Hi PJ; greetings from your neighbor to the south! I've used Titegroup for 45 ACP for approx. six yrs now and am well pleased with it. I mostly use it for 200-230 g. cast lead and also with some 230 g. FMJ. No problem with 'dirty burnin or bullet base meltin'(that's a new one-as previously posted "impossible"-that would take more powder than you could stuff in a brass case). I generally load around 4.4-4.6 grains of Titegroup for 45 ACP, depending on the bullet. Good for target/plinking work. I've never loaded any 38 Spec with it.
I use to load a lot of 38 Spec with Bullseye (2.7 g) and Win 231 (3.0 g) using WC and SWC bullets back in my law enforcement days when I shot PPC and Combat courses with my Colt Trooper. Started out with 2.7 g Bullseye, then went to Win 231 which was a cleaner burning powder. Still use 231 for 45 Colt and some 38 Spec loads for the wife to keep her shooting skills somewhat up to par. Once upon a time I had the idea of getting the best 38 Spec load for competition, so I started out with 2.5 g of Bulleye and went up a tenth of a grain until I reached 3.0 grains. Loaded around 25 rds of each loading, after sort of bench resting each powder weight, I found that the old org loading of 2.7 was the best and for the type of shooting I was doing, ie, double action using a two handed grip, the different weight grain loadings didn't make all that much difference. Same thing I tried back in my early days of loading when I would set my powder measure at 2.5 grains and then trickle in the last .2 of a grain, just so that the round would have 'the exact' amount of powder. Now nothing wrong with perfection, I strive for every round to be so, but for the fast double action shooting I was doing, it was a waste of time. The plus/minus tenth of a grain my RCBS powder measure may be throwing was of no consequence in hitting the silhouette targets at 7-25 yards. It wasn't like I was loading a high power rifle and trying to get 1/2" ragged holes at a 100 yards.
I think you'll like Titegroup. The Hodgon selling point of not being position sensitive was a big plus in my starting to use it, also it is not temperature sensitive, and is clean burning and accurate in all of my experience's. When I load a new powder/bullet recipe for any caliber, esp when I read it on a website or in a magazine article, I always check out the manufacturer's recommendations and check my manuals to see what they say and how they compare with the reported loadings. 'Handloader magazine', Oct. 2014, #292 if you don't have it, has a mutli-caliber article on using Titegroup. I like the powder and plan on using it for loadings I previously used Win 231 a lot for and in developing new loadings. By the way, I also have a few gaffs over the years in loading and shooting-better left alone for another day!!! Good day to ya! Crow Choker