Hodgdon Titegroup and .38 Special Cast Bullets....Bad Combination ???

[Southern Shooter]

I am casting Plain-base, 158 grain, .38 Special SWC. I have been using Unique and Bullseye. But, with the rush on supplies the only powder that has been available in my local stores has been Titegroup. And, it had a recipe on it that looked promising. So, I bought a pound of it.

158 GR. CAST LSWC Hodgdon Titegroup .358" 1.475" 3.2 815 11,500 CUP 3.8 920 15,400 CUP
Perhaps, I should have done a little reading, first. There are not the most positive comments made of this powder on the various forums I have browsed. On the issue of narrow loading range, 3.2-3.8 grains, I am not concerned. I hand weigh each powder charge and am not worried about going over or double-charging. For the record, I am planning to load in the middle at about 3.5 grains.

I am concerned about the heat issue and the melting of a plain-based cast bullet that I have read about.

QUESTION: Are these truly issue to be worried about? Is this really happening? Would ya'll experienced folks educate me on Titegroup in the .38 Special with cast bullets?

Thanks

[DrCaveman]

I have tried titegroup in my 45 acp behind cast boolits. While I chose another load for my 'keeper', there was nothing wrong with the TG load. No lead deposits, certainly no melting that I was aware of.

I have a friend who swears by 4.8 gr TG behind a 200 gr cast swc in 45. He loads it up for sheriffs and cops for competition.

I know I haven't answered the question directly, but same rules pretty much apply. If your fit is good, and the pressure is normal, you will be fine.

Load, shoot.

[No_1]

I have to agree. I bought a jug of TG when I could not find any Bullseye and have used it for 45 ACP as well as 38 Special. No problems to speak of.

[Wells]

I use tg in 38,9,45 for the last 2 years a round 5000 rds. A summer no problems.
Wells

[DirtyChris]

I've shot many thousands of 38spl with Titegroup and never had any problems. I load on the low side of the published data with both 125 and 158gr bullets. No melting or leading that I've seen.

[captaint]

I have loaded & shot a couple thousand 45ACP's with Titegroup. I have no negative comments. And some of the loads were VERY accurate. Mike

[ShooterAZ]

Titegroup + 38 Special + Cast = Excellent Results. I use it almost exclusively.

[Bwana]

Titegroup is my go to powder for target/competition loads in 380, 9mm, 38, 40,10mm,45acp. Many, many thousands of rounds. You are right about the Titegroup naysayers, there is one on this site that bad mouths it every chance he gets. He also posts on glocktalk.

[waco]

Its my go to powder in the .38

[cylinderman]

Titegroup is good in 38 spl, I think its just matter of preference. I use mostly Bullseye second Red Dot if have neither then use TG, have found no real difference in performance. I do notice with hotter loads I do get more leading in the throat, but I'm sure there are other related things. Light loads it works great

[march41]

It will work great in 3.5gr area.I load 148hbwc at 3.2 clean shooting.accurate.

[chutestrate]

Good powder. I wouldn't suggest it for 44 mag, personally. I blew up my 629 with it, but I use it a lot for 45, 38, 9mm, etc.

[rond]

I use Titegroup in a lot of different handgun calibers with very good results. I don't use it in magnums, there are better powders for them.

[.22-10-45]

Tightgroup has prooved to be the most accurate powder I have worked with in pistol calibers from .32WCF. thru .45 long colt. All loads were with plain-base Ideal/Lyman bullets cast fairly soft from range scrap & 50-50 solder..no leading problems with this stuff.

[eck0313]

3.5 grains HTG behind a 158 grain lead bullets is a favorite for Distinguished Revolver (DR) competition. You can drop a few tenths of a grain if you don't need 50 yd accuracy.

[David2011]

TG does have a fairly narrow range. With over 70,000 rounds of cast boolits pushed by TG I've never seen anything that made me think the boolit bases were melting. Very little lead has ever been left in the barrel. TG will meter just fine. Glad you have the patience to weigh each charge but if you have a powder measure you might see just how closely it will throw charges to your desired weight. Every one of the 70,000+ rounds was loaded on Dillon progressive presses using Dillon powder measures. The loads never have failed to meet the minimum power factor at a match and they were all thrown by a measure.

David

[HiVelocity]

I, too, use lots of Titegroup. I load it in 38 Special, 45 ACP, and 45 Long Colt. Haven't tried it on anything else, yet. But, the more I read on this website, the better informed I am, and will try what others have tried within reason.

[It wasn't long ago when we thought it was crazy to load pistol and rifle calibers with shotgun powders] I'm sure many more variations will surface over the next several years. Thanks for all the information folks!

HV

[45-70 Chevroner]

As for the melting of the base of the boolit, that does not happen. The time a boolit spends in the barrel of a pistol or rifle is like a millisecond. I have heard this many times over the years and have tested it many times, by recovering pistol boolits and rifle boolits and have never found that the base of the boolit showed any amount of melting. I know of others that have tested this also and thay have come up with the same answer. Good question though, and looks like you got some good answers.

[mongoosesnipe]

Titegroup is my primary pistol powder unless I am loading a magnum pistol load its loaded with titegroup its a fast powder like bullseye but I find that it burns much more completely than bullseye

[runfiverun]

melt smelt.
the only thing you have to worry about with titegroup powder is when squishing it into a smaller area at the top end of it's data.

[dhain]

I've never had any problems with it for 38 cast loads.

[Huskerguy]

I use TG in 38/357, 9mm, and 40 S&W. It is clean burning and accurate. As stated, it does have a narrow band but I load to the lower end with excellent results. I have tried other powders and keep coming back to TG because it meters so well and is accurate in anything I use it in. I have heard people say that with lead it burns hot and that causes the lube to smoke. I have no idea if that is true. My range has a great vent system so I do not notice it. I just picked up another pound today I came across - price was good, $17.95.

[Southern Shooter]

Well, thank you all for your input. I feel much better about the purchase of Titegroup. As a matter of fact, I went back and bought the last 1 pound bottle within 70 miles of any direction. I am looking forward to working with it.

I have been using my Lee Breech Lock Challenger single stage press. I enjoy the slow process. It helps me focus on what I am doing and see how EACH step works and its results. And, it is relaxing.

I do have a Lee Progressive 1000 Press. I am going to pull it out and see how well Titegroup will meter from it.

Thanks again !!

[Tbird]

I load tg 357--380-9mm-45acp..accurate and no leading..good all around powder for me..my 2 cents

[bobthenailer]

I have used TG since it came out to replace Bullseye that i had used for over 20 years , so far ive burt up at least 16lbs of TG . I plan to buy more 8 lb jugs when my supply starts to get low !
Excellent accuracy and cleaner burning than BE in every senario ! 454 casull, 45 lc , 45 acp , 44 mag , 357 mag , 38 special , 38 super , 9mm, and 380 . for loads from 750 to 1,100 fps.
In most senarios i use the same powder charge of TG as i did BE to acheve the simular accuracy & velocity.

[jlchucker]

I use TG in 38 special cases following the data printed on the label of the manufacturer's container. 3.8 grains for a 158 gr SWC boolit. Accurate, and pleasant to shoot. This same data is printed in other loading manuals for the same boolit. If the velocities shown in the various books are to be believed, they put that boolit at some plus-P velocities. For shooting it out with an intruder breaking into your kitchen door, I would think that this loading would probably make said intruder at least say "ouch", and would most likely save some liberal-minded judge from giving said intruder a short sentence followed by an early release. The judge could then focus on giving you, as an evil homeowner protecting himself, a long, stiff sentence at hard labor. The load I mentioned is accurate and pleasant in terms of recoil. for 38 special plinking loads, it's all I've ever tried, for my revolvers as well as my Rossi levergun. On the positive side, a can of Titegroup for use in 38 special loads not only will shoot well, but at 3.8 grains a pop will last you a long time.

[geargnasher]

I am casting Plain-base, 158 grain, .38 Special SWC. I have been using Unique and Bullseye. But, with the rush on supplies the only powder that has been available in my local stores has been Titegroup. And, it had a recipe on it that looked promising. So, I bought a pound of it.

Perhaps, I should have done a little reading, first. There are not the most positive comments made of this powder on the various forums I have browsed. On the issue of narrow loading range, 3.2-3.8 grains, I am not concerned. I hand weigh each powder charge and am not worried about going over or double-charging. For the record, I am planning to load in the middle at about 3.5 grains.

I am concerned about the heat issue and the melting of a plain-based cast bullet that I have read about.

QUESTION: Are these truly issue to be worried about? Is this really happening? Would ya'll experienced folks educate me on Titegroup in the .38 Special with cast bullets?

Thanks


Anybody who thinks gunpowder melts the boolit bases needs to be put on your ignore list. Titegroup is perfect for mild-moderate .38 Special, I think you'll like it better than Bullseye if that nasty grey BE haze bothers you.

Where people get into trouble is loading near or at the top end with something like .40 S&W and then decide to seat the boolit a few thousandths deeper or something like that without dropping back the charge. Or work up a hot load in one gun that's safe, and use the ammo in a different gun with a tighter throat. Not good in tiny cases like the .40 or 9mm. Titegroup gets real spikey when you coop a lot of it up in a small space.

Gear

[Jammersix]

It's my favorite powder.

The only issue I've ever seen comes from Precision Bullets. (www.precisionbullets.com (http://www.precisionbullets.com)) In their FAQ section, there are two powders they recommend against, without explanation: Titegroup and N-310. They then also have a cryptic note that says "if you are having fouling problems, try a slower powder."

When I loaded Precision over Titegroup (and N-310, but that's another story) I not only had massive fouling, I had no accuracy. Since Titegroup and N-310 are both extremely fast, hot powders, I concluded it was a heat problem, with the coating on Precision Bullets. So I don't know about melting the base of the bullet, but I'm quite convinced that hot powders will melt the proprietary coating of Precision Bullets.

So I switched bullets. Now I use the high(er) end Hornady jacketed bullets. Problem solved. :)

[Mal Paso]

5.5g of Titegroup behind a 250g Keith does about 840fps from a 4" Redhawk for when you want to relax. Works fine in a Magnum case. 5gr of clays makes about 740fps.........Yawn........Time for a nap......