Strange Titegroup

D

dahermit

New member
I have recently been shooting .38 Special using Titegroup, instead of my usuall practice of using Bullseye. I shoot, facing outside from my Pole Barn at my set-up of steel, swinging bowling pins. I have been shooting cast bullets lubed with Alox NRA Formula and powder coated (Powder by the Pound Sky Blue and Harbor Freight Red), bullets. Several times the breeze has carried the fumes of my firing into my face after a shot and I have found an immediate, acrid irritation to my throat that I have never experienced before (I have been shooting cast bullets since the middle sixties). The sudden irritation goes away as fast as it comes.
Has anyone else experienced such a reaction to the combustion products from Titegroup? I would expect that inclosed ranges, even with mechanical ventilation would logically have more of a problem than I would have with my well-ventilated, large hanging tractor door on my pole barn.
 
Only thing I have noticed is that they smell like firecrackers! I don't get the same smell with jacketed bullets so the smell must be the powdercoat. I shoot Blue Bullets and Win 231. No irritation though.

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It's from the coating, not the TiteGroup, although it is a filthy powder. What you smell is ozone, same as being in a welding shop. Seems to be more offensive with higher humidity because it lingers more. Want you want to use is HiTek Super Coating

http://hi-performancebulletcoatings.com/hi-tek-supercoat-powder/3-5-oz-jar/

I run both Bayous and Black and Blue coated bullets, which use HiTek, and there is not smoke or smell. My 9mm 125's are going 1,180 fps on 4.2 grains of TiteGroup at 1.100" OAL.
 
I shoot 6 - 8 boxes of handgun ammo a week - all at indoor ranges with titegroup - and no unusual smells or irritation but i'm using 100% true jacketed bullets ( Montana gold ) - mostly 9mm in a full sized 1911....and I find titegroup was less smokey than most anything else ( universal, clays or unique as an example...)....
 
Filthy? Kind of funny, but shortly after Titegroup appeared on the market, CCI/SPEER ran a test in 9mm, to see which powders generated the least amount of particulate. Sheets are laid out, rounds fired, then the stuff on the sheets is studied. Titegroup generated less than 1/4 as much as the next best powder. This was reported in Dillon's Blue Press, and my experience would agree. Having said that, many powders give much different results based upon how they are being used.
 
I remember when TiteGroup first came out, it was like $79 for an 8 pounder. Since then I've run over 300,000 .45acp and 9mm rounds with Montana Gold, Precision Delta, Missouri Bullet, Bear Creak, Laser Cast, Berrys, Bayou's, Black and Blues. There is still plenty of exhaust in the barrel because it's a very hot powder. And the more juice you have the more exhaust you have. My load is a 125 gr 9mm at anywhere from 1.060" to 1.170" OAL between 4.2 and 5.4 grains going about 1,150 to 1,280 fps. It's a good powder, meters really well and clean up is nothing, and if you run right at the minor powder floor of 125,000 at around 3.2 grains, which is what Dillon was testing, it's nowhere near as dirty as full house stuff.

I recently started loading .357SIG about 3 years ago for my Glock 31's, using BE-86. A 125 Montana Gold JHP on top of 7.8-8.2 grains at 1.140" OAL, goes 1,440 to 1,580 fps, and it is amazing clean for that volume of powder.


image37275.jpg


.357SIG "Bling" loads, just happened to have a few thousand nickel cases

image37017.jpg
 
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Going to see what these 124 TC Bayous will chrono in the G31. 8.2 grains BE-86 at 1.175" OAL, drops in a Glock chamber, may not work for other guns. I shot the same load already at 1.140" at 7.8 grains and there was no smoke from the coating

image37349.jpg
 
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