The reason I'm asking is my book is from Nosler and their authors don't use a lot of Unique powder...And I have a little over 4lbs and want to use it. I'm just shooting targets for practice. so I don't need as precise of round as Chad produces.

So when I loaded 9mm I used 5.1 gr of Unique with a 125 gr bullet as per the book from Nosler. Since the 45ACP recipes in the book didn't list Unique or a 200 gr bullet I looked up Alliant powder unique and got a recipe for 200 gr bullets using 5.4 gr of powder and that doesn't add up to me. Here's the link.

https://www.alliantpowder.com/reloa...p;type=1&powderid=3&cartridge=35

Just curious what others think on this topic.

Red

My best source is the internet. I look up as many sources as I can find, then come up with a starting load and load until I either see pressure, or get an accuracy/speed combo that I am happy with. I have been told by some that I should keep going until I find pressure, but I don't always do that. Not if I find a combo that is both satisfactory speed and good accuracy prior to finding pressure.

I’ve got a fair selection of reloading manuals. They are what I look at for a place to start.

I’m thinking 5.5-6.0 should yield 800-900 fps. (Complete swinging guess)

As far as what adds up, case volume and bore diameter play a big roll. Not just weight.

Sorry I don’t have the technical answers. I have loaded a lot of unique in a variety of calibers though.

looking at some old data from a Speer manual printed in 1970 it depends on what 200gr bullet you are using, Below are the 2 loads for 200r 45ACP with Unique


200gr Speer jacketed round nose Unique Start load 7.2 max load 7.7
200gr Lead swc start load 5.2 max load 6.0

in the link provided I only see Power Pistol for 45 acp with 200gr bullets.

Sorry about the link. I'll try to get the correct one up.

I use the newest Lyman book I have, the Hornady Annual Manual, the Nosler book, and the Hornady book. For ‘new’ calibers like the 6.5 Grendel, load data from various manuals varied a lot, enough that I just wasn’t comfortable with the data, so I finally got what I needed on the Grendel Forum.

I have a few older manuals but mostly go online to powder manufactures sites for data consult older manuals sometimes and will use data from a few sources on the web. If you shoot the Grendel the forum 6033 mentioned is a good one. The owner of that one also has a small forum dedicated to the 6mm ARC that is pretty good.

This^^^

I have a couple manuals ... Lyman and Lee and Hornady. The Lyman book has by far the least information but if I am starting with a new combo, I check all three books.

Then I search the web looking for any reason to doubt the books since the books never agree with each other. I use logic to decide where to start and go from there.

I have a few pounds of Unique because it does a little of everything ... but I don't use it much because no matter the load, there's always a better alternative.

My plated 9X19 load uses Bullseye at what looks like an over-load because I run it long for my magazine and chamber.

My .45 AUTO load is a book load using AutoComp (for now).

One thing I've learned is that besides Lyman and Lee, the bullet manufacturers
books only show their own bullets. Powder companies used to give away
small data books every year, but I don't think that they do that anymore.
I have a good many books, but usually defer to the Lee and Lyman since
they test a variety. Most of these companies have already spent a pile of
money on R&D with their loads, so IMO they're usually pretty close with
whatever they publish. You have to work up some anyway since every gun
will shoot differently than the next one. Most everything I've ever loaded
for was fairly easy to find a good accurate load, which is what I look for.
The 243's I had were disappointing because I worked to find a suitable
powder and bullet that worked like a champ, then the powder was
discontinued, and the particular bullets started getting scarce and for
a good many years now they've been scarce and I see WTB ads in the
various sites trying to find some

When you find something that works for you, buy all you can afford

Good Luck

I have most if not all manuals published since 1970’s so I usually look at all the more recent ones when it’s something I am just starting to load such as a new component or new cartridge.
One of my new favorite manual is the latest Speer. They have actually updated a lot of cartridge data unlike say the Lee manual which seems to be data gathered from other sources and put into one book.

I have quite a few hard back manuals; some dang near 50 years old. But, also I have a Manual for each caliber. And I have a lot of different calibers.

I run my own ballistics lab , so I just develop all my own for all the cartridges I develop or the 160 standard one I load for .

Depending what it is I usually turn to the internet. As I’m loading more and more hornady and speer bullets these days maybe I toss a new manual on my Christmas list lol

The reason the charge weights are similar and may not make sense is because the SAAMI pressure spec for 9mm is 35,000 psi, while the .45 ACP is 21,000 psi. So, the 9mm needs a more powder to reach the operating spec.

http://lasc.us/SAAMIMaxPressure.htm

I have a bunch of old manuals but I rarely use them anymore. I have Hornady and Sierra apps on my phone and use them all them time. I like the Sierra app the best. There is a small fee to download the apps. I also use the Hodgdon and Alliant websites.

Hodgdon
Alliant

35K is the MAXIMUM chamber pressure, not "operating" pressure. 9X19 is a high pressure cartridge. .45 AUTO is not.

Thanks. Makes sense.

If you're looking for Unique powder loading data get the Lee hardback book. It's chock full of Unique data in so very many calibers.

The hodgdon website

Me!

I got a deal on a subscription to "LoadData" & it is pretty handy at times. It gathers data from multiple sources into one view. Supposedly, it is being constantly updated. I also have a half a dozen load manuals sitting on the shelf. They're all old but the data is still good.

LoadData using .45 ACP/Unique/200 gr came up with 19 sources which look to be about 50+ loads.

My own notes.

When I get into a combination I have not loaded before, Hodgdon.com for reference. Most of the time, I call on their "maximum.

For many years I've saved hard copies of all those free manuals you used to be able to get in gunshops, downloaded all the electronic copies I could, all the burn rate charts I can find, purchased a new manual every few years, and kept my own velocity data recorded for years.

I did the loaddata.com thing for a couple of years but 99% of it is old and it doesn't seem to get updated---except maybe when a new cartridge comes on the scene. I won't bother with it anymore.

I had the two-volume set of Ken Waters' Pet Loads for a while but I sold it because so much of the data is for powders I no longer use.

The manufacturers' on-line data is a pretty good source, but sometimes it's too limited.

I use GRT and QuickLOAD fairly often, but over the last few years I have developed some skepticism with the charge data. They're still useful tools, though...and a lot can be learned from them.

In all, I think I may have up to 100 sources of load data---hard copy and electronic. Maybe more.