My recent 9mm Titegroup adventures

I finally used the last of an 8lb keg of Unique, and decided to try something different for my 9mm’s. Don't get me wrong, Unique works great in both my Beretta 92FS and Storm carbine, but it just doesn’t meter well.

It seams people either love Titegroup or hate it; I still haven't made up my mind. The local gun shop had it on sale so I figured I'd give it a try. Titegroup is a flake powder, but the flakes are smaller than Unique and irregularly shaped, and surprisingly it meters quite well. Enough talk, here are the numbers...

124gr Berry's RN plated bullet 1.55†oal, Winchester primer, mixed brass, 10 shot strings

4.0gr Titegroup
Beretta 92fs-----Beretta Storm
Lo 1006 fps---Lo 1183 fps
Hi 1054 fps---Hi 1234 fps
Av 1024 fps---AV 1210 fps
ES 47.55 fps---ES 51.07 fps
SD 14.62 fps---SD 13.03 fps

4.2gr Titegroup
Beretta 92fs------Beretta Storm
Lo 1062 fps----Lo 1241 fps
Hi 1090 fps----Hi 1276 fps
Av 1077 fps----AV 1260 fps
ES 29.75 fps----ES 34.68 fps
SD 07.68 fps----SD 10.67 fps

4.4gr Titegroup
Beretta 92fs-------Beretta Storm
Lo 1100 fps-----Lo 1285 fps
Hi 1142 fps-----Hi 1314 fps
Av 1109 fps-----AV 1297 fps
ES 42.46 fps----ES 29.19 fps
SD 12.40 fps----SD 09.32 fps

The difference in powder had no effect on groups, about 3.5" pistol and 1.5" carbine at 50' which is about as good as I shoot. The recoil seems about the same as the 5.6gr of Unique I was using, but velocities are around 150 fps less. I'm impressed at the low standard deviation, and it confirms for me how well it’s metering. Anyway let me know what you think.

 

I'm switching from Bullseye to Tight Group: small charges meter more accurately, and it produces equal or better accuracy. I have no idea why the gun magazines haven't done side by side comparisons between the two powders—or among Tight Group and an assortment of traditional favorites.

 

Interesting data you've collected. What was published that you
can compare it to?

 

I first used Titegroup because it was supposed to be a good powder for small charges in revolver cases, like 38 special for cowboy loads. But I was happy to find it was great for 9mm and 45 too. You can get a bit more velocity from powders like Power Pistol, but TG is very consistent, clean, and I don't miss the last 100 FPS in a practice load.

 

what a good titegroup supplier? we dont have it locally. what should i expect to pay a pound?

 

I bought a 1 lb can of TiteGroup to try and then won a 4 lb can at a match. So far the only loading has been in revolver cartridges like the 38 Spec., 357 Mag and the 44 Mag.

It does meter well and it does have a low Standard of Deviation number when the loads are tested over a chronograph. I will still use a lot of Unique as compared to TiteGroup for the forseeable future. Unique will meter real well, it just takes some extra throws to get the powder properly settled.

The one thing I have noticed about TiteGroup, which might not mean much to some people, is that it is a lot smokier than Unique when used with cast bullets. It is very noticable on indoor ranges no matter how good the ventilation. Heavy loads of TiteGroup have about the same muzzle flash as a load of Unique which produces the same velocity so in some cases I have made the switch.

 

It's one of the least expensive powders. The last time I got it from a gun show in Richmond VA. It was 8 pounds from TnT reloading and I paid around $110. Not sure of exact price or where you are.

 

http://www.powdervalleyinc.com

 

I'll second powdervalley.com, but it helps to order in bulk to spread out the hazmat charge.

Looking at Speer's #13 load manual the pistol velocities for Titegroup are almost identical, but a little slower than what Hodgon lists on there website. At first I was a little dissapointed with the numbers, but I think Griz is right the target dosen't notice the 100fps difference.

One question I was trying to explore was the effect of barrel length on volicities. So far I've cronographed Bluedot, Unique and Titegroup from both my 92fs (4.9" barrel) and CX4 Storm (16.6" barrel). Reguardless of the powderor bullet, the Storm gets a steady 17% boost in velocities. I'm tempted to try a really slow powder to see what happens, any sugestions?

 

I just got some Titegroup yesterday at a gunshow for $14 ($15 incl. tax). I'm interested in it because the Sierra manual has it listed as being the most accurate powder for the 115 gr. FMJ 9mm and the 230 gr. FMJ .45. It is cheap (on a per round basis) and is supposed to meter well and shoot clean, in addition to being accurate. If it is, indeed, accurate, then I've found my ideal powder (at least for those 2 calibers) and I'll be getting an 8-pound canister (which was $102 + tax at the show yesterday).

I've got a load of primed and belled 9mm and .45 brass just sitting around, waiting to be loaded with Titegroup and W231 for my own, very informal, test of accuracy. I'll load the W231 to the velocity closest to the "most accurate" load listed in the Sierra manual for Titegroup. [As an aside, I already tested 3 loads of W231 with both my 9 and my .45, and I found that the most accurate load was the one that produced the velocity of the "most accurate" Titegroup load from the Sierra manual].