Confederate Fly Boy
New Member
I have seen data for using Hodgden Tite Group for subsonic 223 loads. Does anyone have data for full power 223 loads using Hodgkin Tite Group?
Tite Group is a pistol and shotgun powder. It's burn rate is WAY!!! too fast for a 223. Trying to reach typical 223 velocity with it would result in a catastrophic failure. And I very much mean catastrophic. Even using it for subsonic loads it would have an extremely low case fill and would have unreliable ignition. I've used multiple pistol and shotgun powders for subsonic 300 blackout bolt action rifle loads successfully but titegroup and 223 don't go together, period
Yes they do for a subsonic load at a stated 1081 FPS......but if you look at what your case fill is you will see how it will be extremely unreliable/consistent. Running it in full power supersonic loads like you asked, hard no. We have all these different powders for a reason.Hodgedon data shows a subsonic load for 55 gr bullet using 3.1 grains of Tite Group.
Agreed 100%, can work for subsonic loadings in rifle cases but that's it. Some of the most violent Kabooms I've seen were rifle cartridges charged with pistol powder.Yes they do for a subsonic load at a stated 1081 FPS......but if you look at what your case fill is you will see how it will be extremely unreliable/consistent. Running it in full power supersonic loads like you asked, hard no. We have all these different powders for a reason.
I messed around with some subsonic 223 loads a while back. I was helping out with getting rid of some unwanted groundhogs on a few local golf courses that were close to a lot of homes and the sound of gun shots would have caused a lot of issues for the owners of that golf course and myself. Suppressed subsonic 223 handloads then, which was 18-20 years ago was the way to go as it carried a lot more "umph" than a any 22 LR/CB that was quiet and actually killed the groundhog. Today I'd run a 300 blackout/whisper in a similar scenario. More energy on target with a 220+ grain bullet vs the Speer 70's I was running back then. Both cases Hodgdon Lil Gun has been very reliable for subs. If you want to get really quiet on the Blackout Alliant Red dot and Herco out of a bolt gun is the way to go, but you need to know what your doing and be careful because a few 1/10ths of a grain too much and you end up in a potentially dangerous place. I weigh all my charges on two separate scales when doing this and have been mucking about this type of stuff for a while so don't just go about using these powders in a rifle cartridge if your just getting goingI have never used Titegroup for anything other than pistol cartridges, works great for my 45acp. I would definitely do a lot of research first, avoid Kabooms and squibs at all costs.
If it were me, I would shoot Hodgdon an email about how to proceed. If they list a subsonic load for 223 then I would check with them on it, safest bet imo.
I've never considered loading 223 subsonic, though I have heard of it. If you intend to speak to Hodgdon regarding subsonic 223 loads, you may want to inquire about heavier bullets too? I'm thinking going heavier would be a benefit to loading subsonic. Just out of curiosity, what are you wanting to load subsonic 223 for? Plinking or suppressor use?
ETA: I think the only possible use for powder with a burn rate as fast as Titegroup, i.e. "pistol powders" would be for very low charges for subsonic loads. As Buster Hemlock pointed out, it's extremely dangerous in the event of a charge over subsonic charge weights. So much so that many reloaders will not even mess with the subsonic loads just because of the increased risk of an overcharged round. Or just as bad, an undercharged squib followed by another round fired.