Titegroup or HP38

larry7293 said:

Which of these two powders would you recommend for loading light loads of 357mag and 44mag Titegroup or HP38 and why?

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I use 5.0 gr. of Titegroup with a 158 gr. SWC. It makes a decent target round. I have no experience with the 44 mag.
But either will be fine I would think in 357.

I use Titegroup in my .44SPC, it's fine but runs hot. I don't think HP38/W231 would be the best choice in the .44.

I would use HP38. Mostly because I have a large supply. Depending on how light you mean to go, a flake powder might do better. HP38 is pretty position sensitive and low end uneven and Titegroup is not nearly as much better as they advertise.

Between those two, HP 38 lets you go a little slower if you're into really light loads. Personally, I use 3.8-4.0 grains of Trail Boss (using poly coated lead bullets) for a medium .38 Special level load.

I think it would be beneficial to know what bullet you are using.

Years ago, I used Titegroup in a pair of Ruger Super Blackhawks for cowboy action shooting. I loaded 5.0 gr behind a 200 gr RNFP for a nice mild load. It seemed consistent and accurate and cleaner burning than HP-38.

larry7293 said:

44mag- 200grn. Cast.
357mag- 158grain cast.

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Use Titegroup

For 1/2 to say 3/4 of full velocity loads, I'd give HP-38/WW231 the nod. A bit better load density, not as peaky as I understand, a little easier to see in the case perhaps, and I like the pressure curve of it better - Figure between Bullseye and Unique in actual use, and a very nice propellant for lead bullets in my experience. It is a bit "dirty", even when pressed a bit, leaving behind unburned granules. As mentioned if going really light, TG might serve you better, but HP-38/WW231 has been around a very long time, doing a great job with a wide variety of components loaded to a wide range of velocities.

FWIW, I knew a commercial loader who used WW231 for all of his commercial .44 Mag loads, using 240 grain cast bullets he produced. Loaded them right around 1000 fps as I recall.

I don't have 200 gr cast test data, but I did test some 190 grain LSWC with 9 grains of HP-38/WW231 in my 6.5" Model 29, and got:

1163 1115 1096 1142 using CCI 300 primers

OK by me for such a light bullet, and kinda low load density. Good luck.

I'm a big fan of W231/HP-38, it's one of my main 3 handgun powders. I have used it in the 357 Magnum with cast bullets and it works well for me.

For mid range .357 loads I use HP38, mostly because I have it on hand.

i have both, found that TG was a little tighter grouping using coated 158gr swc.

Not a big fan of Titegroup and I did not care for it at all with lead but lot's of people like it.
I don't have a .44 (I do have .357) but between the two I would choose HP38.
The best choice might be follow Walkalongs advice and try one of the two he mentioned.
From looking at his powder forward/powder back test threads some powders seem to do lots better than others.

Titegroup is a fairly fast burning powder, meaning you won't get max velocity.
But if you're lookin for a lower recoil load, it'll do very nicely.

Not fond of Titegroup with lead bullets but use it in light .357 loads using jacketed or plated bullets.

larry7293 said:

Why are you not fond of using Titegroup with lead?

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Titegroup seems to burn a bit hotter than W231 or Universal, at any rate I have had greater leading in my revolvers from using Titegroup than a similar load using W231 or Universal.

A few others seem to have similar issues,
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/the-titegroup-burn.505565/

Why are you not fond of using Titegroup with lead?

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I just didn't get good results with Titegroup with lead bullets.

I don't either. Always seemed to make a mess of my barrel but I shoot a lot in a hurry. I always blamed it on to much heat because it seems to have a high temp burn rate. It sure seems to heats up my barrels up a lot faster than other powders do.

larry7293 said:

Which of these two powders would you recommend for loading light loads of 357mag and 44mag Titegroup or HP38 and why?

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HP238 /Win231 is good for low velocity under a 158gr SWC just my 2 cents. FWIW