27 January 2004, 14:36
montdougLil'Gun in full house .44 mag loads?
I shoot a BRP 290 grain cast gas check in my .44 mag. I've always used 296 powder but lately I've been shooting a lot of .22 Hornet and K-Hornet using Lil'Gun powder, as I'm buying it in 8lb kegs and it is supposed to be good in pistols I was wondering if any ones used it in their .44? If so hows it compare to 296 for velocity and accuracy? Thanks.
27 January 2004, 17:32
bfrshootermontdoug, good question! I would like to know too.
28 January 2004, 03:18
Stan DebickHere you go, striaght from the source:
Hodgdon Data for 44 Mag That should get you the published velocity data. As to accuracy, I have tried it in the 41, 44, 45, and 480. The results are OK with regard to accuracy, but I seem to always get better groups with other powders. I always seem to get the best results with H110, 296, or 2400. YMMV
28 January 2004, 16:51
bfrshooterStan, do you use the same charge with 296 and H110? I found a very slight difference in them and haven't figured out if I need a half gr. more or less with H110 to match 296. I ran out of H110 long ago so I can't test it.
It's the same powder but I still think the batches sent to Hodgden are in a different burn rate range then what is sent to WW.
28 January 2004, 17:57
Stan DebickI have to agree with Hobie. I have found 296 and H110 to be almost identical. I don't see any more difference between the two powders than I see between lots of the same powder. That said, I also seem to come back to H110 more than 296 for no particular reason. I use these powders for top end loads only, using the manufacturer's published data.
Lately, I have been leaning toward more moderate loads and have consequently been using more 2400 and Blue Dot. I get some amazing accuracy with these two powders in the 41, 44, and 45. You certainly don't get the velocity, but the speeds that I am getting are not too far off of 296 and H110. I also tend to use heavier cast bullets these days, and find that if I can get these bullets to speeds of 1050 to 1200 I have all the gun I need for any hunting I want to do. Plus, the loads are more pleasant to shoot. Just some food for thought when you are experimenting with new loads.
Have fun!
28 January 2004, 18:00
Lar45I've thought about trying some Lil-gun, but with WC820 at $8/lb I haven't shot much of anything else for awhile. It works great in my 44 and 454.
29 January 2004, 09:43
Paul HI haven't loaded Lil-gun in the 444, but have used it in the 480. Using it in the 480, I find that I get the same velocities and accuracy with 400 gr loads with both Lil-gun and H-110.
My prediction would be that you should be able to get the same performance with Lil-gun as W-296 using ~300 gr bullets. Lil-gun should be better with the lighter bullets, and H-110 better with heavier bullets.
Lil-gun is a faster powder then H-110.
29 January 2004, 14:57
475/480at $8 LB,I will have to to try WC 820,got some coming from gibrass.com, Sean
01 February 2004, 03:22
courtney platerI tried it in my .44 mag and it worked well enough. It did not seem to offer any advantages over H110/W296/WC820 in the larger bores to get me to switch. I love it in my hornet and is my #1 powder there and it did well in .357 mag though. I need to do some more with the .357 to match it against my favorite load ( 158gr over 16.0 H110 ) but it seemed more promising that with larger bores. If you're getting 8 pounds, that ought to be enough to feed several experiments. I say go for it.