Universal vs Titegroup?

[dbach]

I ordered some Hodgdon Universal powder from the local gun shop. They dropped the ball and misplaced the order ... it was never placed. when I went to pick up the other powder I had ordered they apologised and asked to substitute Titegroup. They keep Titegroup in stock, not Universal. The Titegroup was about $10.00 less than the Universal so I figured they had accidently done me a favor.

Are the two compariable? Do they perform about the same? I shoot mostly .38, .40S&W and 45 ACP.

[garydude]

I don't think they did you any favor. The universal has about the same burn rate as unique, but from what I understand, it meters much better. It's a very good powder for mid-range+ loads for the calibers you list. Titegroup will also work well for the calibers listed, but more for target, lighter loads to mid-range at best. Here's a link to the burn rates chart- http://www.hodgdon.com/burn-rate.html

[Alpo]

I don't know about that "light to mid-range" thing. The only thing I use titegroup in is full-bore 38/40s and full-bore 44 Russians. My 6.4 of Tite under a 180 in the 38/40 gives the performance of 8.0 of Unique (990 fps)

But doing some comparisons of max loads, on Hodgdon's webpage:

38 special, 158 lead SWC. 4.5 of Universal, 974 fps. 3.8 of Titegroup, 920 fps.

40 S&W, 180 Hornady XTP. 5.8 of Universal, 1046 fps. 4.7 of Titegroup, 978 fps.

45 ACP, 230 FMJ FP. 5.6 of Universal, 844 fps. 4.8 of Titegroup, 818 fps.

So, yeah, you can't push 'em quite as fast, but those don't look like wussy mid-range loads to me.

[JLA]

I like TG. It is an efficient form of Unique in that it can be loaded in just about any handgun round from the teeny .25ACP to the .45 colt. And its clean burning. My all time fav and most accurate .45ACP load is with 5.8 gr TG under a 200 gr Dardas RN sized .452"

[bobpayne44]

Originally Posted by dbach

The Titegroup was about $10.00 less than the Universal so I figured they had accidently done me a favor.

its all within about 50 cents difference where i buy my powder i average about $18 a pound for any i buy.

[dbach]

Originally Posted by bobpayne44

its all within about 50 cents difference where i buy my powder i average about $18 a pound for any i buy.

Powder here averages about 25.00 to 35.00 a pound. The Titegroup was 20.00.

[JLA]

18 to 26 a pound round here, depending on type and brand, and trailboss is about 11 bucks a can, but its only 9 ounces.. dang theyre gouging yall poor folk round the coast..

[gun-nut]

Originally Posted by JLA

18 to 26 a pound round here, depending on type and brand, and trailboss is about 11 bucks a can, but its only 9 ounces.. dang theyre gouging yall poor folk round the coast..

Thats just about the same i pay.

[garydude]

Dbach,
Let me clarify my earlier statements a tad more. Titegroup is a great powder and I cannot in any way criticize its performance. I've used it to very good effect in the 38, 45acp and 500 loads. It has performed flawlessly in all. My biggest issues are that it is super dense and will give very little case fill, and it has very little margin for error in it's use. It truly requires diligence in loading that you are certain you do not double charge any load. I find it more difficult to visually inspect the charged cases because it barely fills them.

BUT on the plus side it meters well and is very economical. It's amongst the cleanest powders I have tried.

To be sure you didn't waste any money. It really is a great powder, but for the top performance of your calibers other powders would be more appropriate.