Universal or Titegroup.

[woodperson]

For mid range loads in .41 mag and .357 mag? Mostly .41 mag.

Edit: Corrected the spelling checker misspelling of the title. Thanks

 

[Clovishound]

Can't speak to Site-group. Never even heard of it. I use Universal for several calibers, including .357 magnum for the Henry lever rifle.

Meters well. Gives good velocities for a non magnum powder. Economical.

If you are looking to get the most out of .357 go to the slow powders like H110 or 4227. For absolute accuracy and velocity, I use 4227. I only use it for jacketed, which I rarely use. I'm making paper punchers here with coated or plated.

Edited to add. After thinking about it a minute, I decided you were referring to Titegroup powder. In that case, yes, I have tried Titegroup with .357. I can confidently say Universal is superior IMO for .38 or .357, unless perhaps you are going to be shooting this out of a snubby.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

I like Universal in the .41 and .357 because it can be loaded from cowboy loads to near max loads without problems. I don't load Titegroup.

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

Titegroup is an excellent powder for use in mid range loads when the load data is followed . It has a narrow band of load range. The range from minimum to maximum can be as little as 0.4 grains ,and a half grain over book max can put you WAY over safe pressures and into proof load territory. There are many more forgiving powders and Universal is one of them as are Clays,Red Dot,HS-6 and a bunch more.

 

[mikld]

Titegroup is a bit fast for my reloads. My go to powder for about the last 18 months has been Universal. Everything from 9mm up to .44 Magnum and 45 ACP...

 

[5of7]

I find Universal to be close to Unique in burning rate when used in the handgun calibers that I load for. Now, that is not to say that one can safely substitute loading data for Unique as data for Universal, so if you do not have actual data for Universal, then proceed with caution.

I also find that Universal will give the most consistent velocities when loaded to 90% to 100% density under the bullet. I have not had occasion to load it compressed in a handgun, but, of course, shotshells are always loaded over compressed powder charges.

I use it for 20Ga. and 28Ga. skeet loads and it is very good for that. 8)

 

[GunnyGene]

What is it with the plethora (4bit word) of different powders y'all use for this or that caliber, etc.? Is it like different flavors of vodka, or what? :?

 

[5of7]

What is it with the plethora (4bit word) of different powders y'all use for this or that caliber, etc.? Is it like different flavors of vodka, or what? :?

Hand-loading attracts people who are always tinkering with loads in search of a load that is perfect for the gun that they are shooting it in.

It is a little like the searches for the Holy Grail that have sprung up over the years, or the search for the fountain of youth, or perhaps searches for lost treasures of the Spanish Armada.

Those searches rarely bear fruit, but the spirit of discovery burns strong in hand-loaders and sometimes......we get closer than we were to perfection.

Besides, new powders, like new cartridges, are created to sell new guns and different powders which is good for the economy. And it also keeps us out of the beer joints. 8)

 

[woodperson]

"What is it with the plethora (4bit word) of different powders"

Yeah, and we use a lotta different ones too.

 

[Rclark]

I think both would work just fine. Between the two powders I like Universal. I don't know really why, but I just never cottoned to Tite-Group even though I tested it in .357, .44 Special, .44 Mag, and .45 Colt. What I do recall (I think!) is it burns quite hot and would discolor the case mouths which isn't a big deal.

 

[anachronism]

I pretty much avoid Titegroup. I used to shoot a lot at pin matches, and my 38 Spl loads with TG always heated my 686 up really quickly. Seriously hot, I had a really bad 38 Spl round and had to use a reload, for a total of 12 shots to clear the table (I still won!). I had Hogue rubber grips on my 686, and not only was the gun hot enough to brand cattle, the nylon backing of my rubber grips has softened, and the grips didn't fit the gun tightly anymore. I made two changes that day, I gave away the TG, and I switched to Hogue wood grips. Now I use 231 instead.

 

[PO2Hammer]

I used to shoot a lot of Titegroup in .357, it worked well, but burns very hot, even in light loads. It delivered the accuracy though, I used it in my 100 yard silhouette loads.

Haven't used it in years though. Universal is much nicer to work with. Burns clean and cool.