Anyone use the new purple Universal yet?

[Ian]

OK, the new Canadian Barney powder has been tested, here's the deal with the particular lots of old and new that I have, pretty much the opposite of what Dan found on the internet: Grain for for grain they give identical velocities and extreme spreads in my .45 ACP carbine. HOWEVER.....the new purple stuff is bulkier, so if you throw by volume it will underperform slightly in the same disk or bar. What threw @ 5.2 grains before now throws 4.9 grains by volume. Again, this is with the one lot of each that I have.

Other things to note. Instead of leaving shiny cases with perhaps a few tiny specks of yellow mummies, it leaves a tiny bit of grey soot and dark grey specks (keep in mind I'm shooting a gas-operated, suppressed 16" AR-15 here). Also, it smells sourish and peppery, definitely different from the ADI stuff which had virtually no odor other than slight "burnt gunpowder". Further, the brass has rainbow scorch marks on the "loose" side of the chamber identical in nature to those that Titegroup leaves on pistol brass, leading me to believe that this new Canadian Universal is of the "new" powder technology which is faster and cheaper to make, and also very consistent and accurate.

Oh, and on initial testing Barney grouped a little mo-betta, which leads me to another thread which I'll update in a minute.... the one where I did everything imaginable to get this carbine to group with cast bullets and failed. YMMV.

Bottom line is it's different, keep measuring by weight if you're trying to match a pet load with ADI Universal, but I like it just fine.

 

[300BLK]

I wasn't aware that they changed Universal until seeing this thread. My jug is the old stuff, and maybe only a 4#. I have plenty of Unique and AA#5. Yeah, bummer about 4756 being discontinued.

 

[Pistolero]

reloading didn't used to have that palette in it anywhere.

Not sure I could deal well with lime green bullets.

Bill

 

[9.3X62AL]

What Bill said. I just don't see the vigor in bullet painting/coating--for me, anyway.

 

[quicksylver]

I can understand the "fun/cool", "crowd pleaser", aspect of it ...but I have yet to see any groups posted using them....and by groups I mean targets...not people..

 

[Ian]

What Bill said. I just don't see the vigor in bullet painting/coating--for me, anyway.

That's partly because you don't have a sealed, commercial, pistol silencer or sling a lot of cast bullets through suppressed AR-15s.

 

[Ian]

I can understand the "fun/cool", "crowd pleaser", aspect of it ...but I have yet to see any groups posted using them....and by groups I mean targets...not people..

I've posted a few here. Need to do more. It's not the end-all, but PC will let you do things you cannot do without a jacket of some kind, like shooting over 2K fps with 10 bhn alloy, and some other tricks.

Something else really nice about Polyester powder coating is how slippery it makes the bullets, and that really helps the function of self-feeding rifles, particularly regarding friction in the magazines.

Hey Bill, they make other colors....those green ones are just for Zombies.

 

[quicksylver]

I've posted a few here. Need to do more. It's not the end-all, but PC will let you do things you cannot do without a jacket of some kind, like shooting over 2K fps with 10 bhn alloy, and some other tricks.

Something else really nice about Polyester powder coating is how slippery it makes the bullets, and that really helps the function of self-feeding rifles, particularly regarding friction in the magazines.

Hey Bill, they make other colors....those green ones are just for Zombies.

Now ..That I can understand...function ....but do they shoot with any reasonable accuracy.....say 2-3" at 50 yds out of an AR ?

 

[Ian]

Dan, one of my 300 Blackouts will do 1.5" at 100 yards all day, any day, from a bargain-bin AR barrel and flexy polymer receiver. Had no trouble doing 4" at 200 yards with a coarse-crosshair 4x scope. My 5.56 will group subsonic PC 175-grain bullets (no gas check) into an inch at 50 all day long including the first shot flyer, and it doesn't matter if you shoot three or 20. At near full power settings, my .35 Remington 336 will shoot gas-checked soft PC bullets well enough to hunt with (read my thread on getting the Red Deer between the eyes). I'll see what I can dig up. Editing and posting pics is clumsy and time consuming for this Luddite so I don't do it much.

 

[quicksylver]

Dan, one of my 300 Blackouts will do 1.5" at 100 yards all day, any day, from a bargain-bin AR barrel and flexy polymer receiver. Had no trouble doing 4" at 200 yards with a coarse-crosshair 4x scope. My 5.56 will group subsonic PC 175-grain bullets (no gas check) into an inch at 50 all day long including the first shot flyer, and it doesn't matter if you shoot three or 20. At near full power settings, my .35 Remington 336 will shoot gas-checked soft PC bullets well enough to hunt with (read my thread on getting the Red Deer between the eyes). I'll see what I can dig up. Editing and posting pics is clumsy and time consuming for this Luddite so I don't do it much.[/QUOT

WOW!!!!.....now you have my attention...and posting pictures would go along way in validating the use of PC...for us old know it alls anyways......thanks Ian

BTW my ancient AR ( 20 + years) used to do 1/2" at 100 with jacketed ..now I am having trouble keeping 3/4"....I guess it's that I just see so many blasters happy with garabage can cover groups at 50 yds that it's hard to interpret what "works good" means any more....thanks again...Dan

 

[Ian]

Dan, first post here has a target I shot with my NV scope during the day, the reticle is absurdly coarse and the same rifle and load with a 4x scope do much better. http://www.artfulbullet.com/index.php?threads/it-shouldnt-work-but-it-does.1311/

Here's the thread with the .35 using "green" bullets that were 9 bhn at the time, and me having a terrible time controlling the rifle. One group was shot from kneeling. Since then I've managed a few groups that were better at 50 but just can't seem to get a proper hold to manage the follow-through. http://www.artfulbullet.com/index.php?threads/35-remington-and-powder-coated-bullets.1936/

 

[quicksylver]

Hey ..Thanks ..good reading I will digest it more after work....

 

[Brad]

I have shot very few PCd bunkers but have shot a few K coated with Hi-Tek. I like the ease and speed of application. The lack of lube also leaves the gun far cleaner. Until you compare a coated bullet to a traditional lubed one you don't realize how much junk the lube leaves behind. It is really obvious in a fun like a 1911.

That said, it is all about what fits your needs and likes. No right answer.

 

[Ian]

"Clean" in most instances isn't as important to me as some, but it is a bonus sometimes. The various resin coatings have their place, but I maintain they will never fully replace the normal lubricated cast bullet, nor should they. I'm not convinced that grouping in general of coated bullets will ever equal that of well-made lubricated bullets, but in a few instances it may. Usually "accuracy" isn't the primary motivating factor in my decisions to coat, unless I'm pushing soft bullets hard and then the PC really helps groups. Paper jackets are great too, but don't work for everything.

 

[Pistolero]

I want to see some of those 175 gr 5.56 bullets, Ian. Should be about 2.5" long, I estimate, and take
a 1:3 twist.

I should have known that the greenies were for zombies. Actually, I need to test those coated ones
you sent with my can in .300BLK, have not had time. I can see that this would be a really good application
for the paints, esp those cans that cannot be disassembled for cleaning. As to clean guns...always seemed
overrated to me, but then my standards were set when I was shooting 5-15K rds per year through 1911s and
cleaned them religiously every 6 months, or so. Couple drops of Break Free before each match and let them
run. Dead reliable.

Gutting and rebuilding the shower and uncrating, installing, wiring, testing, breaking in and getting tooling set up
for my new lathe has been taking up all my time lately. Shower is about 2/3 done at this point. Tedious, mostly
because I insist on doing it too well, but it will be really nice when completed.

Bill

 

[Ian]

Bill, I'll show you my 175-grain .22 mould if you'll show me the 1911 you've been shooting for over 30 decades..

OK OK, it's the ACE 75-grain .224 bullet, my fingers got happy. It's a good bullet, wish it was still made.

When you get time, shoot those BLK bullets, I bet you'll be impressed, and they are indeed worry-free as far as lead fouling goes.

 

[Pistolero]

I assumed that they both inhabited the same portion of fictional space....known as human error.

ACE mold or is it a commercial cast?

Bill

 

[Brad]

ACE mould I bet.

Typos? Sure glad I never suffer from those......

 

[waco]

I still have to burn through a couple one pound cans before I bust open my 8lb jug, so I'm not sure about mine.

 

[longhunter]

Was at a gun show here on Friday. 1# Unique was $22.00 and a 8# was $145.00.
most of the 1# jugs were $22.00 A big jump down for around here. $30.00 has been the norm!