sanity check

[rwilson452]

I picked up a lb. of Unique and I have not used it before. What I'm looking for is to produce a .45ACP load with a lead 230gr bullet at about 850 F/S. Does 6.0 gr of Unique sound right?

[arkie2]

Lee's modern reloading shows 5.0 grains as max for 230g lead bulllet, 790 fps. It also shows 5.0 g as minimum load. Alliant's web site shows the same thing.

[Jammer Six]

Not much room for working up there...

And this is a flexible powder?

For the record:

Aliant's web site does not show 5 grains as a minimum charge.

It does not show a minimum charge.

It only shows 5 grains as "Charge Weight".

One must read the web site.

One then discovers the following instructions on the page that everyone likes to ignore:

"REDUCE LOADING DATA 10% TO START AND WORK-UP."

Reducing a charge weight of 5 grains by 10% gives a minimum charge of 4.5 grains.

The main reason I'm posting this is to make a different point:

taking loading data off the net is a really bad idea.

Take your loading data from published sources only.

Any fool can post to the internet, and bad information, loaded into a case and fired, can kill you. You're reading my post, right now, and you don't have any reason to think that I know anymore than the guy who posted that the minimum and maximum charges are the same.

Have a nice day.

[arkie2]

Jammer

Presumably your post was referring to me. Must be since I'm the only other one who's posted here. The Lee data is correct. Comes right from the book. The Alliant data reflects the same 5 grains as the Lee manual. Minimum or maximum? The page on the Alliant site doesn't specify. However, if you take my statement that the Alliant data is the same as the Lee data you would draw a logical conclusion that 5 grains is the max. I'm sorry logic escapes you.

[caz223]

It sounds about right, I use 7.0 grains of unique with a 200 grain XTP in .45 acp. for about 900.

[benedict1]

I have been through this recently on another forum. I personally contacted Ben Ammonette, Customer Service Manager at Alliant--you can do the same here-

[email protected]

The load they show in their book and on their website IS A LOAD--note: it is a target load. It is not the maximum, doesn't say so and is not intended to be so. The entry in Modern Reloading by Richard Lee was taken from the Alliant data and I think the format of the tables in the book leads to an erroneous conclusion, and some confusion. This is why I contacted Ben.

I posed the question to him and his response via email--both listed now--NOTE: PLEASE READ FROM BOTTOM UP--MY QUESTIONS ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST--HIS RESPONSES COME UP FROM THE BOTTOM.

There is plenty of latitude with Unique. I load 5.8 gr with 230 gr plated RN and it shoots really well.

------------------------------------


From: Benedict1
Sent: Tuesday, September 12, 2006 4:34 PM
To: Amonette, Ben
Subject: Re: Confusion reigns supreme!

Thanks, Ben--people are around in the forums on the web quoting your load as a max. load. I suspected they were wrong--I'm not sure how they came to that conclusion but they are confusing a lot of new reloaders. Understand, I am in no way advocating max loads--I avoid them like the plague--just trying to help some new reloaders and make sure they understand the utility of Unique .

Benedict1

Amonette, Ben wrote:
> The 5 gr charge wt in our tables is a "target" (meaning low pressure, 11,800 psi). We are not claiming that 5 grs is the only safe charge. This is a load suggestion if someone simply wants a target velocity load. Notice that with a 230 gr jacketed bullet, which produces more friction going through the barrel than does a lead bullet, we go up as high as 6.4 grs of Unique, which closely resembles the data in your table.
>
>
> Ben Amonette
> Consumer Service Manager
> Alliant Powder Company
> www.alliantpowder.com
>
>
> From: Benedict1
> Sent: Tuesday, September 12, 2006 4:13 PM
> To: Amonette, Ben
> Subject: Confusion reigns supreme!
>
> Recall I emailed you about 10 days ago re the confusion about plated bullets. This piece of data from your current published loading material seems to contradict dozens of well-publicized loads that have been shot for many years with plated bullets and lead bullets with charge weights of 5-6 gr. of Unique with 200 or 230 gr bullets in the 45 ACP.(I am referring to the 5.0 gr charge of Unique with the 230 gr bullet published in the manual and on the website.)
>
> What am I missing? These links all show tested loads for charges greater than 5 gr--(also, many, many loads in various forums all over the web in the 5.5-6.3 gr range.)
>
> http://www.reloadammo.com/45loads.htm See the 230 gr bullet tests with lead
> http://tinyurl.com/lysba This is the Handloads.com website--go to the bottom for the Unique loads and note the 6.5 gr load with 230 gr cast bullets.
>
> I know these guys aren't in your employ but they have chronographed these loads and nothing seems out of the ordinary, yet many exceed the 5 gr of your chart.
>
> Can you clear this up? Could Alliant please be more wide-ranging in Unique data in the future?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Benedict1

>

[rwilson452]

Thanks Ben,

After a lot of searching I did find a reference note that the 5.0 gr was a target load. Knowing that a target load is usually on the light side I felt comfortable using the data from my Midway LoadMap. BTW it says 6.5 is the nominal max and 6.7 is in the yellow.. Yellow indicates you really pushing and should work up to that with some real caution. It also says 6.7 generated 19000 psi in their test barrel. I don't figure on ever going over 6.0 anyway.

Ben I'm not new to reloading just new to unique and what I was reading in the books was a bit confused. At that point I go into worry mode.

[benedict1]

The old Midway Load Map for 45 ACP is just fine with Unique so far as I can tell when compared to Ben Ammonette's comments that I posted above.

[Rimrod]

The Lyman Pistol and Revolver book (3rd edition) lists a 225gr. LRN. With Unique they start with 5.5 grains (vel. 695 fps.) to a max of 7.3 grains (vel. 905 fps.)