I've been using Unique for 9mm and .45acp for a very long time. Is there another powder that burns cleaner, and fills up most of the case?

I found that Hodgdon Universal Clays works well and has a burn rate nearly that of Unique. I also like Hodgdon’s CFE when using jacketed bullets.

There are several powders that will work and meter a lot better than Unique. I use WSF for my 9mm loads. It's a ball powder and fills the case so it's easy to see, about the same speed as Unique. I've used it on 45 acp but I normally shoot 185gr LSWC so I use a faster burn powder WST (ball powder), reduced for BE shooting. W231/HP38 is another powder that will work well with both.

Plus one on both the WSF and Win 231 recommendations, with accuracy kudos going to WSF, with both jacketed 115's and 124's. For lead alloy SWC's, I prefer either WSF or Unique. Best Regards, Rod

WSF & W231 are not really close. W231 is faster than Unique, WSF is a tiny bit slower. WSF has less loft than Unique but for 9mm or even 45acp, it is more than half the case so pretty hard to miss a charge. BE86 is a newer powder that is a bit slower than Unique with good metering characteristics.

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I've been using Unique for 9mm and .45acp for a very long time.

^^^^THIS

Unique is old school......but so am I. Been using it since the mid 80's on a whole bunch of different cartridges. If I were limited to one powder, this would be the one. And, Hey, it's cleaner than it used to be.

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Originally posted by Bigboreshooter:

quote:

I've been using Unique for 9mm and .45acp for a very long time.

^^^^THIS

Unique is old school......but so am I. Been using it since the mid 80's on a whole bunch of different cartridges. If I were limited to one powder, this would be the one. And, Hey, it's cleaner than it used to be.

I agree. Unique is also my favorite pistol powder.

Although I have a bit of Bullseye I got real cheap, my go to powder is Unique. I reload 38 special, 9mm, 45 ACP/auto rim, and 45 Colt. It works well for me. My shooting buddy must have a dozen powders on his shelf. I've got basically one powder that handles my needs and does it well. Just my two cents.

I have used Unique but more often use Hodgdon ‘Universal’ in similar applications.

The burn rates of the two are very close.

I agree with Blue68f100. I like WSF for all the reasons he listed. I consider it a clean Unique that meters well.

I use Unique for 38 Spl, 44 Spl, and 45 Colt, it is a terrific powder.

I’ve been using Unique for a lot of years in reloading 45acp. Love it! I’ve begun using it in plinking loads for .44 Magnum.

Who cares about cleanliness? Accuracy is the name of the game.
You could try BE86 or Power Pistol. Moving up in burn rate, you could try Zip or 231/HP38