Best uses for Alliant Unique and Bullseye

[georgiacatweazle]

Basspro got a second shipment of pistol powder today. used my rewards dollars to get a pound of Alliant Unique. I've not used it before, just bullseye.

I currently load 38 special, 9mm and 40 s&w. I will be loading this year 38+P and 45ACP.

I am wondering which one of those powders is better suited to a given caliber and usage,
I think both are decent all round use, but i've heard 38 special and / or +P runs better with a slower powder (unique) vs faster (bullseye) ?

[johnjohn]

I use either in .38 spec. They both work great. Some say Unique is too dirty, I enjoy cleaning my guns, so no problem.

[98 220 swift]

It should work well with heaver loads in the 38 special +P and the 9mm and also the 45.

[georgiacatweazle]

The current unique formula should be cleaner than pre 2001. i know that shooting american eagle factory through my 38 left it dirtier than a coal mine :-)

[Nick_C_S]

I think both are decent all round use.

Yes, both Bullseye and Unique are well suited for 38 Special, 9mm, 40, and 45ACP. You're in the game if you have these two powders in your inventory. They both approach legendary status in their usefulness.

I will be loading this year 38+P

Unique is very well suited for 38+P - especially if you use heavy bullets. Bullseye is a suitable choice for +P too, if you keep your bullets light (110gn & 125gn); otherwise, it's more comfortable making target loads (preferably lead 148's and 158's).

Bullseye is probably the most used powder for propelling 230g slugs for 45ACP. It yields target-level -to- fairly potent, and very consistent rounds for this use. If you want to go full power, switch to the Unique. Results will be excellent too. If you like the ever-popular 200g semi-wadcutters (lead or plated), I recommend sticking with the Bullseye for maximum consistency. You can use Unique, but only if you want to load them up hot.

If you're seeing a trend here, yes. . . 9mm likes Bullseye with the light 115g slugs, but will yield consistent 124's and 147's too - if you don't load them too hot. Move to Unique if you load hot with the heavier 124's & 147's.

I don't load 40 Cal, but I'm sure the basic trend will follow.

I am wondering which one of those powders is better suited to a given caliber and usage?

So the short answer to your question is: "Both." But one gets the edge over the other, depending on the specific application. You have a dilemma many would like to have these days

[Jim Watson]

I have not used a lot of Unique, preferring W231, but I have shot some and read a lot about it.
It is fine in full power .38, 9mm, and .45 ACP.

There have been several barge loads of 158 gr .38s loaded with 5 grains of Unique, even though that is +P by present standards. 4.5 is probably enough for most purposes.
Jeff Cooper and even Ken Waters put enough Unique in .45 ACPs to have the current generation of Alliant employees and Internet Experts running for cover.

[georgiacatweazle]

Thanks for the info Nick.
Mostly I shoot 115gr 9mm but will be running 124gr from now on (FN and RN).
I don't really run hot loads, mostly middle of the road.
The only hot loads will be a batch of 125gr XTP for the 38 as +P, these will be both for carry (once in a blue moon) and 'emergency'. the carry loads and control loads that'll be boxed will be made using a powder trickler for as accurate loads as possible. the emergency stack will be more mass produced iif you like.

sounds like having those two powders is a good thing. i also wanted to get tight-group too, but doesn't appear often at basspro.

[Jay24bal]

Unique is my go to load for both 9mm and 45ACP, it has worked very well in both.

I run middle of the road loads, shooting 115 gr in 9mm and 230 gr in 45, both regular, FMJ bullets.

It should be rather easy to find a good load and start loading.

[GeauxTide]

Have used Unique for 40 years in 357, 41, 44SPL, 44Mag, 45ACP, and 45Colt. For mid-range loads, with cast bullets, it's hard to beat. Yep, it's dirtier than W231, but the performance and accuracy is excellent. One of my favorite loads in 45LC is a 275gr LFN under 10gr of Unique. Stout, accurate load.

[Unclenick]

Both have their uses. Because Unique is a little slower than Bullseye, it will take a little more of it to reach the same peak pressure, but because of the higher total quantity of gas the heavier charge makes, the resulting velocity will be a little higher, too. The greater gas mass and greater velocity will both contribute to a little bit more recoil, too.

In general, the slower a powder is, the higher the pressure it requires before it stops leaving unburned flakes and other fouling around. So, Unique is a better choice for loads that are to be run at higher pressure and higher velocity than Bullseye.

[Nick_C_S]

The only hot loads will be a batch of 125gr XTP for the 38 as +P.

Yeah, you'll want to use the slower Unique for your purpose. I load a 125gn Berry's plated with 5.7gn Unique. It chronos right at 1000 fps (999 to be exact ) and runs clean enough. It's the starting load per Speer #14 (in the "+P" section), but I like the way it shoots as it is (very accurate), so I chose not to work it up any further. My purpose was recoil target practice - not self-defense. Most likely, you'll wanna work yours up (since you're using an XTP, I assume your purpose is a defense load).

Mostly I shoot 115gr 9mm.

Bullseye makes great general purpose shooters under 115's in 9mm. A great combination. You'll find they shoot real nice in the 4.5gn neighborhood. Do your own safety work up, of course.

[mattL46]

I love my unique. I've also heard how dirty it can be. It burns very clean pushing 158gn plated out of my 38 specials. Which happens to be my most accurate load. Standard 38 special data, upper end. I've also burned alot of it right below max in 357 magnum 125gn bullet. Excellent results. Did I say I love unique. I'd go back for more before it's too late.

[Nick_C_S]

It burns very clean pushing 158gn plated out of my 38 specials. Which happens to be my most accurate load.

Neither is a surprise to me. Unique will run great pushing a big 158 - especially plated (slightly higher pressure than lead).

Your accuracy is most likely attributable to the bullet, more so than the powder. Not implying that Unique isn't good for accuracy. Just to say that 158's tend to shoot straight to begin with. When you go to do a load work up and reach for the 158's, you're already ahead of the game in terms of accuracy. At least that's been my experience.

It's always nice having a load recipe that you can turn to knowing it's a great running round. Sounds like you have just that.

[dwhite]

Unique will burn cleaner in higher pressure rounds. 38+p upwards.

I've found light target loads for .38 Special accurate but pretty
dirty.

All the Best,
D. White

[mattL46]

Sure thing nick. In fact you helped me a year or so ago get the seating depth right. As these were my first experience with plated. After my experience with these (I still have a couple hundred left, extreme plated RNFP) I'll be a big consumer of them. I absolutely love them.

[campingnights]

I recommend you stick with the bullseye, send your Unique to me and I will be happy to safely dispose of it........


Course if you insist on using it yourself The Unique is great in all the 38 through 45 pistol calibers. Personally I haven't used it in the 40 though.

[Nick_C_S]

Unique will burn cleaner in higher pressure rounds. 38+p upwards.

Yep. 'xactly. That's also accounts for why it does so well in 357 Magnum.

I've found (Unique for) light target loads for .38 Special accurate but pretty dirty.

Yep. 'xactly. That's why you wanna reach for the fast stuff for target 38's - mostly for the cleaner burn; a more "balanced" round for the application, if you will. For target 38's, I've had great results with Bullseye, W231/HP-38, AA#2, and now Nitro 100. Fact is, 38 Special is inherently accurate. If you're bullet is of decent quality and the right diameter, they'll pretty much go straight regardless of the propellant.

Sure thing nick. In fact you helped me a year or so ago get the seating depth right. As these were my first experience with plated.

Glad to be of assistance. I load/shoot both Berry's 125's and 158's for 38 Special. Although, I've found myself using the 125's more. This is just me and my load/shoot style: but once I move up to a 158, I usually also move down to lead. Even at +P, 158's usually don't lead up much, so I stick with lead for the most part.

I do have a 158g Berry's plated (#84525)/ Unique recipe: 5.4gns. That's an over charge according to Hornady 9th; and Speer #14 only has lead data for 158's (which partly accounts for the reason why I tend to stick with lead for 38/158 - my philosophy/approach to it kind of comes from this manual). But Sierra 5th has 158/Unique going all the way up to 6.1gns. Load manuals aside, the 5.4gns is not that potent, but it seems to shoot nice in my model 67 4" at that level. 924 fps.

[hartcreek]

One whole pound of Unique.......That is just a start. Three pounds is a minimum purchase of a pistol powder when you have not used it before and are going to load multiple calibers. 1 pound of Unique is good for only 1000 9mm.

[Real Gun]

I use Bullseye at 4.0 gr for my 125 gr lead loads in 38 S&W Special, most recently coated RNFP.

I use Unique for other things but understand it would be quite good in 45 ACP.

[44 AMP]

Traditional wisdom is to use Bullseye for light to medium loads and Unique for medium to heavy.

For standard loads/plinking ammo, in the .38 and 9mm I actually use Red Dot. Not because its the best possible, but because I bought a keg of it decades ago, and still have between 1/3 and 1/4 left, and it works well enough.

For .45ACP, I run Unique. I use the "factory duplication load" for the 230gr from the old Lyman book, and have since the book was new in the 70s. It is smokey with cast slugs, but with jacketed, you don't see it.

I don't use anything BUT UNIQUE for my .45 Colt loads. A 250gr SWC on top of 10gr runs almost 1100fps from my 7.5" Ruger, is stout but pleasant to shoot and has all the punch needed for almost anything. 10gr in a .44Mag with a 240 gives a little more speed, and makes shooting my S&W M29 a LOT less painful.

[sawdustdad]

1 pound of Unique is good for only 1000 9mm.

Spoken like a true shooting addict. "only a thousand..."

I load 5g/round in 9mm, so I get quite a few more...closer to 1400.

[fishhead1]

Glad to know they still make these powders. Used to be about the only powders I use to use, but haven't seen any B/E or Unique in ages. Good find.

[TimSr]

I use them both for 38 and did a bunch of 9mm with both. In .38 I get similar performance from both, and similar smoke ( a bunch) from both. As loads get hotter they both get a little cleaner. Bullseye was more consistent in super light loads. In 9mm I got better accuracy from Unique. Those two powders pretty well cover about everything fairly well.

Bullseye is probably about the cheapest powder to use, because it is loaded in lower doses than any other powder I know of, or used to be anyways.

[Nick_C_S]

Bullseye is probably about the cheapest powder to use, because it is loaded in lower doses than any other powder I know of, or used to be anyways.

Accurate Nitro 100 uses smaller doses than Bullseye. 2.6gn of N100 vs 3.0gn B'eye for the same velocity 148gn 38 Special wadcutter.

But . . .

A Nitro 100 "1Lb" size bottle is only 12oz. N100 is probably more expensive per round. So lower dose? Yes. Cheaper? Probably not.

[Nick_C_S]

Went to the range today to do some chronograph work. After that, I did some shooting just for fun. I found some misc rounds in my stock that I decided to shoot off, just to tidy up my inventory.

Among them was a box of 40 lead hardcast 158 SWC's, under 5.2gn of Unique. By coincidence, I loaded them exactly one year ago today. I kind of forgot about them. So I shot them today.

Nice round. Really nice round. Good thump for 38 (+P); and accurate. I really enjoyed shooting them. I'll be loading more of those.

I do like Unique.

It fell out of favor for me many years back, for reasons long forgotten. But during this still-ongoing shortage, I bought a couple Lb's of it out of desperation basically. It has been a pleasant re-introduction. I have since bought a couple more Lbs (not out of desperation) and it's in my inventory lineup for good now.