On Titegroup

[buckshotshorty]

I know that Titegroup has its followers, but I've often read a good deal of negative also about the powder. Things like it burns too hot, easily double charged seem to be what I hear most.

Because of the current scarcity of powder I found myself in the position of finding a good amount of Titegroup available to me, and so I made the purchase. I'm glad I did!

I have been reloading for over 40 years, and I can't even imagine how many canisters of Bullseye I've been through. Titegroup is now and will remain my "go to" powder replacing Bullseye. After all, it is Hodgdon's answer to Bullseye. They have about the same burn rate, both meter really well, and the only difference I see is that the TG peaks pressures a little quicker. Since I load light to moderate loads, that doesn't matter to me. As for double charges, it's just as easy to double charge a case with Bullseye. I also think the TG burns cleaner.
Your comments, criticism are welcome.

 

[OKFC05]

My main powder in 9mm and .40 for competition

 

[chuckster57]

It replaced HS6 as my favorite for my .38/357 and 9mm.

 

[bigmoose]

I love me some Titegroup. I use it in several calibers.

 

[bigwagon]

I've been using Titegroup for 45acp. I'd like to start using it for 38/357 to keep my supply situation simpler. Might have to try to find some to stock up (yeah, good luck, right?).

I load 4.9 grs under a 200 lswc for 45. Looks like this might also be a decent load for 357 with a 158 LWSC. That would make things really simple.

 

[M1A]

I've used Tightgroup for many years for .44 special and .45 colt. Liked it right off. I don't understand the double load argument at all. I have my Makers Mark after reloading, not during.

 

[ChiefStealth]

I got some TG last July. At the time, it was the only thing I could find that was suitable for 9mm & .45ACP. It works, just fine. I have no complaints with the powder. Like the OP, I load low to medium, so TG is very useful for what I load. I understand the issues that other people have mentioned. They haven't been issues with me. If ya pick up the freshly fired cases, they make great little hand warmers.

 

[fredj338]

I'll leave it for you. I wouldn't shoot TG if it were free, yes I dislike it that much. Burns too hot, too small a volume, does not play well with lead bullets, smokes like black powder.

 

[rwsmith]

I bought a couple of pounds...

I bought a couple of pounds and I'm not sorry. Like Bullseye and other very fast powders it is easy to double charge. Many people won't buy fast powders for that reason only. Take every step to prevent that. One thing is taking only 3 grain/load makes a pound go VERY far. It works, and works well. Final step for me it to use a flashlight to check the levels by eye. I'm going to get about 4600 rounds out of those two pounds.

 

[MyDads38]

I'll leave it for you. I wouldn't shoot TG if it were free, yes I dislike it that much. Burns too hot, too small a volume, does not play well with lead bullets, smokes like black powder.

Sorry you dislike it so much. Bullseye was my "go to" powder, until I couldn't find/get any. Bought Red Dot. Then found TiteGroup on a shelf and bought 3 lbs. Like it so much for 9mm & now 40 S&W, I bought an 8 lb. jug.

Smokes like black powder? Not with plated bullets in 9 & 40. Maybe with traditional lubed lead bullets, but I haven't tried it yet. Small volume? About the same as Bullseye. I've had good luck and consistent results, so I'll be glad to take what you leave.

 

[rockquarry]

I haven't used nearly as much Titegroup as I have Bullseye, but it seems to work about as well as Bullseye. I seldom shoot anything but cast bullets in handgun cartridges.

I've never noticed the "hot burning" nature of Titegroup, if there is such a thing.

 

[Thomas15]

In my powder cabinets, I have a lot of pistol powders. I understand that one individuals "a lot" is another individuals "very little" but in anyones book, regardless of how much you handload, I have a lot of powder.

OK, I use Titegroup as my main powder for 9mm, 38 spl and 45 acp. I load light target loads. I have enough Titegroup to load about 6-7 years worth of ammo. I have 16 pounds TG on back-order for 15 months. When those 16 pounds are ready to ship, I will find some place to store them.

Every powder has it's positives and it's negatives. The positives of Titegroup outweigh the negatives in my opinion. The hardcore fan's of AA#2 speak of Titegroup as if it were radioactive. In light of the fact that AA#2 has been AWOL for 2 years now makes me wonder just how much handloading the fans of #2 actually do.

Yesterday, I stopped in a LGS and there were a number of Pistol Powders waiting for me to buy. Bullseye was there at $26.00/pound, A 4 Pound TG was $82.00. Getting the TG was amost like getting a free pound and quite honestly TG works well for me so guess which powder came home with me?

 

[chief38]

Never had any problems with TG and in fact that is all I use in my .38 Special & .357 Magnum loads now and for the last 10 years. I was also a former Bullseye user.

 

[rh73]

Titegroup is my favorite 9 mm powder. It's soft shooting, meters great and is economical.

Titegroup burning hotter than other powders? I think that's a bit of an urban legend. Lots of people say it burns so much hotter than other powders but nobody ever puts a number to it.

 

[JBnTx]

If you check the load data on Hodgdon's website, they list titegroup for just about every handgun caliber. Even the big bore revolver calibers like the 44, 45 Colt, 454 and 480.

I use it in 9mm and 45acp, but I've always been leary of using it in large volume revolver cases.

It just doesn't look right, that little tiny bit of powder way down at the bottom of a 45 Colt case.

 

[SLT223]

I know that Titegroup has its followers, but I've often read a good deal of negative also about the powder. Things like it burns too hot, easily double charged seem to be what I hear most.

Because of the current scarcity of powder I found myself in the position of finding a good amount of Titegroup available to me, and so I made the purchase. I'm glad I did!

I have been reloading for over 40 years, and I can't even imagine how many canisters of Bullseye I've been through. Titegroup is now and will remain my "go to" powder replacing Bullseye. After all, it is Hodgdon's answer to Bullseye. They have about the same burn rate, both meter really well, and the only difference I see is that the TG peaks pressures a little quicker. Since I load light to moderate loads, that doesn't matter to me. As for double charges, it's just as easy to double charge a case with Bullseye. I also think the TG burns cleaner.
Your comments, criticism are welcome.

I have 7+ pounds of the stuff on hand and like it very much for 38 SPL in a 357 Magnum brass. I run a Dillon 650 with a powder alarm and watch the alarm bar every time I pull the handle, so the I'm not concerned with it's low charge weight. In fact, pretty much all of my loads in all calibers are low charge weight for case volume except when I use IMR 4227.

Most of the bullets I shoot are either plated, coated, or jacketed. I've never had a problem with Titegroup's combustion temperature. It's made accurate loads in every application I've used it thus far. I have not noticed any additional wear and tare on the guns. Maybe I just haven't shot enough of it?

I can see people's concern with low charge weight, but I'm really baffled when I see comments that vehemently oppose the use of Titegroup. Again, maybe I just haven't shot enough of it to see what it does to a gun? Is that even the issue?

 

[NJM15]

Tite group for 45 Colt

I recently found some and tried it in my C45 loads
good results, as they say a little goes a long way

 

[NJM15]

If you check the load data on Hodgdon's website, they list titegroup for just about every handgun caliber. Even the big bore revolver calibers like the 44, 45 Colt, 454 and 480.

I use it in 9mm and 45acp, but I've always been leary of using it in large volume revolver cases.

It just doesn't look right, that little tiny bit of powder way down at the bottom of a 45 Colt case.

I agree on it doesn't look like much
I often wonder if its enough to fire, but it
does, and very well at that

 

[Clovishound]

I started out using TG. I liked it well enough. I was loading 9mm and wanted to shoot lead bullets for economy. IME TG does not play well with cast. I got it to work with good accuracy, but slower powders generally have far less problems with leading than TG. I switched to Universal which ended up being the powder I prefer for 9mm cast and now .38, even after trying a number of different powders.

The only other issue I had with TG was the narrow band between start and max. I love the economy of TG, as well as the fact that it usually operates the slide, even at start loads. Given that Universal does not seem to be available for the near future, and that fact that I have switched to plated for 9mm, I would not hesitate to pick up TG for my 9mm loads. As I prefer cast in .38, I will stick with my HP38 for now.

 

[Calliope]

I used to use quite a bit of it when I shot IHMSA Field Pistol. Using light charges with light bullets in .357, Titegroup delivered the accuracy I needed out to 100 yards. Most other powders would give too much velocity variation in the mostly empty case. It is also very accurate in light .45 auto loads with plated bullets. I stopped using it when I stopped competing because it does burn super hot, scorching/staining the brass.

I don't worry about the tiny charges as I inspect every charge by eye before seating a bullet.

I still have several pounds stashed away for a rainy day, but I prefer N310, Clays and Universal these days.

 

[Magload]

TG is all I use but my LGS wants $39.98 a pound for it. I am almost out and online distributors all seam to be out of stock and have been for a while.

 

[RMC1]

I load with a Dillon 650 and inspecting a small amount of powder in a case is a pain in the butt so I choose slower burning powders for most of what I load. I'm having excellent results using Power Pistol for 9mm, 357 Sig, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP.

I do use TiteGroup for loading 380 because it performs better in my Sig P238 that has a 2.7-in barrel. I could use it for 9mm because I have a P938 but I have four 9mm's and three of them have longer barrels so I'm staying with Power Pistol.

 

[fredj338]

Sorry you dislike it so much. Bullseye was my "go to" powder, until I couldn't find/get any. Bought Red Dot. Then found TiteGroup on a shelf and bought 3 lbs. Like it so much for 9mm & now 40 S&W, I bought an 8 lb. jug.

Smokes like black powder? Not with plated bullets in 9 & 40. Maybe with traditional lubed lead bullets, but I haven't tried it yet. Small volume? About the same as Bullseye. I've had good luck and consistent results, so I'll be glad to take what you leave.

Yes with lead bullets. Several powders are just as cheap, work just as well & @ 1.5x the volume & play better with lead bullets. He asked for opinions, so I gave mine. IMO, one of the dumber powder ideas. If you are gonna mke a fast burning powder, it needs to have enough volume to work in larger case w/o the high heat & nitro content. Something like Trail boss makes more sense, though TB is way to narrow a powder. RedDot is one I use in th big magnum cases for light loads. Wst, much cleaner across the load range, plays well with conv lead bullets.

 

[fredj338]

If you check the load data on Hodgdon's website, they list titegroup for just about every handgun caliber. Even the big bore revolver calibers like the 44, 45 Colt, 454 and 480.

I use it in 9mm and 45acp, but I've always been leary of using it in large volume revolver cases.

It just doesn't look right, that little tiny bit of powder way down at the bottom of a 45 Colt case.

Well of course they do, they sell it! You can make any powder run in any caliber. The powder companies are just to lazy to do the load dev for dozens of calibers. TG is very uniform, but that is its only good side IMO. My 40 minor load is 3.0gr of RD or 3.2gr of Wst, pretty economical. You want really cheap, buy Promo, loads the same charge wt as RD, same high loft too. TG/$128., Promo/$108 both for 8#, wst only $4 more than TG. So much for he economy aspect.

 

[fredj338]

I haven't used nearly as much Titegroup as I have Bullseye, but it seems to work about as well as Bullseye. I seldom shoot anything but cast bullets in handgun cartridges.

I've never noticed the "hot burning" nature of Titegroup, if there is such a thing.

Then you probably are a slow fire plinker or target shooter. Rip of a cyl or mag full. I have personally seen a front sigh melted out of a glock. So yes, there is a high heat issue.

 

[venomballistics]

I'll leave it for you. I wouldn't shoot TG if it were free, yes I dislike it that much. Burns too hot, too small a volume, does not play well with lead bullets, smokes like black powder.

I'd agree with the does not play nice with lead part.
but then ... there's the coatings, which seem to mitigate the heat issue.

I'd still try to use something else myself, but in a pinch .. yeah I guess we've managed to find the right whip to tame this beast.

 

[poorjohnny]

"I have personally seen a front sigh melted out of a glock". okey dokey. inhale buddy

 

[1sailor]

I have never understood why someone would claim that overcharges are the fault of any powder. The manuals are all pretty specific regarding maximum loads. The powder itself is not to blame. If anyone cannot follow safe loading practices then they should probably stop reloading all together. Powder does not create overcharges. People create overcharges. Seriously, it's as simple as that. If glock front sights will actually melt from shooting titegroup that sounds more like a pistol issue. Too much "plastic" perhaps.

 

[fredj338]

"I have personally seen a front sigh melted out of a glock". okey dokey. inhale buddy

It was an after market FO. Believe it like it or not, I don't really care. More than one peron has reported heat issues shooting TG.

 

[fredj338]

I have never understood why someone would claim that overcharges are the fault of any powder. The manuals are all pretty specific regarding maximum loads. The powder itself is not to blame. If anyone cannot follow safe loading practices then they should probably stop reloading all together. Powder does not create overcharges. People create overcharges. Seriously, it's as simple as that. If glock front sights will actually melt from shooting titegroup that sounds more like a pistol issue. Too much "plastic" perhaps.

No one is blaming TG for overcharge, but the small volume does contribute to the problem, especially in large cases. Denying that, you just aren't playing with reality. It's much easier to see a charge that occupies 1.5x the volume of TG, just fact, not opinion.