For just about forever I've heard people complain that "It's dirty!  It's sooty!  It leaves behind grains of unburned powder!"

 

So?  Gonna clean my guns anyway.  Soot wipes off.  A few unburned grains don't hurt anything - they'll blow out with the next shot or wipe out after the last shot of the day.

 

Somewhere I have an old target from sometime back in the 1970's.  Trying out a "new" load in my .45 Blackhawk.  Six shots from the bench... six holes in the ten ring at 25 yards.  Seven point five grains of Unique behind a 250 gr JHP.  

 

I don't mind a little soot or unburned grains.  ^_^

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22 hours ago, Marauder SASS #13056 said:

More interesting is that we used to think Black Powder was always slower and had a lower pressure peak.  Now with the improved pressure measurement tools, it was discovered that Black powder has a very high initial peak - but since it is SO short it time, it doesn't do the damage smokeless powder does - having a little lower peak pressure but for a much longer period.
If you do a search you may find of pictures of the pressure curves.

I find that to be some very interesting information. It goes against everything that I have always believed. Are you sure that this is back by Christian Theology? :ph34r: 

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On 12/1/2021 at 6:53 AM, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

12ga, 3/4-1oz shot use 17.0-17.5 gn of Unique. 

Less recoil than 'Featherlite'.

OLG 

My Unique Load Exactly .

Great light load that knocks'em down and dont kick very hard .

You can load anything with Unique LOL .

So saith the Rooster 

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The peak is the highest pressure.

The rise time is how long it took to get to the peak.  So surprisingly, the rise time for black powder is much shorter than we expected.  But when you think of it as an explosive it makes more sense.

 

Trailboss is surprising as well.

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Trail Boss is essentially a very fluffy Green Dot.   It is NOT a slow powder (like 4759 was), so it's got a quick rise to a high peak.  It's useful in reduced loads because it ignites very easily and can burn progressively at low charge weights where Green Dot or 231 would just fizzle and die out.   It's firmly nestled between GD and 231 in the burn rate charts.

 

good luck, GJ

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