Tight Group in 9mm

[mtgrs737]

I have been loading 3.9 Grains of Tightgroup under a coated Saeco 372 125gr. round nose cast boolet. It seems to shoot fine but I really don't have much supporting data that I can find in load books. My browser does not support the powder company websight anymore is appears. So I guess I am just looking for conformation that I have a safe load with this powder in 9mm. If the look of the primers are any indication of pressure then they look safe enough.

Anyone else on the Tightgroup band wagon?

[Soundguy]

I shoot titegroup in most of my handguns..including 9mm and 380. Not near my books but I can check loads. I shoot mostly cast lead.

[Half Dog]

284548

This is about the closest I see.

[Soundguy]

Well..3.9 will be hot. 125 is heavier than 120..thus more pressure at same load. I think I might go 3-3.6 start-max

[slughammer]

What OAL and what does your chrono say?

The OAL on the Lyman data is quite short

This data is from the Hodgdon Reloading Center.

https://i.imgur.com/t7AEAbt.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/3qPGSHz.jpg

[mtgrs737]

OK fellas, this is what I am loading to: 1.140" OAL with a Rem SPP and the 3.9grs. of tightgroup. Boolet diameter is .356" fully coated with smokes gloss black. My loads drop in to a chamber checker that checks for overall length also and the rounds slide out just by inverting them. Fired brass with this load don't seem to be excessive pressure looking at the fired primers. These loads have cycled everything I have tried them in including an AR-9. My biggest concern is that with this powder a double charge is possible due to the density being high. Two charges can fit into a 9mm case and still seat a boolet. I like this powder because it meters so consistently and it only takes a light charge weight so I can get a lot out of a pound of powder. The Saeco 372 design is about the closest design in a cast boolet to the standard shape 124 gr. j-word bullet I can find. The long nose when loaded to this OAL looks very much like a factory ball round. So far I have not found any boolit that feeds like this one in the 9mm guns I have tried them in. On the Tightgroup container it lists a Gold Dot 115 gr. loading of 4.8grs. but I know that is a jacketed 115gr. load and not a coated 125gr. loading. Thanks to all of you that replied, I will have to do some more testing and maybe back off the charge weight a bit if I see primers that give me cause to.

[Soundguy]

3.9 is max for a 120gr bullet..at 125..you are over max

[poppy42]

284572

Mtgrs737,
Don’t know if ya can read it, but the Lee 2nd Addition lists : 125 grain lead bullet Over 3.6 to 4.0 grains of titegroup. Send me a PM if you want me to email or text you a better photo of the page. Hope this helps

[Froogal]

I have been loading 3.9 Grains of Tightgroup under a coated Saeco 372 125gr. round nose cast boolet. It seems to shoot fine but I really don't have much supporting data that I can find in load books. My browser does not support the powder company websight anymore is appears. So I guess I am just looking for conformation that I have a safe load with this powder in 9mm. If the look of the primers are any indication of pressure then they look safe enough.

Anyone else on the Tightgroup band wagon?

I use 4 grains of Tightgroup with a 115 grain projectile. Information found in the LEE second edition reloading manual.

[Soundguy]

Lee... The source , sourced, from other sources.... I may reference lee..but seldom use their data... Lyman and hodgdon are who I trust... Hornady too..if their bullet...speer...etc.

[phidelt208]

Titegroup is a great powder for 9mm, and in fact, one of the most commonly used powders to reload 9mm.
The standard rule of thumb is to start under the load data you have and work your way up.
There is a TON of load data and photos out of reloading manuals online confirm there and work up.

[slughammer]

3.9 is max for a 120gr bullet..at 125..you are over maxOAL in 9mm makes a huge pressure difference. Check out his OAL and look at the OAL in the Hodgdon data compared to the Lyman data.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[mtgrs737]

Just some more info for you guys to chew on:

Here are some boolit measurements that might be useful:
I am sizing to .356" so that the loaded rounds drop into the chamber checker easily and should chamber in a number of different guns.
OAL of this boolit+ .618"
Shank or full driving band length + .265"
Boolit nose length= .353"
Length of boolit extending from case= .395"
Amount of boolit full diameter shank in case= .223"
I checked the actual weight of this boolit and it averages 122.4 grs. ready to load.

As you can see this boolit does not take up a lot of case capacity and it is a BB style boolit also. This load feeds very well and does not show pressure signs by primer flattening standards which I can say is not the last word in pressure checking but all I have. I don't know if the Remington small pistol primers are lower power primers as compared to Winchester or CCI primers as I have not tried those yet. This boolit design loads well with the BB it enters the case without shaving the PC. Concentricity of the loaded round appears to be good according to my "roll on the bench top" method.

Presently I am not lubing this boolit and am shooting them "dry" what do you guys do? Lube or not?

[BamaNapper]

My normal 9mm load is 3.8gr TG and a Lee 125gr round nose. I PC with smokes powder then size to .356. I believe OAL is 1.125. I've shot several thousand of this load out of a number of different guns with no problem. The load is not 'hot' in my opinion, and others have told me they can't tell it from what they buy over the counter. It's been years since I shot a factory 9mm so I couldn't tell you how it compares. Accuracy is better than my skills.

[poppy42]

Lee... The source , sourced, from other sources.... I may reference lee..but seldom use their data... Lyman and hodgdon are who I trust... Hornady too..if their bullet...speer...etc.

Although I do cross reference data, when I do use/have tightgroup, I’ve used 3.9 grns of tightgroup under my Lee 124 and 125 grain em and tc boolets for years without a problem. The Lee manual is Generic load data comprised of data from many different reloading manuals! If I can’t find data for A specific boolet the Lee manual is the first place I look. A 125 grn lrn boolet is a 125 grn lrn boolet. It doesn’t really matter who made the mold your casting your boolets from. Especially for pistol boolets. My rifle rounds, I’m more Specific as to who made the mold, boolet profile etc. etc. etc. Even with rifle ammo if you start low and work your way up, don’t exceed the Max load data. I’ve never heard of someone having a problem with data from the Lee manual Oh and if the photo of the 9mm data page is clear enough ( I had trouble posting the photo with my phone) you will see that win231 is highlighted, not tightgroup. I prefer to use when 231 especially if I’m trying to load a light round. I’ve noticed that light loads of tight group ( less than full case) tend to be dirty/Smokey. But that’s just my opinion.

[Kylongrifle32]

I have been using 3.5 grains of Titegroup for all my 9mm's with120 to 125 grains bullets

[Conditor22]

LYMAN CB #4 125 grn HP titegroup 3.7-1027 fps to 4.1 - 1144 fps

[gpidaho]

mtgrs737: Your load seems to be working just fine for you and seems to me to be a top end load but not excessive. Don't seat that load to a deeper COL if you come across a short throated 9mm. Lots of them out there. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Gp Edit. I'm going to add this one more thought. In several tests it has been shown that powder coated bullets will cause slightly lower pressure in a given load than those that are conventionally lubed because of the slick coating. Just another thing to factor in in your load development.

[Hick]

3,9 grains TG with 125 grain cast-- my standard load in three different 9mm's

[derek45]

I have shot several thousand 125gr 9mm's at 3.8gr TG

download firefox, or Brave browser so you can see this...

https://i.imgur.com/1GvcJJ2.jpg

[mtgrs737]

All right guys, you all have set my mind at ease and I will test fire a few tomorrow and then if they look good, I will drive on for a thousand or so. Thanks to all whom posted here I really appreciate your efforts, this is a really great place!

Thanks to all!

Mtgrs737