Load for Hodgson

Hey all,
I got a great load thanks to the info from this forum. I have been using 2.8 g of Bullseye with unsized brass, 148g HBFWC. This is in my Model 52. Bullseye is very hard to get so I have tried Hodgson Tite Group. 2.8g is very inconsistent. It feels like the load is too hot, lots of recoil.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Royce

I've gone as low as 2.5gr BE in a 52 and it works.  Try 2.5 or even 2.3 with the titegroup--small batches though.  The consensus is the Titegroup is a little hotter than BE.

Rob Kovach wrote:I've gone as low as 2.5gr BE in a 52 and it works.  Try 2.5 or even 2.3 with the titegroup--small batches though.  The consensus is the Titegroup is a little hotter than BE.

I have tried all the way down to 2.4 of BE. But I have found the 2.8g with the unsized brass works really well. I did notice that I had to adjust the powder charge on my press when I tried the TG. I had to turn it down quite a bit to get the TG to be 2.8g.
It is strange that the reload charts show the TG to have a bit slower velocity with the same powder. It does not seem that way with the gun though.
I will have to do some testing.
Thanks
Royce

I don't think that the charts are all that accurate--especially in the load ranges that we use.

There is another recent thread where a shooter was getting accurate results from hot loads in a 52, but the recoil was horrible.  I think the consensus there was to slow it down and run the bullets around 770ish.

I don't chrono so I would say you can feel the correct slide speed and stick to that.

FWIW, I've read multiple warnings not to run .38 Special HBWCs too hot because of the possibility of getting part of the bullet stuck in the barrel.  But you guys probably already  know this.

That's an important reminder beeser--especially if he's using HBWCs.  Too much speed and the hollow base can separate from the rest of the bullet in the barrel and cause catastrophic results on the subsequent shot.

TiteGroup does not perform well in my M52s. I don't know if that is because it burns so hot or what. It just doesn't seem to be consistent—I can get a rare small group, but not consistently.
AA2, Solo 1000, Red Dot, and 231/HP38 are all great powders in my M52s. Zip and Competition have been as bad as TiteGroup.

We experimented with Titegroup 20 years ago.. Some of the groups were awesome.. But, as you say, there were unexplained flyers, during matches from HM shooters who knew the call was completely off.  Further Ransom testing proved the flyers were present, sooner or  later.. WST is the powder most High Masters kept secret until it became common knowledge...Powders are lot# sensitive..231 is a super powder for 38spl.. But there can be a definite difference from lot to lot. It does produce a "gritty" residue that can get under the extractor and foul the action, if you don't pay close attention to the ejection process with revolvers in PPC..

WST.