Lil'Gun for 9mm?

pewpew62

pewpew62

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I got my hands on some Hodgdon Lil'Gun. There is no factory load data for it in regards to 9mm (124gr FMJ RN Sellier & Bellot).

I've heard of people using it, but as I'm new to hand loading, I don't want to do something that would be a mistake.

The burn rate chart
http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Burn%20Rates%20-%202015-2016.pdf
shows it as slightly slower burn rate than Longshot which I also have, and very much slower than RedDot which is another powder I have.

Does anybody have any experience with it? Any recipes that would be safe?

All advice appreciated.

Carl
 
looks like its too slow for 9mm , lilgun is meant for magnum charges or for compd 38super race guns. as far as i know.
 
The Hodgdon reloading centre has no info for charges made with that powder for 9mm, but they do for .38 Super... .356" bullet dia, 124-150gr bullets, that's similar to 9mm... it's the differences between the cases I'd seriously worry about.

9x19 case capacity is 0.862 cm3 (13.30 gr H2O), max pres is 35000 PSI.
.38 super case capacity is 1.14 cm3 (17.6 gr H2O), max pres is 36500 PSI, that's 32% more volume than the 9mm.

Hodgdon gives 12.5 to 13.0gr charge at 1.250" OAL for a 124gr HBRN bullet and 10.5 to 12.0 Compressed for a 130gr RN bullet... I don't know if a 12gr charge of Lil'Gun would even fit in a 9mm case without compression, and it would cause dangerous pressures if it did, surely? I do not know.

Only think I can think of for you to do is to go full experimental mode. Start on the ridiculously low side, put 4.0gr of Lil'Gun in the case, shoot that and increase from there. It's possible (likely!) that the charge will be too small to get case expansion in the chamber and work the action. You could well get squibs, too. Clear the barrel, increase by .2gr, try again.

I'm thinking it might be possible that the powder simply CANNOT be crammed in a large enough charge in that small case before it gets to compressed loads and if that's the case, it might not be practical (or even possible) to use Lil'Gun in 9mm Luger.

The other thing you probably should do is email Hodgdon and ask THEM. See what they say, at least!
 
The Hodgdon 2015 Annual Manual (magazine) has a article "Reloading the 9mm Luger for Accuracy" on reloading the 9mm with hundreds of loads.

I buy these reloading manuals every year for the reloading articles and updated reloading information. (subliminal suggestion)
:cheers:
 
Iil gun is great in .22 Hornet type cases and magnum loads in things like .44mag. Or shotgun of course.

Reddot would be a much better choice for 9mm. You should be able to find data for that but I've never used it so can't promise.
 
Lil'gun works great for magnum loads for 357, 44 and 50. Like it better than H110.

Why would you waste such precious powder on 9mm. Use Titegroup, cheaper, less powder.
 
Too slow for a standard weight bullet. Maybe for a 158grs one...? I would expect unburned powder grains.
 
kg said:
Too slow for a standard weight bullet. Maybe for a 158grs one...? I would expect unburned powder grains.
Click to expand...

hmm, I have some 158gr cast and plated bullets and a couple pounds of lilgun, maybe I will give it a shot.
 
Here's the response from Mike Daly Hodgdon's help line:

"We do not recommend the use of Lil Gun in the 9mm with any bullet weight under any circumstances. The powder has a burn speed that is not compatible with the 9mm cartridge in the normal configuration. Stay with the published data for the appropriate powders and you will have much better luck."
 
Hmmm... I wish they'd been a little more specific in their answer, it's too damned easy just to say "no". What's a "normal" configuration? What if the 9mm is shot out of a 19" carbine barrel, for example?

I suspect the problem is case volume vs powder density, not simply the relatively slow burn rate (for a pistol powder). There's recipes for .357 Magnum using Lil'Gun.
 
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