Silly me. Update post #26.

I had similar issues with Titegroup about ten years ago while loading 9mm.

After doing my research I noticed that there was a discrepancies between new reloading manuals recipes and old reloading manuals.

Older manuals were showing less powder needed to reach mid-power level which resulted in the bullet not leaving the barrel.

Use the reloading data center on the container to do a quick comparison with your reloading manual.

Cheers,
 
Last edited:
Pencilneck said:
I only use jacketed data for plated bullets I mostly use Campro.
Is your firearm a 38 spl. or a 357?
Click to expand...
.357
Ganderite said:
I would have guessed that 3.2 would work. Scales/thrower is reliable?

3.6 should be a good mild load. I use 4.2 as a plinker load.
Click to expand...
Its possible my scale was reading low but I don't think so. I will recheck calibration before using again. Having said that, it appears my starting load was a full grain under what it should have been.
 
Update. Checked calibration on electronic scale, bang on. My starting load was way too low (3.2 gr).
4.4 grains of TiteGroup gave me 808 +/- FPS. Thats better. I need a little more velocity to make 105 power factor.
 
StoneHorse said:
Update. Checked calibration on electronic scale, bang on. My starting load was way too low (3.2 gr).
4.4 grains of TiteGroup gave me 808 +/- FPS. Thats better. I need a little more velocity to make 105 power factor.
Click to expand...

You're close, 845 ft/s gets you there.
 
I've settled on 4.6 gr for a average velocity of just over 850 FPS. Velocity is below what the Hodgdon site says it should be but I'm not complaining. Turns out to be a really accurate load so its a keeper.
 
StoneHorse said:
I've settled on 4.6 gr for a average velocity of just over 850 FPS. Velocity is below what the Hodgdon site says it should be but I'm not complaining. Turns out to be a really accurate load so its a keeper.
Click to expand...

It's good to hear you figure it out. Thanks for he updates, hopefully it will help others in the future.
 
StoneHorse said:
I just starting reloading for 38 Special. Picked up a pound of TiteGroup and a thousand Berry 125 gr FP plated bullets. Being the cautious person I am, I started with 3.2 gr of powder and loaded 50 rounds. That was my first mistake. Went to the range today, set up my crono and started firing. The first six rounds were sub 500 FPS. Second mistake. I fired a 7th round which did not quite make it out the barrel :bangHead: .

So a trip to Canadian Tire for a length of 5/16" dowel to pound the bullet out the barrel. Got home, pushed the bullet out the barrel and then pulled the remaining 43 bullets out the cases and reclaiming the powder, cases and bullets.

I expected the velocity to be on the low side but not 350+ FPS under what the manual stated it should be. Given the narrow range from minimum to maximum charge, I of course wanted to be on the safe side but WTF. The next six rounds I load will be max for lead bullets but a starting load for jacketed bullets. Sound reasonable?
Click to expand...

Interesting. My standard 38spl mix is 3.1gr of titegroup with a 130gr RNFP lead bullet for Cowboy action. I have put close to 5000 rounds of this mix through my 2 Ruger Vaquero's without a single problem. I suspect it is plated bullets causing the trouble.
 
grinder08 said:
Interesting. My standard 38spl mix is 3.1gr of titegroup with a 130gr RNFP lead bullet for Cowboy action. I have put close to 5000 rounds of this mix through my 2 Ruger Vaquero's without a single problem. I suspect it is plated bullets causing the trouble.
Click to expand...

Nothing's causing anyone "trouble". You're trying to compare apples and oranges.
 
grinder08 said:
Interesting. My standard 38spl mix is 3.1gr of titegroup with a 130gr RNFP lead bullet for Cowboy action. I have put close to 5000 rounds of this mix through my 2 Ruger Vaquero's without a single problem. I suspect it is plated bullets causing the trouble.
Click to expand...
My mistake was using a starting load for lead bullets when I should have used a starting load for jacketed bullets. It turns out the Berry plated bullets are just as "hard" as jacketed bullets. Lesson learned.
 
More lessons learned. Attended my second revolver match this past Sunday. I had a number of light strikes during both matches costing me time :(. Switched from CCI to Federal primers after talking to a few people. Loaded up 50 rounds and tested at the range today. All 50 rounds went bang; problem solved.
:)
 
StoneHorse said:
More lessons learned. Attended my second revolver match this past Sunday. I had a number of light strikes during both matches costing me time :(. Switched from CCI to Federal primers after talking to a few people. Loaded up 50 rounds and tested at the range today. All 50 rounds went bang; problem solved.
:)
Click to expand...

Federal primers are definitely soft but expensive. You should try some Fiocchi primers and see if they're just as reliable because they're significantly cheaper. Fiocchi primers are almost as soft as Federal primers.
 
Federals definitely more expensive than CCI and harder to find (at least the small pistol primers). I'll try out Fiocchi the first chance I get. Thanks for the tip.
:)

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom