Concerns with Titegroup

[tranders]

On some other forums I frequent there seems to be a lot of concern with reloaders using Titegroup due to the possibility of over charging and high Nitro content. Titegroup is a low volume powder,but so are numerous others(Bullseye,HP-38,etc). I don't understand all the warnings about TG when there are other powders that have the same characteristics.

Is there something about TG that I should know?

I've been loading it in 38Special,9mm,and 45acp with no problems other than sooty cases.I like how it meters in my Uniflow and a pound goes a long ways.

Thanks!

[HeavyHev]

You are fine. There are just a bunch of super forum ninja nerds who attempt to gain cred through "I once saw" or "my buddy said" stories. I doubt there is a post where someone said THEY double charged a cartridge and THEY blew up their gun with provided photos. Titegroup is an excellent powder that serves its purpose exceptionally well. It is not position sensitive so even the smallest of charges will be able to burn more consistently than other powders. I use it for all my minor loads in which I am attempting to find the absolute floor in which my gun will reliably cycle. 10/10 recommend Titegroup to all reloaders who are not clinically retarded.

[Outpost75]

network lag time dupe deleted

[Outpost75]

Agree. I have used Bullseye for 50 years for pistol and revolver as well as reduced rifle loads.

I find TiteGroup a viable replacement for Bullseye in the same applications and would have no hesitation in buying and using it.

[trails4u]

Just loaded about 300 rds. of .40 with it this morning for plinking with the kid this weekend.... We burn it up, mostly in .40, and I've never had an issue with it. (Other than remarkably easy to clean guns, if you're offended by that!). I really like it and 231 for the semis....charge rates are different, obviously, but I use whichever I have very happily!

[tazman]

I have loaded lots of 38 special, 9mm, and 40S&W with Titegroup. I had no issues with it at all.
Like any other powder, you need to watch your load technique so no mistakes are made. A double charge is not the fault of the powder.
Follow the book/manual loads and you will be fine.

[Love Life]

Titegroup is good stuff. Mouthbreathers who are afraid of their own shadows, to lazy to do a proper load work up, and lack reading comprehension all agree that Titegroup powder is bad for your health and will put the moves on your wife while you are not home.

[montanamike]

Titegroup is great powder. I mainly use it for 44mag. Loaded thousands and have never had a problem.

[rsrocket1]

Here's a double charge (8.4g) Titegroup and a double charge (12g) Unique in a 40 S&W case. If you look into each case as you load, you can easily spot a double charge in a 9/40/45 case. The only case I've ever double charged was because I was making adjustments to the press while loading and caught it.

[runfiverun]

set a 9-40-45 boolit back on top of it and you'll see/feel/regret, knowing the difference.
titegroup does not like tight spaces.
it does work well in the wide open spaces of rifles cases and the like though.

[RogerDat]

There is something to be said for powders that provide clear visual indication of over/under charge. Might make it easier to see unsafe condition. Also means you are using more powder, in the example picture above I believe the picture is showing that 4.2 grain of titegoup vs. 6 grains of unique are the normal load. So three loads of unique is more powder than 4 loads of titegroup. Those free rounds add up.

New reloaders might be better off with the unique. Nothing like spotting an over/under load to drill into the brain that you can screw up and need to remain vigilant.

Reports and experiments posted here indicate that over fairly modest amount of time titegroup sitting against powdercoat on bullets will soften the PC on the base enough to have grains stick to it. I store my titegroup & pc loads bullet up but it might be something to consider for anyone that loads in big batches and stores loose in containers. Might have less shelf life for titegroup and pc'd bullets.

[Dale53]

A number of years ago, I was at the NRA Convention and asked Hodgdon's technicians what their preference was for the .45 ACP. They immediately came back "Titegroup". I was low on pistol powders and bought an 8 lb. caddy. I have over half of that one gone and it has worked extremely well with .45 ACP target loads.

One place it ought to be EXTEMELY good, is target loads in large capacity cases (the .45 Colt springs immediately to mind). It's lack of position sensitivity makes it THE choice for me with those kinds of loads as well as general run of the mill target loads in .32's, .38's, 44's and .45's.

There are certainly other good choices for run of the mill target applications. I have had excellent results with a variety of fast burning powders for this purpose, too.

Having sold off nearly all of my long guns after my vision problems, I swapped out some rifle powders for pistol powders and doubt that I will be in the market for new powders for a long time. And that is a GOOD thing.

Keep on shooting!
Dale53

[LakeviewBulldog]

I agree, Titegroup is a great pistol powder. Case overflow should not be your first or last line of defense against a double charge.

[fatelvis]

I just started using Titegroup, and I must admit, I am leery about the possibility of a double charge while loading on my 550. To ease my mind, I quickly weigh each completed cartridge on my D-Terminator scale, and pull anything that varies by one grain. Using Hornady 110 XTP's and Starline brass in 38spl, the weights usually vary no more than +/- .7 grain.

[runfiverun]

for target and cowboy loads in the 41-44-45 cases titegroup is the first powder I reach for.
it burns super clean and is consistent over the chrono-graph no matter which way it lies in the case.
I avoid it in the 9mm.

[HeavyHev]

How much of the sticking to bullet bases is just static. Is the powder coat any softer or brittle than before? Titegroup is notoriously static and anyone using it in a hopper dispenser will agree. Another explaination is the powder sticking to the oils on the projectile from handling. I've had loaded cartridges of PC bullets and Titegroup that are over a year old and I noticed no leading or performance deterioration after running a couple hundred out of my gun. I call shenanigans on Titegroup eating at powder coat.

[P Flados]

The 8# jug of Titegroup I bought last October is my most recent powder acquisition.

I wanted better metering and cleaner burning than Promo (Red Dot equivalent) for my very small charge loads. These were 327 target loads and reduced recoil 38 loads.

The selling points included:

- Fine grained for good metering
- Low cost (low cost per pound, low charge needed per load)
- The "not position sensitive" claim by Hodgdon
- The ability get pretty good velocities when pushed (think 80% of max 357 and 44 loads)
- Reports of being popular with some of the high volume shooter crowds such as CAS.

Now that I have used it for a while, I found that it was a good choice. I feel it does as "good as any" and/or "better than most" in the areas listed above.

However, there are two items of note that I did not expect.

The powder does affect some plastics. When I left it in my RCBS powder measure for a while it started sticking to the clear green plastic. At first I though it was just static, but when I went to switch powders, I had to scrape it off the inside. Then the next powder I used (WW 296) also stuck to the affected surfaces and had to be scraped off. I changed my practices and no longer leave the Tightgroup in the measure any longer than needed for the batch I am working on. Now everything is back to normal when I use other powders (no sticking). Note that it does not seem to attack all plastics. It worked fine to store some in a small working container made of a plastic similar to a coke bottle.

Then there is the the position sensitivity claim. From the Hodgdon web site:

- Unlike pistol powders of the past, powder position in large cases (45 Colt, 357 Magnum and others) has virtually no effect on velocity and performance

After working with Tightgoup for several months I was pretty happy with some low power Tightgroup loads that were performing as good as Promo. I was happy with the reduced powder residue and the good metering. Then I made the long drive to a range where I could use my chrony. I found a lot more of the dreaded "excessive velocity variations" with Tightgoup than I had hoped for. In fact, when compared side by side with Promo they were both about the same.

First lets talk 327. I made my own mold for 55 gr 32 cal boolits for volume shooting in my 4" SP101 327. I new that the long skinny case would result in very low powder density for my target loads.

My actual Tightgroup results were

Charge.......Avg Vel
3.1............636............Barrel Tipped Down
3.1............926............Barrel Tipped Up
3.7............745............Barrel Tipped Down
3.7............1164...........Barrel Tipped Up
5.0............1040...........Barrel Tipped Down
5.0............1406...........Barrel Tipped Up
5.5............1345...........Barrel Tipped Down
5.5............1543...........Barrel Tipped Up

Now for the 38s. these were low recoil 110 gr Cast RN 38 SP's I had loaded for my wife to use in her LCRx.

Charge...Powder.....Vel........................... ............Increase
2.5........T.G. ........550........Barrel Tipped Down
2.5........T.G. ........683........Barrel Tipped Up........24%
2.8........Promo......519........Barrel Tipped Down
2.8........Promo......636........Barrel Tipped Up........23%

I plan on continued use of Tightgroup and actually like it a lot.

- I can work around the "plastic attack" issue. I won't leave it in the powder measure. Also, it is not an issue for my ammo as a while back I started doing "bare base" coatings when I use my ASBB HF Red PC coatings.

- I still consider it OK for position sensitivity. However, I take issue with the wording of the vendor claim. It may be better than some, but it is not "virtually no effect".

[tranders]

Thank you for that detailed and informative post. Interesting with the velocity differences.

[35remington]

Loading long skinny or fat cases with small charges is always problematic in terms of velocity variation. If 32 long speeds are wanted better to use a 32 long.

[flyingmonkey35]

+ 1 for me on tightgroup. Its been my go to powder for years now.

I load what its says on bottle love em.
9mm 45acp 45 colt 38 spec 357mag.

And reduced .223


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