Recommend me a replacement for unique

[drifter2be]

It took my last trip to the range with the stainless 1911 to realize just how dirty a powder Unique is. I have always shot darker finish guns with my reloads, so I never saw anything until cleaning, but the muzzle end of my slide was almost black after 100 rounds loaded with unique, between that and how poorly it meters I think it is time to switch. After looking through the load data in my Lyman 49th edition I have it narrowed down to Winchester 231, Bullseye or Power Pistol. The powder is going to be used on both 9mm and 45acp reloads (124gr and 230gr plated projectiles). I will continue to use unique for .38 special reloads for now as I don't shoot it too much and it works pretty well for accuracy, not to mention I still have about a pound left. Any input based upon personal experience would be appreciated.

[CalTeacher]

Universal clays is another alternative. It has a burn rate similar to Unique but meters a little better and burns a little cleaner.

[JNunez23]

I use both Win 231 and Bullseye. Both meter well, but 231 is a bit cleaner.

[rsrocket1]

Ditto on Universal. It is a cleaner alternative to Unique although it costs a little more and performs about the same.

Don't buy Bullseye if shiny silver pistols is what you want to come home with.
It performs within a gnat's eyelash as Unique in terms of max velocity at max safe pressure. It also uses 10-20% less of a charge to obtain the same load. The problem is that at mid to high pressures, it burns completely but will turn the cylinder of a stainless revolver into what looks like a blued revolver. I don't mind it at all because it cleans up very quickly at home and I love the performance. The flakes are much smaller than Unique and meters very well. Don't leave it in the hopper too long as the super high nitroglycerin content will virtually melt the plastic hopper overnight.

Power Pistol works great at max loads, but burns much less completely by the time the bullet exits the barrel and produces a good sized flash which could be distracting if you shoot indoors. No problem in the bright sunlight. Can't say much about 231 as I don't use it.

Hodgdon Clays works well, burns very cleanly, but is only good for light to moderate loads as it reaches max pressures at a fairly low muzzle velocity. No better than about 730 fps with a 230g bullet, but works beautifully for low recoil loads in the low to mid 600's.

[MaHoTex]

+1 on the W231, little leaky on my cheap POS lee measure though...

No experience on the other powders you have mentioned (other than Unique that is)

[Bill Steele]

If you want the cleanest, best powder you will ever shoot for target loads in 9mm and .45ACP, VV-N320 is it. It also costs almost twice as much as Unique. The one thing I will caution on VV-N320, make sure you can afford to use it before you try it, because it will be the best you ever loaded in that .45ACP.

An alternative to VV-N320, not quite as good in most respects, but still cleaner burning than most you can try one of XDroX's favorite's WST. A little more expensive than Unique, but still within spitting distance.

Bullseye won't be any cleaner burning than Unique, but will be a little less expensive to load and will run your slide faster at all but the hottest levels.

Good luck, have fun.

[CSACANNONEER]

I normally use UC

[Clownpuncher]

I prefer 231 over Bullseye. It just seems to run better for me with a little more pop and a bit less muzzle flash in my 1911.

[socal147]

I use WST. Clean and easy to meter. I am loading light loads so that must be taken into account.

Unique is DIRTY!

[wtkaiser]

Whaddya expect? It's about as old as BP. It's only appropriate that it's about as dirty too. Makes you appreciate Hoppes No 9!

[ap1040]

I've used TG, Blue Dot, Unique, Bullseye and now W231 in .38, 9MM and .45.

W231 is the cleanest of the lot, easiest to meter (imho) and can use it in all my guns so supply is simplified.

I would recommend W231 and try it for your .38 as well. I found I like it better then Unique and it burns cleaner.

[DRAB_81]

If you want a similar burn rate, you'll love WSF. I use in in 9/40/45, and it's awesome in all three. It can be loaded light, or into +P territory, and is consistently accurate throughout. It's been described as a cleaner, better metering Unique.

[protoolsnerd]

another +1 on W231

[drifter2be]

Well, I tried three stores yesterday and came out 0/3 for finding a pound of W231. I'll try again Monday since I'm picking up a gun in Riverside. Must be good stuff if all three places I tried yesterday were sold out.

[noylj]

Is cleanliness REALLY a reason to choose a powder?
Do you have goals for your loads to meet? Is accuracy one of them?
Do you clean your gun after every range session? If so, what is the problem? If not, what is the problem? The benefit of stainless steel is that it can always be polished. You aren't hurting any thing, other than your sense of aesthetics. My Gold Cups with that fantastic old Colt bluing are still bright and shiny (when I clean them) and my oldest Gold Cup must have fired over 50k rounds by now.
I generally fire about 5000 rounds of lead bullets between cleaning my .45s and have never had any functioning problems with Unique or any other powder, provided I don't over lube my guns.
Side note: I keep reading "experts" who talk about having to shoot their 1911s wet. My guns all work best with a drop of oil on the barrel muzzle/bushing (and wiped off), a drop in each slide rail (and wiped off), a drop on the locking lugs (and wiped off), and a drop on the hammer/frame interface. Anything beyond that produces "mud" and can cause functioning problems.
I find that, in almost all my .45s, 231/HP38 and AA2 are the most accurate powders, with 231/HP38 being hands down the most accurate over a wide range of charge weights.
For Unique, I find that 5.0gn and 6.0gn with any weight of lead bullet up to 230gn are almost always very accurate.
Finally, Unique has been very accurate for over 100 years despite metering to plus/minus 0.2gn for the whole time.
Currently, there must be at least 40 powders that will work well in the .45, with Bullseye having been the historically most accurate and most used powder in all forms of competition where accuracy is the main goal. Even the military used Bullseye for decades (and it is seldom that a canister powder finds its way into a military or factory cartridge).
The powder that surprises my the most is True Blue. It is slow and yet it works great at low target velocities and max loads. It isn't as accurate at 231/HP38 and AA2, but it sure is versatile for such a slow powder.
For a Unique replacement (though load date is different), your best bets are AA5 and Universal.