Lee powder measure and Titegroup

[bersaguy]

Good Morning Gentleman,
I am fairly new to reloading, only about 2 years into it. I have been reloading 45acp only. I have been loading 230 grain Berry's plated with 4.6-4.8 grains of titegroup with oal at 1.260. These result in pretty decent rounds that are a little softer than the WWB or Federal factory rounds that I usually feed my 1911. I would like to run a 100 or so rounds that are closer to standard GI ball but here's the kicker...
My Lee powder measure on the turret press varies .2 grains with TG. When I switch to the next disk size up, my powder throws are between 5.0 and 5.2 grains. Hodgdon and Lee list the max load for titegroup at 4.8 with oal at 1.200.
The question is, would the increase in case capacity to 1.260 accommodate a charge of up to 5.2 grains without getting into +p territory?
Thanks

 

[AZAndy]

The .43cc disk hole gives me 4.8gn of Titegroup, which does 840-850 fps with a lead bullet (5" barrel). I think that going much higher than that would be +P.

The disk situation you describe is why I wound up getting an Auto-Drum-- it's more adjustable and not all that costly. Sometimes the sweet spot for a load in a smaller case (like 9mm Mak) would fall exactly between two disk sizes.

 

[kingmt]

I've made bushings in the past for mine.

 

[bersaguy]

Thanks,
I did not know such an animal existed. That looks like just the ticket. I am starting to get the impression that by the time I have just the right set up, I will have at least two complete reloading rigs...not a bad thing, just means I may have to purchase a 9mm or 40 to be able to reload multiple calibers to justify the equipment. And then some new turret disks, dies, maybe another auto prime so I don't have to switch between large and small primer arms....yup...this is going to get me in trouble

 

[bersaguy]

Kingmt,
How did you make your bushings? That was my first thought

 

[RussellC]

I have used both the Lee pro powder disc, and more recently the Lee powder drum, which I found to be more consistent. However, I always found Titegroup to offer more consistency than most powders, and to be one of the most free flowing.

As others have said, try the powder drum, it is very inexpensive.

As far as duplicating military ammo, try Bullseye, Unique, HP38, and look at loads producing velocities in the 850-900 feet per second. As always, work it up, at these velocities and with 230 great bullets, you are going to be close to max, YMMV.

Russellc

 

[bersaguy]

Thanks guys,
Just ordered the auto drum. $32.00 on amazon with free shipping, it will be here Tuesday. Can't beat that with a stick.

 

[kingmt]

Kingmt,
How did you make your bushings? That was my first thought

I've used different things. Brass or copper has been my preferred tho. I've swaged 22lr cases, copper tubing, & plastic tubing. Sometimes I've reamed to get the size I wanted. I've played with several ideas. Then I decided to just use a different powder that didn't matter.

 

[AZAndy]

Thanks,
I did not know such an animal existed. That looks like just the ticket. I am starting to get the impression that by the time I have just the right set up, I will have at least two complete reloading rigs...not a bad thing, just means I may have to purchase a 9mm or 40 to be able to reload multiple calibers to justify the equipment. And then some new turret disks, dies, maybe another auto prime so I don't have to switch between large and small primer arms....yup...this is going to get me in trouble

Welcome to my world. I have a turret and a progressive, and will be getting another progressive next month so I don't have to switch out the primer trays between large and small. I haven't even started thinking about rifle reloading yet. It's madness. Madness, I say.

I think you'll like the auto drum. I find it easier to use without the safety disconnect, but maybe you'll like it better as it is.

 

[Chuck59]

Welcome to my world. I have a turret and a progressive, and will be getting another progressive next month so I don't have to switch out the primer trays between large and small. I haven't even started thinking about rifle reloading yet. It's madness. Madness, I say.

I think you'll like the auto drum. I find it easier to use without the safety disconnect, but maybe you'll like it better as it is.

I'm a fan of the auto drum. Infinitely adjustable, and drops more consistently than the discs, especially in tough to drop powders.

 

[jwalts27]

Good Morning Gentleman,
I am fairly new to reloading, only about 2 years into it. I have been reloading 45acp only. I have been loading 230 grain Berry's plated with 4.6-4.8 grains of titegroup with oal at 1.260. These result in pretty decent rounds that are a little softer than the WWB or Federal factory rounds that I usually feed my 1911. I would like to run a 100 or so rounds that are closer to standard GI ball but here's the kicker...
My Lee powder measure on the turret press varies .2 grains with TG. When I switch to the next disk size up, my powder throws are between 5.0 and 5.2 grains. Hodgdon and Lee list the max load for titegroup at 4.8 with oal at 1.200.
The question is, would the increase in case capacity to 1.260 accommodate a charge of up to 5.2 grains without getting into +p territory?
Thanks

The data for Titegroup is a bit skewed for the 45ACP. At 4.8-4.9g it would not cycle my FNX45 routinely with a 230g plated bullet but was a softee in my 1911 and ejected at my feet. I upped it to 5.2g and shows no pressure signs and runs flawlessly with moderate recoil and it way for accurate now in my 1911. Made a few at 5.5g and I still don't think its near +P. I have to wait for a warmer day to Chrony. If you search TG and 45ACP on Google you will find similar findings as I did.

And YES, the Autrodrum is a life saver. Allows for a better range of loads than the AutoDisk. Although I still cant get the AutoDrum to throw Unique to my liking.

 

[AZAndy]

Although I still cant get the AutoDrum to throw Unique to my liking.

Yeah, Unique is a hard one. Even with the drum, it'll slide a tenth high or a tenth low pretty often. Lucky for me, I can't find more Unique anywhere anyway. ;-)

 

[Chuck59]

You think Unique's bad.. try Herco in fairly small charges.

 

[LiveLife]

230 grain Berry's plated with 4.6-4.8 grains of titegroup with oal at 1.260 ... Lee powder measure ... next disk size up, my powder throws are between 5.0 and 5.2 grains.

Hodgdon and Lee list the max load for titegroup at 4.8 with oal at 1.200.

The disk situation you describe is why I wound up getting an Auto-Drum-- it's more adjustable and not all that costly. Sometimes the sweet spot for a load in a smaller case would fall exactly between two disk sizes.

In the "Working DIY Micro Auto Disk" thread, we solved the need to drop in-between disk hole charges with $1 brass screw modification that allowed infinite adjustment within .1 gr variance - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/working-diy-micro-auto-disk.741988/

This mod allowed consistent metering of Titegroup down to 2.8 gr, W231/HP-38 to 2.0 and Bullseye to 1.5 gr. With rounded/polished screw tip, Titegroup metered consistently down to 2.5 gr - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/working-diy-micro-auto-disk.741988/page-2#post-9495726

 

[kingmt]

I remember talking about this but didn't know you ever did it. Nice mod.

 

[bersaguy]

I like that. I could just chuck a brass screw up in my drill and taper the end, already have the bits and taps.

 

[DBEAM]

I use 4.6 grains with the same oal behind 230 gn xtreme plated bullets using the lee powder drum which seems very consistent for me with titegroup. It chronos at an average of about 720 fps out of my 5 inch xd. When I tried it at 4.8 I averaged 745 . Those number come from using mixed brass. At 4.6 it just cycles, the brass pretty much falls out but I have no failures. I can't remember how the 4.8 did, I was trying to get over 800 fps but with everything I read about Titegroup and that was the max I had read on hodgdons site so I quit there.

 

[bersaguy]

I have a feeling 5.0 grains at 1.260 oal would put me right at the top of the range for pressure and velocity. But I suppose, without a chronograph, there's no need to go tempting fate. I'm excited to get the auto drum set up and load up a good stash at a consistent 4.8 grains to keep me shooting all summer long. I probably will use the screw mod on the auto disk when I get around to setting up for 380

 

[LiveLife]

Yes, I find the mod a great solution for metering small powder charges for my 380Auto loads.

I sometimes need 5.0 gr of W231/HP-38 when Auto Disk drops either 4.8 gr or 5.2 gr and this mod gives me the option to precisely meter 5.0 gr. One load I developed for my sister/BIL was good at 5.2 gr of W231/HP-38 with a particular bullet but 5.3 gr improved the accuracy and this mod allowed me to meter consistently at 5.3 gr.

I remember talking about this but didn't know you ever did it. Nice mod.

Thank you. This low cost mod is an elegant solution to meter small granule/flake powders consistently with .1 gr increments.

Yes, the mod was tweaked with Walkalong/others suggestion to reshape the tip and polish for more precise metering. While using polished tip improved metering of Titegroup which has textured granule surface that caused some bridging on top of the screw threads, Bullseye/W231/HP-38 metered consistently even with unmodified screws.

I like that. I could just chuck a brass screw up in my drill and taper the end, already have the bits and taps.

Before you modify and polish the screw tip, try first and see if it drops the powder consistently. Depending on the powder and charges you need, modification of tip may not be necessary.

Also, I did not tap the hole to create the threads. I simply used a drill bit sized slightly smaller than the screw threads and screwed in and out to create permanent threads.

 

[jwalts27]

I use 4.6 grains with the same oal behind 230 gn xtreme plated bullets using the lee powder drum which seems very consistent for me with titegroup. It chronos at an average of about 720 fps out of my 5 inch xd. When I tried it at 4.8 I averaged 745 . Those number come from using mixed brass. At 4.6 it just cycles, the brass pretty much falls out but I have no failures. I can't remember how the 4.8 did, I was trying to get over 800 fps but with everything I read about Titegroup and that was the max I had read on hodgdons site so I quit there.

I run 5.2g out of my Fn45 with no pressure signs, at 5g I had cycling issues but is quite accurate out of my 1911. at 4.7g it wouldn't cycle my Fn45at all but worked OK in my 1911 but was dirty.

 

[DBEAM]

Yeah I have a lot of ash floating around at 4.6 grains.

 

[bersaguy]

Just set up the auto drum this evening and ran 100 rounds to test it out. Yeah, that's nice. Only took about 10 minutes to set it up and dial it in. I was throwing 4.8 grains of titegroup on every pull.