ammowaster Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Right now I am shooting 180gr black bullet with 4.4gr of Titegroup loaded to 1.2" I have a steel match coming up and want a soft load. How do I know the minimum amount of powder I can safely use. I was thinking of bumping it down to 4.0 or a little lower but want to make sure I stay safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevyoneton Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Right now I am shooting 180gr black bullet with 4.4gr of Titegroup loaded to 1.2" I have a steel match coming up and want a soft load. How do I know the minimum amount of powder I can safely use. I was thinking of bumping it down to 4.0 or a little lower but want to make sure I stay safe. I'm running 3.5 grains of Titegroup behind a 180 grain TC lead bullet. I do not have a chrono but have shot several thousand of these with no issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babaganoosh Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I load 3.7 of Titegroup at 1.125 with mixed brass and a plated bullet. This is out of a M&P pro with a 5 inch barrel. This makes a power factor of approx 135. I could probably go lower but the recoil impulse is very low and the gun cycles 100% of the time. This is my steel load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STI91 Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Baba, what bullet and weight are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt Smith Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I've gone as low as 3.6 with tightgroup. Clays is also a good powder if you're looking for a minor power factor load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STI91 Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 How about you Sgt? 180 gr JHP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdphotoguy Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 See if you can barrow a chrono if you don't own one. Not sure what the minimum power factor is for Steel matches, but out of fairness you should try to go no lower then that. At a certain point your gun will not function well with a light load, unless you change springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babaganoosh Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Oops, I use a 180 grain plated flat nose bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKT1106 Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 (edited) From looking at the other forums, it seems there are some minimum powder fators for Steel. Looks to be 120PF and some have a minimum fps for the stop plate, maybe 750fps. 180gr x 750fps = 135PF 160gr x 750fps = 120PF 155gr x 775fps = 120PF 135gr x 890fps = 120PF Edited June 4, 2012 by PKT1106 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cy Soto Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I'm running 3.5 grains of Titegroup behind a 180 grain TC lead bullet. I too load 3.5gr of Titegroup behind a 180gr bullet (though, in my case, it is an FMJ) for my wife's Production gun. At 1.135" this load chronos 130PF out of an S&W M&P40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammowaster Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 Does my overall length change anything or should I not worry about it?? I know it lowers pressure but wasnt sure if it would create a problem with a real light load @1.2 OAL There is no power factor for the steel I am shooting. It is just man on man so all that matters is that the plate falls down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cy Soto Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Does my overall length change anything or should I not worry about it?? Titegroup's burn rate is not affected by its position within the case so, if this is the powder you are going to be using, then 'no', you don't need to worry about the OAL making a difference. On a separate note, it would be a lot easier to just leave the same powder charge that you are using right now but replace the bullet used with one of a lighter weight. Nothing to change in your reloading setup except the bullet being used. This is what many folks do for Steel Challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babaganoosh Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Does my overall length change anything or should I not worry about it?? Titegroup's burn rate is not affected by its position within the case so, if this is the powder you are going to be using, then 'no', you don't need to worry about the OAL making a difference. On a separate note, it would be a lot easier to just leave the same powder charge that you are using right now but replace the bullet used with one of a lighter weight. Nothing to change in your reloading setup except the bullet being used. This is what many folks do for Steel Challenge. See, I do the opposite. I leave everything else the same and just back the powder down. Same OAL, same bullet. So easy a caveman can do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammowaster Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 Does my overall length change anything or should I not worry about it?? Titegroup's burn rate is not affected by its position within the case so, if this is the powder you are going to be using, then 'no', you don't need to worry about the OAL making a difference. On a separate note, it would be a lot easier to just leave the same powder charge that you are using right now but replace the bullet used with one of a lighter weight. Nothing to change in your reloading setup except the bullet being used. This is what many folks do for Steel Challenge. I thought about that but right now all I have is a case of 180's. The plan in the long run is to get my X6 going and shoot 9mm for steel and leave the Edge for USPSA. Does my overall length change anything or should I not worry about it?? Titegroup's burn rate is not affected by its position within the case so, if this is the powder you are going to be using, then 'no', you don't need to worry about the OAL making a difference. On a separate note, it would be a lot easier to just leave the same powder charge that you are using right now but replace the bullet used with one of a lighter weight. Nothing to change in your reloading setup except the bullet being used. This is what many folks do for Steel Challenge. See, I do the opposite. I leave everything else the same and just back the powder down. Same OAL, same bullet. So easy a caveman can do it. That was my train of though I just wanted to make sure I wasnt going to mess it up. I can break an anvil. Thanks for all the help guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt Smith Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 STI91 I normally load 180 JHP or TMC for minor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammowaster Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 So I ended up at 3.7grs of Titegroup and it ran the gun fine. Havent had a chance to see if it groups or where the POI is but my main concern was gun function. I am going to load another 500 or so for this weekend and run with it. Down the road when I have some more time I will look for those "perfect' loads but for now Tite Group is satisfying my needs. Its good to be a cheap lazy ass sometimes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 ...I am going to load another 500 or so for this weekend and run with it. Down the road when I have some more time I will look for those "perfect' loads but for now Tite Group is satisfying my needs. Its good to be a cheap lazy ass sometimes ... Not a bad idea. It is possible to spend too much time tinkering with the load and not enough time shooting it. That comes from my personal experience. Good enough is.........good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammowaster Posted June 17, 2012 Author Share Posted June 17, 2012 Not a bad idea. It is possible to spend too much time tinkering with the load and not enough time shooting it. That comes from my personal experience. Good enough is.........good enough. That is my philosophy as well. Life is too short to spend it at the reloading bench Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now