Hey guys, it's me again!

I am sick of dealing with unique's metering qualities, and need some load data. I like to use the 140 and 180 grain cowboy bullets from hornady, and need some load data for HP-38 in .38 and .44 special. If you can, please give min and max loads, and also velocity figures from 6.5" (.38) and 8.5"(.44) barrels. Your help would be great.

Also, do you hardened .38 special shooters tend to use more 158gr swc's than other weights?

thanks,
vanbuzen9

I guess you looked at the data on Hodgdons web site?
gmdr.com has a lot of good load data for cowboy loads.

What kind of powder measure are you using? Unique has always worked fine for me in a Lyman 55. I will say that the new one I just bought doesn't seem as good as the one my Dad had when I was growing up.

There is no listing at all for those combos in the Hornady 4th .

Nothing for that powder in the 48th Lyman.

Nothing for those bullet weights in the hodgdon Cowboy Action booklet 4th but all around those weights with the HP38 powder.

Unique will meter. I learned that if you fill the powder measure hopper about half way, and rock the dispenser drum gently if it is clogged, a little at a time until the filled drum moves freely, accurate charges can be obtained. It does take patience but it saves time over measuring each charge and adjusting with a powder tricker.
The usual scenario is to fill the powder measure and start throwing charges into the scale or case. With Unique, often the dispenser drum will clog and the natural thing to do is to force it to dispense. The method I use if the dispenser drum will not throw the charge easily (clogged), is to rock the dispenser handle gently back and forth until the granules settle and the drum moves freely. I get very close to .1 grain accuracy this way having measured many charges on an electronic scale to verify this method.
The problem with forcing the dispenser handle to drop the charge is that it cuts granules and compacts the powder in the hopper which leads to varying charge weights. Filling the hopper just compacts the powder more adding to the problem so I only keep the hopper filled about half way. If you're frustrated with Unique, give this a try and see if it works for you. This method has worked for me with granular type powders but may not work with extruded powders.
Load safely and shoot safely.

I use alot of unique....but mostly for reduced cowboy action rifle loads. For handguns, i prefer Titegroup. Meters better than unique, burns cleaner and is position insensative meaning you can safely drop those charges down LOW without worry of velocity fluctuations.

I dont load for 44 Special(magnum only)....but for 38 special, ive found 4.0 grains of TiteGroup with a 158 grain wadcutter runs right about 850-900 FPS out of a 6" barrel and is a real pleasurable and accurate target load.

my s&w model 27 likes 3.5 grs. of bullseye under a homecast 150 gr. swc real well in a .38 spl case.....