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Alliant Unique powder dirty?
Navybat
Member Posts: 6,849 ✭✭✭
I've read a few scattered posts which stated that Alliant Unique powder is dirty in low velocity rounds, less so in high velocity rounds. My manuals, on the other hand, (Lyman and Hornady) state that it is a good powder for .45 ACP.
I'm considering using this when I start reloading .45, with 230 grain FMJ bullets, for about 800-850 fps.
Does anyone have a recipe for me, or know if Unique is, indeed, an expecially dirty powder?
I'm considering using this when I start reloading .45, with 230 grain FMJ bullets, for about 800-850 fps.
Does anyone have a recipe for me, or know if Unique is, indeed, an expecially dirty powder?
Comments
All powders burn best within a narrow "window" of pressures. The 45 ACP is a low-pressure round, so the chances are that a medium-fast powder like Unique will burn a bit "dirtier" than a faster powder. If clean burning is a key goal of yours, use a faster modern powder like Clays or American Select -- or the original and still standard military powder: Bullseye.
You can find load data here http://www.hodgdon.com/index.html
I recommend checking the Alliant website for the most up-to-date Unique loads with accurate pressure ratings, but my ACP load is 6.0 gr Unique. with the 230 MC, it's about 835 fps fom my 5" 1911-style gun.
Using wood fibers was much cheaper but also produced a powder that was "dirtier". It's my understanding that Alliant has gone back to using cotton as their raw material. Personally, whenever I use Unique for anything, I get it out of my 50's vintage can....CLEAN!
The newer Unique burns a lot cleaner.
Tite group does burn cleaner but unless you are going to shoot 5,000 rounds between cleanings your gun won't care.
So??? Don't you clean after shooting?
I shoot several thousand rounds of 45 in NRA bullseye competition every year. I clean the guns when they are dirty to the point where a malfunction may happen. On the Buckmark that cleaning is never. The Gary Madore built Colt 1911 wad cutter gun gets bore brushed after every match just to make sure there is no lead smears, a slide off cleaning happens about every 1,500-1,700 rounds.
My barn 22 has gone 30,000 rounds with only an occasional shot of carb cleaner on the bolt face for cleaning.
I got very good accuracy using small pistol primers and 6 gr of Alliant unique if I kept the bore cleaned of soot, but noticed that the bore was almost clogged, sometimes with just one shot! I carried a weed-eater cord with a patch attached to run through the bore of a single shot rifle at least every 3 shots or more often if it looked bad!
I switched after testing to Accurate Arms 5744 and found it to be cleaner burning and just as accurate and more user friendly due to not being as critical of powder weight for accuracy! I use 12g of the 5744 in the 223 with 45-55 gr bullets and the small pistol primers for squirrel, rabbit hunting and just plinking and reduced noise level. (noise level at about same as a 22 mag rimfire rifle)
I also use 5744 powder in several center fire rifles, like 30/06, 7mm rem mag, 7mm wby mag, 270, using info from caliber specific manuals or from Accurate Arms info for reduced, low recoil loads at about 30/30 velocities for youths and women! By playing with the 5744 weight grains, usually I can find a load that produces 30/30 velocities and do not have to re-adjust the scope at 80-100 yards for almost same point of impact on target of low and high velocity reloads and sometimes I get lucky and the low vel load will shoot about 1-2 inchs higher vertically as compared to the high vel load!
I also save my High velocity brass that is no longer desirable for reloading the high velocity loads and use the brass for low velocity loads in all caliber guns with no problems of the brass splitting, bursting, etc! The low vel loads are easy on the old centerfire brass with no stretching, etc, therefore the brass can be reloaded numerous times using the low vel re-loads!
I just try to use the unique in pistols, but never really considered it dirty in them also! I'll start watching for such again!
I guess when I describe a powder as dirty is when your fingers get dirty or black or gsr. Unique does do this. Unique is a great powder but I perfer Bullseye as it fires as well but you don't get the black finger issue. Thus a cleaner powder.
Tite group will cure all your problems and works as well as bullseye.
I shot a total of about 75 rounds, and my fingers were clean at the end of the range period--including picking up my shot brass and putting everything away (as well as reloading, etc.)
I'd say Unique is actually cleaner than some factory ammo I've shot (in fact MOST factory ammo I've shot).
There was some noticeable flash out of my Desert Eagle 1911, (not excessive, but still there) but no smoke and again, accuracy was great, as good as any ammo I've fired out of this gun.
Thanks to everyone for your help and advice.