New here/ reloading about 9mm

Why shorten?

Because he is very low on pressure because of the over length suggested by Hornady
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I know there's a couple schools of thought here, and no answer is right or wrong, but . . .

I'm sticking with my thought process: If the rounds fit in the mag, and the slide goes into battery, I don't see a reason to shorten the OAL.

Low pressure certainly isn't a good enough reason. Increase charge or move to a faster propellant.

The the OAL "suggested" by Hornady isn't really a suggestion. It is simply what they used. I agree that Hornady is probably loading to an OAL that'll work reliably in just about any firearm, and that's a good thing. And when in doubt, it's probably a good way to go. I agree. But it would seem unnecessary for our new loader to shorten the OAL. He certainly may, but I don't think it's necessary.
 
I will agree that the OAL set by Hornady isn't a suggestion but it is what they used to establish a pressure range for this load. By changing the OAL either longer or shorter is going to effect that pressure range. In this case the OAL was set at 1.10" with a start charge and max charge to achieve a pressure curve. The OP extended the OAL out to 1.150" to 1.153" which in this case with the Titegroup powder is a significant .040"-.043" difference.

He then went on to state that the one test load was at the powder max charge of 4.1gr. Which again I always seem to find it preached to "Never exceed the max load". Which increasing the powder charge would be doing.

So to someone that is new to loading I will ask again, which do you suggest? Shortening the load to increase pressure or exceeding the max load suggested?

I will continue to support my original contention to this new reloader.
 
So to someone that is new to loading I will ask again, which do you suggest? Shortening the load to increase pressure or exceeding the max load suggested?
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How about C, ignore the soot. Titegroup is known to be rather dirty. Part of the reason I want to try Sport Pistols after I get close to running out of Titegroup in a couple of years.
 
So to someone that is new to loading I will ask again, which do you suggest? Shortening the load to increase pressure or exceeding the max load suggested?
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A good point. Perhaps it would be better for our new loader stick with the book's OAL and charge weights.

Maybe a little further down the road of experience would be a more appropriate time to play around with such things.
 
Nick_C_S I think we can agree on that together. Once a bit more experience and understanding of how pressures work and what causes them and then how to manipulate them.

I am not going to make any recommendation because I have zero experience with Titegroup other than to know it can be very volatile and unforgiving as far as pressure curves go.
 
Jim Watson, so true. Just as here and everywhere else I go that when the discussion turns to plated bullets I hear the parrot. Same as lead, use lead or jacketed data for same weight. I have quit arguing because I've used and seen enough to know that plated are not lead bullets and neither are they jacketed. A few of the powder manufacturers are starting to actually show this.

The very first load I found and used in 1980 was found in the Speer #10 book which I still have. It was for 357mag using Speer 158gr LSWC, CCI 500 primers and Hercules Bullseye powder. All of those materials were available at the local store.
 
If you are a new reloader you may not have run into Berdan primed cases yet. I'd suggest that whenever you find a headstamp you have not seen before to check for only one flash hole in the center of the case head. If you see two or three holes offset from the center, the case is not reloadable for all practical purposes.
 
I have zero experience with Titegroup other than to know it can be very volatile and unforgiving as far as pressure curves go.
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I have a good deal of experience with TiteGroup.

It is indeed quite spunky (energetic) and by extension, unforgiving. TG would definitely not be my first choice for a new loader. All the more reason to stick with published data, dimensions, etc.

Lighter bullets allow more wiggle room.
 
I can understand why people use it, TiteGroup, as it is widely available, reasonably priced and usually to the low end and in many cases a one pound container will many times load twice as much as many other powders.

With small capacity cases such as the 380 and 9mm I just do not feel comfortable loading with it when the spread from start to max is only 0.3gr. Especially because I load with a progressive press and use a volumetric powder measure that can vary as much as .1gr.

But we digress. I only hope that fossitms has been able to gain something from this conversation. Many good points made!
 
I only hope that fossitms has been able to gain something from this conversation. Many good points made!
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Indeed.

And it's over fifty posts - that's a heck of a good run for a first-timer! :D
 
Especially because I load with a progressive press and use a volumetric powder measure that can vary as much as .1gr.
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Compared to other powders like Autocomp, 0.1gr of Titegroup is quite large. It takes a lot more movement on the powder measure adjustment screw for me to move 0.1gr with Titegroup. And IME the variance is around 0.05gr with Titegroup, at least with the Dillon powder measures on my two toolheads that I use with it.
 
Well let's take a look at those 2 powders from Hodgdons website for a 115gr 9mm load.

Lead Round Nose;
Autocomp data, 4.4/5.1gr that is a 8 gr spread
Titegroup data, 3.9/4.4gr that is a 5 gr spread

Speer Gold Dot;
Autocomp, 5.1/5.6gr that is a 6 gr spread
Titegroup, 4.5/4.8gr that is a 4 gr spread.

Boy with that Gold Dot bullet it sure doesn't give you much room to be off. Any of you all can load that if you like but for me I say No Thank You! Too many other available powders that are much more forgiving.

BTW, I use a cheap old Lee Auto Disk that will hold AA#5, Silhouette and HP-38 TO within 0.05gr all day.
 
Your loss. I've shot a lot of it, it can produce great loads even if they are a little dirty.

It is a very popular powder in practical shooting. Often the most popular or the second most popular powders (behind N320), for iron sight loads in USPSA.
 
Don't see how I can loose if I don't buy it. Sorry. I'm sure it's popular for many reasons but just because it's popular doesn't mean I have to use it. Unique is popular also and I don't use tat either.
 
Don't see how I can loose if I don't buy it (TiteGroup).
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You're missing out.

And . . . you're not missing out.

TG is fast and highly energetic. It's abundant and popular - not sure which is the cause, and which is the effect there. It's also economical - I guess that's important to some loaders. To me, the propellant is the least expensive of the components and thus, isn't hardly a factor.

TG is at its best making your basic plated range shooters for most calibers. If you're loading to punch a bunch o' holes in paper at the range, then TiteGroup an ideal propellant. But W231 does everything TG can do, and more. So I've had my 4# run with TG and I made good ammo with it. But I see no need to get any more.

Unique is popular also and I don't use that either.
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I too fail to see its appeal. They say it's versatile. Not sure how the term is being defined. I used it decades ago; and then grabbed 4#'s of it out of desperation during the shortage. But now, I'm in the process of purging it out of my inventory (a little over a # remaining). I'm making good ammo with it, but I'll be happy when it's gone. Power Pistol does everything it can do - and better - and cleaner - and with faster bullets. PP rocks. Fantastic stuff.
 
Hopefully fossitms is still with us.

I use the Lee Auto Disk for most of my loading so I look for loads that work best in my guns and also fit well with the measure. So far with the HP-38 I have found 2 loads that work very well with the Lee Measure and with both 115gr and 124gr bullets. So all I need to do is insert the correct disk cavity and go to town. With the HP-38 I could get a 3rd load but it would be right at max and I would then have to weigh every charge to feel safe.

Next I have found 2 loads using Ramshot Silhouette and both 115gr and 124gr 9mm along with 2 loads that work very well in my 380 using 100gr EXTREME bullets. The AA#5 has been disappointing for both the 9mm and the 380 but has worked very well in our 45acp.

Once the AA#5 is gone I have been thinking of trying AA#2 or CFE.
 
Yes, I’m still here. I would like to thank everyone for their insite and experience. ??????
I haven’t had a chance to check in the last couple of days. The reason I choose titegroup was the versatility of the powder for the calibers I’m reloading. Being new I wanted to start on the weak side of loads to build my experience. I got all my bullets so far are from Hornady from there rebates. I do have another question for you all. What is your preferred method of measuring the powder? I got a little digital scale with the Hornady kit, but it seems to not keep zeroed all the time. I also bought the Hornady beam scale.
Thanks again.
 
For all powder measurements I use a beam scale. I also probably weight check more frequently than is really needed while using a powder measure. Most pistol powders measure out pretty consistently from just about every powder measure. And deffenately when loading to the low or mid ranges where a 0.1gr variation isn't going to effect things much.
 
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