Powder causing throat erosion

[bigbore5]

There's a statement on the Hogdon website admitting some of the magnum powders cause premature throat erosion and suggests limiting their use.

We already knew it, but at least they admitted it.

[45MAN]

I LOOKED AT THAT AND, UNLESS I MISSED SOMETHING, THEY DID NOT SAY WHICH POWDER OR POWDERS. LIL'gun, A KNOWN ERODER, IS A HODGON POWDER.

[mattyb]

I’ve shot 246 rounds of .357 magnum through a fairly new RBH, loaded with slightly over suggested charges of LilGun under 158grn XTPs. What exactly am I looking for to see if this is a problem?

[Deleted]

Aug 19, 2023 18:49:38 GMT -5 mattyb said:

I’ve shot 246 rounds of .357 magnum through a fairly new RBH, loaded with slightly over suggested charges of LilGun under 158grn XTPs. What exactly am I looking for to see if this is a problem?

Beyond top strap cutting, the forcing cone gets a rough edge.

[mattyb]

Mine has neither yet. Does it take thousands of rounds?

[45MAN]

DOESN'T TAKE A LOT IN HIGH END 454 LOADS, DO NOT KNOW ABOUT 357

[bigbore5]

It's serious in any high pressure loads especially smaller bores like the 327 and 357.

Lil Gun is the worst offender.

[jeffh]

I shot part of one pound of Lil'Gun in a Rossi 92, 357 Mag. before I'd heard of the concerns with it, so I wasn't influenced by that, but I just didn't like how hot the barrel got when I fired several rounds. I gave it to a friend who has to try everything. I noticed no damage, but it's closed breech too, so probably wasn't an issue anyway.

The impression I have gotten over the years regarding erosion and powders was that a LOT of powder in a BIG case with a comparatively small bore was where erosion would rear its ugly head - at least eventually, IF you ran it at or near the top of its potential.

I can't prove that, because my tastes have always tended toward moderate case size, pressure and velocity rounds. It didn't take a shortage to get me to step back and gasp when I saw powder charges listed at over 50 grains. I've always been a bit of a skin-flint. I think they even named a powder after me.

[Encore64]

Bob Baker told me years ago not to use Lil Gun in their revolvers. If it can damage the FA built from 17-4, I won't use it in any revolvers.

Have used it in solid breech guns for years with no perceived damage...

[x101airborne]

LilGun is a top performer in 300 Blackout. Cast or jacketed bullets doesn't seem to matter.

[mattyb]

Just shy of 250 rounds of 357 mag using LilGun. I’m .5 grains over what Hodgdon says is the max load under a 158 grain XTP.
That is just through my stainless RBH 6.5inch gun. This is in addition to a few hundred with a max charge of H110.

I don’t see anything happening at the forcing cone or top strap as of yet.

That’s not meant to be argumentative, or to be anything other than a report of my experiences so far.

Maybe I just don’t know what I’m looking for?

[45MAN]

THERE ARE EXCELLENT ALTERNATIVES TO LIL'gun SO TO ME IT IS NOT WORTH THE RISK TO USE LIL'gun IN REVOLVERS.

[bigbore5]

Never needed Lil Gun nor wanted to use it. H110,4227,#9,Enforcer, and 300MP have all proven more accurate in most my guns than I can shoot.

As to the extra velocity Lil Gun gives, it's simply not enough to bother with. It's not going to actually improve the trajectory enough to make any real difference at revolver ranges and an extra 100fps doesn't make any difference on game. If I need more than the other proven powders can give, I just go up in caliber.

If a 32 won't do, then go 357. And so on until I get to the Bushwhacker. If it won't do it, then nothing is going to.