Jump to content
Practically Shooting

Hodgdon Titegroup for 9mm & 45ACP


Recommended Posts

In my quest to find a pistol powder that will meter well with me Lee Pro Auto Disk powder measure, I called Hodgdon today and asked them. I described the problem I am having with the smaller volume cavities with Clays and Universal Clays. I told him that I was primarily interesting in reloading 9mm, 40S&W, and 45ACP. He didn't even hesitate when he recommended Titegroup. He said, (I'm paraphrasing) "it's the cat's meow for metering in those calibers and as an all around powder".

Does anyone have experience with Titegroup - cleanliness, muzzle flash, metering, amount of smoke when shooting in indoor ranges, etc?

Thanks,

Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've used it almost exclusively for my .357 Magnum since I took up reloading a couple of months ago. It meters very well (after the first few charges thrown when you load the hopper) and the muzzle flash isn't bad, either (comparing to 2400). I found it is very clean-burning as well which would be a notable plus for an autoloader.

About the only drawback is that charge weights are smallish, therefore you do need to keep a very close eye out for double-charging.

If you can afford it I would buy a pound of it and try it out.

Just my observation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Wayne,

Titegroup is a great 9mm powder. However, it smokes like a freight train with lead bullets. In 45 ACP it gives good accuracy with jacketed bullets but is a fairly dirty powder. These are just a couple of observations from when I tried out a pound of TG powder. I have since gone to VV- N320 for 9mm and 45 ACP. I also use Win 231 (for both 9mm & 45 ACP) when I can't find the N320.

Xtell

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Xtell is right about Titegroup smoking with cast, I bought 8 lbs of it right before switching to mostly cast in the 9mm. Had I known how smoky it would be, I would have done more comparing before ordering so much.

To be fair though, several other powders smoke a lot more with cast than jacketed. My old pal Winchester 231 is one of the worst. People will say it's not the powder, but rather the bullet lube burning off. I agree it's from the lube, but it's more prevalent with some powders than others so I'm convinced powder does have an effect on the lube.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No I have not. I have seen it mentioned enthusiastically here and there, but never tried it.

I tried Herco on a similar endorsement. I didn't hear of it used much in handguns (mostly for shotgun) but when I did, they were pretty emphatic it was a must-try. I like it so far, although I'm finding it takes quite a bit less than all the data says in order to reach velocity and pressures.

I like VV powders too. They are just so expensive and sometimes harder to get.

The most accurate loads I've ever come up with in 9mm used N330, which I don't think they even sell anymore. I got some for a reasonable price when a gun shop was quitting VV powders. I wish I had bought more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Yesterday had a chance to fire 200 rounds of the 9mm Titegroup loads I loaded a couple months ago. Hodgdon says, "this powder provides flawless ignition" and is "clean burning". I found my loads to be extremely consistent and clean as they advertise. The pistol had virtually no more residue than it did before shooting these loads. I did find the powder to be very smokey, but that really doesn't matter to me. I'll take the smoke when the powder has as consistent ignition as Titegroup does.

Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

xtell,

Funny thing is that I shot 100 molly coated cast bullets and 100 jacketed bullets. The molly coated bullets did smoke more, but I can only attribute the increase in smoke to a smaller charge of powder, as the molly certainly wouldn't make more smoke. The jacketed bullets did not smoke as much, but there was still some smoke.

Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found moly coated bullets to be smoky too. It was enough that other shooters at an IDPA match commented on it and laughed at my so-called "black powder" loads.

This was when I using Win 231 powder, which is smoky anyway, so the two together added up I guess. I don't remember any cast loads smoking as much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I shot my last 100 moly coated 9mm bullets over Titegroup this weekend. I truly don't understand why they smoke so much, but I was accused of loading black powder! Shooting jacketed with Titegroup produces about 1/10th as much smoke. I can't explain why.

Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Been tinkering some with TITEGROUP the last month or so..

I like the small charges as it certainly yields more loaded rounds per LB.. Kinda hoping this powder would be a good option and it does seem to be viable since it is pretty versitile.

I like that it meters well, and does seem to work in both 9MM and .40 S&W.. I don't have an issue with smoke when using Jacketed bullets but did notice it when shooting my Lead bullets in my 9MM ammo..

At this point I'm not sure I will replace my current Old Standby (W-231) though because so far aside from the yield potential my results have not shown a significant enough improvement to justify it..

My thought is this might be an excellent powder to have in the powder stores since it is so versitile.. Gotta be something said for these small charges helping stretch the budget so to speak..

Maybe I've used the powders I like for so long I'm a bit biased but the results speak for themselves.. W-231 is a GREAT powder.. But so is WST, & Unique, heck I have also had good results with HS-6 and would not hesitate to suggest any of these powders for experimentation.

My .45 ACP load consists of the H&G #68 200 GR LSWC atop a charge of W-231.. This load will consistantly shoot one ragged hole if I do my part.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...