[Boss]

I'm new to reloading, started with 38 special. I used Titegroup with LSWC and Remington primers. I was in testing these rounds in an indoor range, and I thought Smokey the Bear was going to smack me over the head with a shovel. VERY smokey and left the gun extremely dirty. Tried again with Bullseye, and had a little better luck, but not much. I am comparing these to Winchester Winclean factory rounds that produce no smoke.

Is it the lead bullet vs. a jacketed on that creats this mess? I have also shot factory Remingtons with lead round nose bullets and have not noticed them to be much worse than the Winchester. Any suggestions??

 

[jpwright]

You may have some bullets with extra lube on them. Burning lubricant can produce that smoke and mess. I've never used Titegroup, so I don't know anything about the powder itself. Some powders, like Unique, create a lot of "residue", also.

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If God didn't want us to own guns, why did He make the 1911?

 

[WalterMitty]

Unless you've inadvertently loaded some black powder, it probably isn't the powder.

My guess would be bullet lube. Was there a big honkin grease ring around the bullets that you used?

Jacketed bullets don't require lube, so there is usually very little smoke.

 

[Sheldon]

The traditional lubed lead bullet does smoke more mainly because of the lube. I have found my 38 Special loads smoked up so bad I had to stop using it at a local indoor range that had lousy ventilation. By the sixth round I could barely see the target still.......and it was at 7 yards. The lighting at that particular range was lousy as well so that did not help either. At the outdoor range it was not a big deal as long as the wind was not blowing back at me.

You may want to use a plated bullet or one of the non waxed based lubed bullets, like the graphite or moly coated ones.

 

[Boss]

You guys are probably on track, the bullets have a large ( big honkin ) ring of lube on them. I'll try some jacketed bullets as a test. If it appears to be the lube, I'll save them for outdoors on windy days. Thanks, you all are a great help to a rookie!

 

[MG34]

I reloaded some 45acp with a 230gr lead round nose half with unique the other half with W-231. I wanted to see which one had the least amount of smoke. Out of 1911 it was not bad. Out of a very slow cycle rate of a M3 Grease Gun after 4 magazines the smoke was so thick we had to wait for a breeze to come up to clear the air. Both powders seem to smoke the same. With FMJ the results was a little better

 

[swampgator]

Titegroup IS a dirty powder. I used some last summer at the range on pin nights. Never again. You can use 231 for almost the results. But check loading manual first.

 

[Boss]

You guys are absolutely correct. I loaded some rounds with the same combination but used a FMJ bullet. NO SMOKE. Must be the nasty lube on my LSWC bullets. I will have to save them for outdoors on windy days!

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Walking Point]

This is one of the advantages of casting bullets yourself. Different lubes produce different amounts of smoke. Thompson Blue Angel produces very little smoke.

 

[paul84043]

Yes...caselube and bullet lube are really bad culprits, also your powder selection, but to a much lesser degree nowdays. I used to use AA#5, but switched to AA#2 (1/2 as much powder needed) and have experimented with Unique also. These helped my smoking problem tremedously! Good luck.