Universal Clays in 9mm-40 S&W Chuckdog?

[RamRoddoc]

As it pertains to .45 ACP:

I like Universal Clays. It meters well, burns clean, works in a relatively wide range of applications, very importantly for me, it gives good case fill, most importantly, it yields some mighty impressive accuracy. I haven't used the Rainer bullets, but I believe I use about 6 grains with 200 grain cast and XTP's.

Hey Chuckdog, have you used Universal Clays in 9mm-.40 S&W Glocks. I have some function issues with the faster burning powders and my Glocks. Some are rather odd, I shoot a full magazine and nothing but my Dad shoots the same load and nearly becomes a single shot pistol. Changed ammo to a slower burning powder with nearly the same ballistics and the problem resolves. It is worst with the 9mm. I told him he was limp wristing it and he tightened his grip (a lot) but it didn't really resolve. The research I did seemed to correlate to the pressure spike/peak incurred with the faster powders. Any thoughts or recommendations?

 

[ngcsugrad09]

Works just fine in 9mm. I've shot I don't know how many thousands of rounds with Universal and assorted bullets. It's a good powder that fills the case, is clean and is pretty accurate.

 

[Chuckdog]

Yea, I've had very good results with Universal in both the 9 & 40 S&W. I usually load 160-180 grain bullets combined with Universal in the 40 S&W. It gives some great accuracy and has been 100% reliable in two Glock 22, one 27, and a CZ 75. Longshot and Accurate #7 will deliver more velocity, but Universal is a very good mid range powder for the 40. The 9mm has been about the same, Universal will deliver a wide range of velocity while being very reliable in defensive weapons that are setup to run with higher performance loads. I keep HP38/W231 on hand, I also keep Accurate #5, #7, and Longshot around to use in some apps, but I buy and use more Universal than all the others combined now. Much like Unique, it does well in a lot of different applications. It just does it better. It meters much better, and it burns a lot cleaner. No more "Unique Freckles" after shooting.

 

[Clarke123]

Lots of chatter about on the importace of making a good strong crimp when using Universal ... especially with light loads.
Comments?

BTW: I agree with the comments about Unique ... Love the powder, hate the metering and combustion residue!
Bullseye has the same metering challenge and is even less forgiving if you accidently meter on the heavy side !!!
Hence, loads with powders that tend to fill the case are much less apt to get over / under charged

 

[Chuckdog]

I haven't had any issues with Universal requiring any more crimp than any other powders in autoloading cartridges. I usually apply just enough crimp to remove the case mouth expansion and straighten the case back out. I use my usual roll crimp on my 38 special and 45 Colt rounds. It works for me.

 

[RamRoddoc]

Thanks for everyone's input,

I'll be trying this powder this summer.

 

[rbstern]

Regarding the crimp: For slower pistol or shotgun powders, particularly with lighter charges and/or lighter bullets, a tighter crimp can help get the pressure up a bit earlier, and sometimes makes a difference between steady and eratic performance. I've experienced that problem with a few different powders in the same burn range as Universal Clays. If you notice uneven recoil, or see wide variances in velocity over a chronograph, and you are shooting a slower burning powder, lighter bullets, light charges, or some combination of those factors, a little bit more crimp can help improve the consistency of performance. It can be an easy fix when you've wandered off the beaten path from proven loads.

 

[Clarke123]

There is some confusion in my mind concerning “Universal” and “Universal Clays”, and then there is ”Clays”)
And apparently I’m not alone:
http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/archive/index.php/t-173761.html
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/index.php?topic=37877.0
http://thefiringline.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-440625.html
http://www.missouribullet.com/range_reports.php

So, given the above, I assume that it’s “Universal” that everyone recommends?

 

[ngcsugrad09]

There are three variants:
Clays
International Clays
Universal Clays

I was referring to Universal Clays. Regular Clays is an entirely different animal.

 

[Chuckdog]

If it doesn't have "Universal" written on it, it ain't Universal. "Clays" is a family of powders introduced a few years back. Even though it is Universal Clays, I don't even mention Clays when I ask for it or talk about it. "Clays" ain't near as versatile as Universal, and it's a flake powder that doesn't meter nearly as well either.