See something familiar?


bluedefender

New member
I noticed that my Hercules Unique and my Orange Dot gun powder has the same logo. Yes, my Unique powder is a little old but does anyone know if they are one in the same?
 

Uhhh, that's a bottle of BULLSEYE on the right, not Orange Dot.

And, No, they are NOT the same. They are both made by the same company (Alliant and Hercules both got bought out years ago) so that's where the similarity in packing comes from. Both are very old and very versatile powders but they are NOT any place close to being interchangeable. Bullseye is the fastest burning powder on the market. Unique is far slower burning.
 
check for yourself but i notice in all data with same weight bullet charge weights are different, some as much as full grain. i seem to think unique burns a little faster than bullseye. sometimes u find an older powder, with the same charge weight as a newer powder, i seen this yrs ago with win action pistol and ramshot sillouett excuse my spelling, but every load in every caliber with every bullet weight was he same. I scored a dozen new 1lb cans of the win action pi for a great deal. found out it was a popular powder for race guns back in the 80s or so. .A represenative from ramshot told me in a email that it was one and the same, they bought powder surplus from winchester when winchester droped some of thier powders years ago. I read one time all the powders we use starts out as military surplus, after a war such as ww2 , vietnam etc.. they sell off surplus to other companys. this is how hodgegon started in bussiness. Then these companys test the burning rates in labs and record data. they buy these powders by the tons. i reload my ARs with milatary surplus i bought in 7lb cans from hitechammo couple yrs ago and its similar to reloader 15 and others, they tell you this on the site. difference is they use the milatary name which is in numbers and letters. hey explain that u should reduce load then work your way up till you get the recipe, i found its close to what they compare it too. So far its always rifle powder, for say 223, 308 and 50cal. never was able t find handgun powder like that yet. i havent bought from them in a while i remember they were based out of St.Louis, hope there still in bussiness , although i seen other companys doing it also lately like widners i believe.
 
From the Hodgdon burn rate chart:

Bullseye #13
Unique #31
VihtaVuori 3N37 #45

Unique is a much slower burning powder than Bullseye. It's not orange dot, there is no orange dot powder. Bullseye should be used on lighter bullet weights. To answer your question, the can of Unique you have is still the same formulation, but is now owned by Alliant.

Link Removed

Hercules is owned by Now Alliant. You can use the Hercules powder if it doesn't have an acrid acid smell to it. Smokeless powder will last for many years if stored properly. I have been reloading for over 40 years now. I still have a partial can of Hercules Unique, and it is still good. Use only current load data.

All powders did not start from military surplus. There are a few rifle powder that did though.
 
Alliant bought Hercules powder, so the Hercules logo stayed.
The powders, of course, are totally different.
 
I beg to differ. Unique is still the same Unique it always has been. However, Unique has has made a change to be cleaner burning, but the pressure, load amounts and velocity is still the same. Anyone can write Alliant and verify this for themselves. If they were to have an otherwise different powder, they would be obligated the change the name.

Alliant bought Hercules powder, so the Hercules logo stayed.
The powders, of course, are totally different.
 
Umm, I meant that Unique and Bullseye, as mentioned, are totally different powders. Guess I wasn't as clear as I though.
Unique is Unique. 231 is HP38. Bullseye is Bullseye. 540 is HS6. 296 is H110.
Powders have been changed slightly in burning rate and kept the name--AA2 is a good example. Not a BIG change, but a change.
 
I see what you meant now. Oh, yes, Unique and Bullseye are much different. I thought the OP was talking about the logo, not the powder.

Are you sure the burn rate has changed, or is it a different lot number you experienced? Liability should keep them from changing burn rates, and the possibility of a catastrophic accident. Variations do occur when lot numbers change, but to intentionally make a powder faster is another can of worms. I'm not trying to invent an argument, but I've been reloading for over 40 years.

Umm, I meant that Unique and Bullseye, as mentioned, are totally different powders. Guess I wasn't as clear as I though.
Unique is Unique. 231 is HP38. Bullseye is Bullseye. 540 is HS6. 296 is H110.
Powders have been changed slightly in burning rate and kept the name--AA2 is a good example. Not a BIG change, but a change.
 

New Threads

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
49,542
Messages
611,255
Members
74,961
Latest member
Shodan
Back
Top