Odd results with Titegroup.

D

dahermit

New member
The Gun: 1959 M14 (K38), with six inch barrel.

The load: .38 Special, Lee 125 grain round nose, cast lead bullet, powder coated, Federal small pistol primers, assorted cases (Fed, Win, R-P), 3.2 Titegroup as per Hodgdon's online data.

The loader: Dillon 550b (automatic powder measure), Lee Carbide dies.

The problem: I shoot 66 rounds each day for this load, quick double-action at a rack of six steel bowling pins at fifty feet. Out of the 66 rounds, there will be as many as five or so rounds that give an obvious louder report (inasmuch as I have lost much hearing, I use soft-rubber earplugs and shooting muffs over the top). I immediately check the cases for a split casing, and find that case splitting is not the cause of the louder report.

I keep my powder measure at least half-full. I note that Titegroup is a fine grained powder with a reputation for consistent metering. Dillon measures do not have a reputation for being problematic in regard to metering. If it were the powder hanging up in the metering cavity, logically it would cause under-loads, not sharper reports.

The question then, is why the louder boom? Has anyone else experienced the same?
 
Seriously, you can't figure out the problem?
66 rounds w/ 6 inch barrel = 666...duh!!!
-
Other than that, I got nuttin!!!
 
Position sensitivity?
Click to expand...
Not likely position sensitivity...the gun is held horizontally through the whole six shots (it is a speed event), as the trigger is pulled as soon as the sights can be aligned on the next bowling pin. The gun is held very firmly in a modified Weaver Stance (pushing forward with the right hand, pulling back with the left to control recoil), to minimize muzzle rise between shots. The only shot that could have the powder in a different position, would be the first shot and I have not noticed any first-shot bias in the louder than usual shots.
Have you chronographed the load?
Click to expand...
I do not have a chrono, but have shot paper targets for group with that load and there was nothing remarkable (no obvious flyers), about the load...but I did not notice any louder than normal reports when firing the groups. Nevertheless it happens frequently enough when shooting that load at the steel bowling pins that I know for sure that something is not 100% consistent.
 
Could it be your assorted cases ?

Maybe some have less internal volume ...
Click to expand...
No, the cases have been fired many, many times before with 2.7 grains of Bullseye powder and the same bullet with no indication of any inconsistency.

To have that much heavier of a report, there would have to be a very large volume difference. There is also no tumbling media left in the cases...before someone suggest that.
 
I would chronograph it, to see if there's data to back up your perception, or if it's all in your head.
Nearly every reloader knows at least one person with a chronograph.
 
I would chronograph it, to see if there's data to back up your perception, or if it's all in your head.
Nearly every reloader knows at least one person with a chronograph.
Click to expand...
Maybe you cannot determine the difference between the kick of your standard load and one that is obviously greater, but I can. I have no interest in chronographing what is obvious. In all, your posts do not seem all that helpful. Yes, I did take offence.
 
I'm assuming your not crimping this load, or at least a pretty light crimp. It may be if the cases are untrimmed and you set your crimper on a shorter case, the longer cases are engaging the crimper and giving a stronger crimp and more pressure.
 
I'm assuming your not crimping this load, or at least a pretty light crimp. It may be if the cases are untrimmed and you set your crimper on a shorter case, the longer cases are engaging the crimper and giving a stronger crimp and more pressure.
Click to expand...
Light uniform roll crimp. Bullets will not move when pressed down against the bench with appropriate pressure.
 
Last edited:
Addendum

I disassembled my Dillon 550b's meter. I discovered noticeable roughness in the drop tube. I cannot tell if it is rust, graphite build-up or machining marks. Working with fine steel wool spun on a dowel chucked into an electric drill, most of it came out, leading me to think that it is, in fact rust. I finished with some automobile paint finishing paper, 320 grit. With the aid of an led light, I can see that whatever it was is mostly gone. The machine is about twenty years old, and how it reacted to abrasion with steel wool and sandpaper, it was likely a rust build-up, but will not be sure until I do a whole lot more shooting to verify.
 
Do you still have the box of bullets that you load from? How's the bullet diameter? Have you taken a caliper to a good size sample of the bullets?
 
Your'e going to have to start at the beginning. Measure each bullet diameter and weight each bullet. Measure each powder drop, all Dillons are no more accurate than +/- .1 grains for sugar powders like TiteGroup, which is what I have used since it first came out in the 90s. Use only the same head stamp brass. Measure each OAL, then you have to chrono, no other way to know.

I have loaded over 300,000 9mm's with TiteGroup, 125's over 4.2 grains and never had an issue like that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top