It took 2 years, but one of my powder backorders is FINALLY filled

Six-Gun · January 2016

Grafs has had an backorder of mine since 2014 - an 8lb jug of Unique. Today, I got a call that is came in. Now, for the REALLY long wait: two other 8lb jugs, one of Ramshot Big Game and the other of Ramshot Hunter. They had a plant explosion overseas where they make the stuff and are just now back up and running. I fully expect another year on that one!

Oh, well. At least we're starting to see stuff that simply didn't exist a couple of years ago.

Jayhawker · January 2016

Have you ever seen pictures of the old powder mills where they propped up the exterior walls with poles....those folks understood the difference between "if" and "when"

Fisheadgib · January 2016

That's a heck of a lot of Unique. What do you use it for?

Six-Gun · January 2016

Yes, this was a major wait, and it's still not even close to over as far as those other powders go. What sucks is that the Ramshot plant in Belguim actually got back in production and already sent it's first mass shipment over to the states, but it failed quality testing and had to be rejected. That would've at least quelled a portion of the backlog. Western Powders (the parent company) took my phone number and is supposed to give me a courtesy call when the first useable lot lands on this side of the pond, just a heads-up that things are back on track.

Fisheadgib wrote: »

That's a heck of a lot of Unique. What do you use it for?

Just about every semi-auto handgun that I own can use the stuff. When we're talking about training distances of seldom more than 20 feet, I'm not worried about load testing, I just need a clean, reliable propellant. That's where the mass quantity of Unique comes in. An 8lb. jug should last me a loooooong time.

Jayhawker wrote: »

Have you ever seen pictures of the old powder mills where they propped up the exterior walls with poles....those folks understood the difference between "if" and "when"

Yes, I have actually visited one of the old powder mills (the Hagley Museum in Wilmington, Delaware) that was powered by the Brandywine Creek and a hydro-turbine. The stone hutches faced where the grind wheels sat had 3 walls, with the open side facing out toward the creek. In the event of an explosion, it would blast out over the water like a megalithic claymore mine, keeping the main bang away from the workers' side of the water.

early · January 2016

Ya ever see the movie Pale Rider where Holl walks all the way to town.

Long wait.

I gotta scrounge my up some 2400 pretty soon.

JLDickmon · January 2016

early wrote: »

Ya ever see the movie Pale Rider where Holl walks all the way to town.

"Long walk."
"Yup."

Anyone seen any Vihta Vouri lately?

41magnut · January 2016

Varget is another non existent propellant for several years.

It is manufactured in Australia and I hear rumors from Australian shooters it is available there.

Fortunately there are viable alternatives to Varget, but I still wishnit was available in bulk quantities

Sent from my SM-T520 using Tapatalk

41magnut · January 2016

41magnut wrote: »

Varget is another non existent propellant for several years.

It is manufactured in Australia and I hear rumors from Australian shooters it is available there.

Fortunately there are viable alternatives to Varget, but I still wishnit was available in bulk quantities

Sent from my SM-T520 using Tapatalk

I like Tap-a-Talk, but can't seem to edit my posting.

Allow me to rewrite that first sentence,

Varget hasn't been available in significant quantities for several years.

Sent from my SM-T520 using Tapatalk

Armoredman · January 2016

Saw plenty of Unique at BassPro a month ago, picked up my first pound of it to try out.

Six-Gun · February 2016

41magnut wrote: »

Varget is another non existent propellant for several years.

It is manufactured in Australia and I hear rumors from Australian shooters it is available there.

Fortunately there are viable alternatives to Varget, but I still wishnit was available in bulk quantities

Sent from my SM-T520 using Tapatalk

I still have the majority of an 8 lb. just of Varget in my house that was bought several years back when the gettin' was still good. It's amazing how many powders that were plentiful and we took for granted suddenly became impossible to find.

Armoredman · February 2016

Tried a load with Unique yesterday - very inconsistent power levels, from BOOM to phhhhpt, all with the same powder level. Thinking I need to weigh each charge instead of metering through the Uniflow, doesn't meter nearly as uniformly as Accurate Arms powders.

early · February 2016

Armoredman wrote: »

Tried a load with Unique yesterday - very inconsistent power levels, from BOOM to phhhhpt, all with the same powder level. Thinking I need to weigh each charge instead of metering through the Uniflow, doesn't meter nearly as uniformly as Accurate Arms powders.

Unique meters very poorly. Lee dippers and a scale weight help me with this powder.

Six-Gun · February 2016

Any large-flake powder is going to give certain metering devices fits. The smaller the required charge, the more likely that issue is to arise due to the ever-shrinking powder aperture required to throw it. In a heavier charged round like .357 mag or .45 ACP, this isn't as big of an issue. However, (and I know this from negative experience) if you start trying to do 9mm Luger or .38 special loads with big-flake offerings like Unique and a powder thrower, you run a much higher risk of "powder bridging" (where the powder stacks in such a fashion as to not fill the powder aperture at all), an empty case and a squibbed bullet stuck in the barrel.

When it comes to small volume cartridges and most powder measuring devices, fine ball/microflake powder and high load density are your friends.

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