Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Lilgun Warning

I saw a warning for the use of Lilgun in Freedom Arms revolvers. Apparently, the powder was causing flame cutting. Has anyone had a problem like that come-up? How would it's use in rifles compare? I know it is favorite for the 22 Hornet and 221 Fireball users.

Rifles don't have the cylinder-barrel gap.

Works good in the 10mm Glock 40.

Must burn pretty hot to be cutting an FA frame.

DF

I've seen H110/W296 do it to my S&W wheel guns. How is LilGun more special in that regards?

Lil gun burns significantly hotter when used near it's pressure peak.

With a full load of it under an RCBS 400gr SWC in the 480 Ruger SuperRed it would make the gun ring like a bell.
Spooky, though the primers didn't show any flattening, certainly no more than normal. Case expansion was the same as factory loads. As those are not always good indicators in pistol cartridges the prudent handloader in me said I'll back this down.

Dropped 1 grain and the ringing went away, and another half grain for good measure.

IIRC, the velocity of the top load was 1280 fps?

-1.5gr. yielded 1200-1225 fps

My understanding is the concern is about throat erosion more than cutting the frame. It's kind of old news though (came out maybe 10 years ago IIRC?) so I've forgotten the specifics. Lil'Gun does work great in the 300 Blk though.

DF, are you thinking of Longshot in the 10mm, or Lil'Gun? I've honestly never tried Lil'Gun in the 10mm since it's in the same general burn rate as H110 which is too slow.

You are absolutely right, Longshot, not Lil’gun. Too many loads floating around in an antique brain.

I do use Lil’gun, just not in the 10mm

I have a 7” KKM barrel headed my way for my Glock 40. I plan to try 38-40, 180 gr soft lead cowboy action bullets in that gun. I have a good supply, will see how they shoot. They’re very accurate in my 1910 vintage Win ‘92. Hope the Glock/KKM combo shoots them as well.

Thanks for the correction.

Lil’gun is good .300 Blackout powder. Actually mine is an SSK .300 Whisper.

DF

It’s the heat generated by Lillgun that eroads forcing cones Freedom arms will not warranty forcing cone erosion if Lillgun is used.

So, it is the gap between the cylinder and frame which makes it act like a torch? Therefore, Lilgun will not harm a rifle chamber's throat when used in a bolt action. Correct?

I tried LilGun in my Rossi .357 magnum rifle based on published loads that Brian Pearce recommended in an article. Followed the recipe exactly and blew a primer on the first batch. 2.5 or 3 grains below max. Went back to 2400.

Too many other powders out there for me to want to mess with lilgun

I used a lot of it with no problems in 44 mags. But my style of load and creatures I use a revolver on these days made me go back to Unique for my 44 needs.

Yep. A Bob Baker thing and exclusive, I believe, to the 454 Casull.

High pressure and heat evidently turns it into something like a plasma torch...

Maybe with lower pressure rounds, not as bad. But, after hearing this, wouldn't risk it in my 454 if I had one...

Too many good powders now to chose from.

DF

barm,

Have been using Li'l Gun in my Ruger No. 1B .22 Hornet for 16 years now, for plenty of prairie dog shooting where the barrel often got pretty hot. Through the borescope the throat looks nearly new, and accuracy is as excellent as ever.

Now, that said, the .22 Hornet isn't known as a barrel-burner, but don't know of a rifle round where Li'l Gun would be a good choice that would be known for frying barrels.

300 MP is another good .22 Hornet and K-Hornet powder, currently my favorite in the K-Hornet.

DF

See my reply about those in the other thread in the Handguns forum. Soft bullets like that are generally a poor choice in high pressure loads like the 10mm uses.

What if I don't push them to the wall, drop back enough to cycle the action?

DF

L'il Gun is first choice for several of my rifles, no issues other than monotonously small groups.
.22 K-Hornet (2)
.30 Carbine
.44 Mag

Been using it for about 20 years.

I can't find the link to Bob Baker's comments on this issue, but I have read a number of first hand accounts of Lil'gun causing throat damage when used a high pressures (60K psi+). My interest stems from my use of the 45 Raptor. I like the reported velocities people are achieving with the powder but I am not willing to gamble with a Krieger barrel. Too expensive for me to gamble with!