Lilgun or.....

I have been loading Lilgun for my maximum loads in .41 mag and .357 mag. I seem to get better accuracy with it than with my intermediate loads of Universal, Tightgroupe, or whatever.

My question is whether to restock with Lilgun or to try the W296/H110 group of powder?

Why change what works? I myself don't care for all that recoil, deer/pig will be just as dead at 900fps as 1200fps. But that's me.

If it works , I agree why change. I am sure you read about working up loads. If any doubt about what maybe better try them out. You get more range time and learn what really is the best in your gun. I do that 1st with all guns, that way I can say xx worked the best. Sometimes its a wash between some loads. I have gone as far as trying every type of primer, powder charges, powder makes, different bullet brands in the weight and style I wanted. That was for NM shooting.

W296/H110 is probably the best powder available for maximum loads in the 357,41, and 44 Mag revolvers. Another great powder for the pistol mags is Alliant's Blue Dot. So many people overlook this older great powder.

Loved Blue Dot in the .41 mag. Still load it in the .357. But Alliant said to quit using it in the .41 Mag.

Did Alliant give a reason why? Doesn't make a lot of sense to me. BTW, Blue Dot is also a great powder for the 10 MM auto.

woodperson said:

Loved Blue Dot in the .41 mag. Still load it in the .357. But Alliant said to quit using it in the .41 Mag.

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No, they did not really give a reason. But they nixed it for .41 mag and .44 mag. and took the data out of the charts. If they list the data for 10 mm then it is fine

woodperson said:

No, they did not really give a reason. But they nixed it for .41 mag and .44 mag. and took the data out of the charts. If they list the data for 10 mm then it is fine

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IIRC, this recommendation was given due to what they call 'pressure excursions.' In other words, the powder didn't perform the way that the ballisticians expected it to, and was causing problems. Unpredictable problems.

Very interesting. I just researched the Alliant online reloading website and found that the ONLY powder listed for the 10 mm, 41, Mag, and 44 Mag cartridges was Unique. No further comment!

FWIW
I decided that "LilGun" or AA#9 were better choices for moderate loads in 357 & 44 magnums. Those 2 turned out better than H110 in the 300AAC also.

Well ifin ya wanna try summutin different , it`s like trying to meter corn flakes but I own a Redhawk that loves a Keith swc from wheel weights & IMR800x.

For max fps stick with the small grain stuff & as hot a primer you can find.
My alloy gives up & starts skidding `bout 1k fps but the jackets get the gas & for that I reach for H-110

GP100man

Two other powders for the 41 magnum are MP300 and the new AA 11FS. Both are very close to LilGun. AA 11FS is a tad slower that AA9, like 9 is slower than#7. Of course, if LilGun suits you, stay with it. Bob!

loaded round said:

W296/H110 is probably the best powder available for maximum loads in the 357,41, and 44 Mag revolvers. Another great powder for the pistol mags is Alliant's Blue Dot. So many people overlook this older great powder.

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Agreed! I have even used them for 45c. ps

Another question about Lil Gun. with a 210 Hornady bullet:

The Hornady manual shows 1200 fps with 20.2 grains. The Hodgdon shows 1505 fps with 20.5 grains. That seems like a pretty wide spread for the same powder charge. I think I read that the Hodgdon data is for a long barrel single shot. And maybe Lil Gun is real sensitive to barrel length. But does the Hornady number look low?

I remember reading many articles about Lilgun delivering high velocity and lower pressure but that it was responsible for forcing cone and throat erosion. I made a note to myself to leave it alone. I use H-110 and Accurate #9 for max loads in 357 and 44 magnum and I shoot them in both revolvers and rifles.

Not doggin Lilgun, but like Jimbo mentioned above, it recieved some publicity about forcing cone erosion. Freedom Arms warns of it's use in their revolvers.

When it came out, I read it's praise and got some. I did not find that it did anything that H110 didn't already do. Now that I have my fair share of Freedom Arms revolvers, I'll take them at their word and not use Lilgun.

I've also read the press about Blue Dot, but I never used it. For me, I use 3 powders for my revolvers: Universal for light, HS6 for medium, and H110/296 for stout. Thank goodness we can choose to use what we want and there are many choices.

Jimbo is correct. LilGun was seen to cause significant forcing forcing cone erosion in very few rounds. This info comes directly from Freedom Arms as they had several guns returned that all showed above normal throat and FC erosion based on the number of rounds fired.
See this thread: https://www.go2gbo.com/forums/136-f...145242-truth-about-lil-gun-2.html#post1117943
and read post #13 from Bob Baker at Freedom Arms.

That said, it is your gun and you do with it as you see fit, however to me it is not worth the risk when there are other powders that will give 99.9% of the performance of LilGun without that one nasty side effect.