Powder Question
- Thread starter Tamitch
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rcmodel
Member in memoriam
There really is no comparison.
Tite Group is at the fast end of the burn rate scale (10) and AutoComp is about in the middle (36) of pistol powders.
rc
Tite Group is at the fast end of the burn rate scale (10) and AutoComp is about in the middle (36) of pistol powders.
rc
LiveLife
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Titegroup is a faster burning powder with small granules on par with W231/HP-38 that meters well with often narrow start/max load range (see comparison picture above).
Titegroup burns hot and violent, especially at higher charges and can get spikey near the top that's been associated with more KaBooms than any other powder. If loading near max, I would ensure your loads do not experience significant bullet setback during feeding/chambering from the magazine which can push the chamber pressure to over max.
Due to faster burn rate, Titegroup can produce accurate lower powder charge target loads and I have gotten more accurate 9mm loads than with W231/HP-38.
If loading for minimal power factor (PF) for match shooting, Titegroup is less temperature sensitive than W231/HP-38 so you will likely not have to adjust powder charge between hot summer to cold winter.
AutoComp is a slower burning powder with smaller than W231/HP-38 granules and meters very well. It is suitable for higher velocity full power loads and will obtain optimal accuracy at higher charges and made for comped pistols that require a lot of gas to operate properly.
I prefer to use AutoComp for 40S&W at higher charges as slower burn rate generates softer/less snappy recoil compared to faster burn rate powders.
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LiveLife
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I think rcmodel meant they were two very different powders.
TG: burns very HOT. Very fast. Throws pressure spikes. Got popular with action pistol shooters because it is fast, available, and works OK at small charge weights. Best for very light target loads at starting loads or a bit less. I have not found it any where near as accurate as Bullseye, Red Dot, AA2, or 231/HP38.
AutoComp: designed to produce a lot of gas, so compensators work better; so, if you are shooting open-class compensated guns in 9x19, 9x21, or .38 Super, it may be the best thing since sliced bread. It is much slower than TG and is best for cartridges working at 25ksi and higher and mid-range to MAX charges.
It, along with Silhouette, BE-86, and Power Pistol will do well in 10mm Auto, but not likely to produce the high velocities of AA7 or AA9.
Open any of your many loading manuals and you can see how the two compare.
AutoComp: designed to produce a lot of gas, so compensators work better; so, if you are shooting open-class compensated guns in 9x19, 9x21, or .38 Super, it may be the best thing since sliced bread. It is much slower than TG and is best for cartridges working at 25ksi and higher and mid-range to MAX charges.
It, along with Silhouette, BE-86, and Power Pistol will do well in 10mm Auto, but not likely to produce the high velocities of AA7 or AA9.
Open any of your many loading manuals and you can see how the two compare.
thomas15
Member
In general...If you are shooting USPSA or IDPA or Steel challenge then you would want a soft shooting low velocity round with a fairly heavy bullet. This is where a fast powder is good. If you want high velocity or heavy magnum load then a slower powder is better.
Any powder, fast or slow, if you double charge may cause problems. I personally suck at the action shooting sports but participate in them. Lately I've been shooting revolver and got my match load data from a highly ranked revolver shooter and that load uses Titegroup. I know for fact that there are many good top rated revolver shooters (38 and 9mm) that use this stuff. I know of a few that use VV N320 which has a similar burn rate. The thing about revolvers is you don't need recoil energy to cycle a new round into the chamber so you can get away with a very soft load, you just have to meet a power factor if you compete.
To date I haven't been able to get Autocomp or CFE Pistol to work as well at low power levels but close.
EDIT: I have a book on competing with Glocks that was written in the early (I think) 1990s. It was at a time before Titegroup was introduced or popular. In the book, where it talks about powder for competition, it talks about problems with Bullseye powder, saying the same exact negatives that critics of Titegroup say about it today. I personally do not understand the mentality that some have about certain components or handloading tools. All you have to do is read "front sight" (USPSA) or "tactical journal"(IDPA) from time to time they list survey results from those who compete. A lot of competitors use components or tools that many on the interweb forums don't like.
Any powder, fast or slow, if you double charge may cause problems. I personally suck at the action shooting sports but participate in them. Lately I've been shooting revolver and got my match load data from a highly ranked revolver shooter and that load uses Titegroup. I know for fact that there are many good top rated revolver shooters (38 and 9mm) that use this stuff. I know of a few that use VV N320 which has a similar burn rate. The thing about revolvers is you don't need recoil energy to cycle a new round into the chamber so you can get away with a very soft load, you just have to meet a power factor if you compete.
To date I haven't been able to get Autocomp or CFE Pistol to work as well at low power levels but close.
EDIT: I have a book on competing with Glocks that was written in the early (I think) 1990s. It was at a time before Titegroup was introduced or popular. In the book, where it talks about powder for competition, it talks about problems with Bullseye powder, saying the same exact negatives that critics of Titegroup say about it today. I personally do not understand the mentality that some have about certain components or handloading tools. All you have to do is read "front sight" (USPSA) or "tactical journal"(IDPA) from time to time they list survey results from those who compete. A lot of competitors use components or tools that many on the interweb forums don't like.
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bluetopper
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Do you want full power magnum 44 Mag loads? If you do, get something else.
Read a loading manual a couple of times too so you'll have some kind of an idea of what you're doing.
Read a loading manual a couple of times too so you'll have some kind of an idea of what you're doing.
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