Hodgdon
Hodgdon Lil'Gun
Developed specifically for the 410-bore shotshell, with wide use in the 22 Hornet and in magnum handgun cartridges.
Built for the .410 bore, where the granule was designed to fit and burn correctly in an awkward case, and then adopted wholesale by the .22 Hornet and magnum revolver crowd because it delivers unusually high velocity for its class. Two well-documented problems follow it: it runs hot and has a long-standing reputation for accelerating throat erosion, and it is noticeably temperature sensitive, with at least one detailed report of results going erratic near the top of published data. It is excellent used well within itself. It is not a powder to work to the edge.
- 410 bore
- 22 Hornet
- subsonic 300 Blackout
- 357 Magnum
Who has Hodgdon Lil'Gun today
Checked October 10In stock at 3 stores — lowest in hand $45.05/lb (8 lb at Graf & Sons)
| Store | Size | Shelf | In hand /lb | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 8 lb | $322.99 | $45.05 | In stock ↗ |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 8 lb | $350.99 | $47.80 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 4 lb | $167.99 | $51.36 | In stock ↗ |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 4 lb | $180.99 | $53.11 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 1 lb | $37.95 | $69.39 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 1 lb | $46.99 | $78.43 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 8 lb | $275.00 | $38.30 est. | Out |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 8 lb | $292.99 | $42.49 | Out |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 4 lb | $149.00 | $45.11 est. | Out |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 4 lb | $151.99 | $49.72 | Out |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 1 lb | $43.99 | $81.44 | Out |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 1 lb | $38.99 | $85.89 | Out |
“In hand” is the shelf price plus that store’s hazmat fee and shipping, spread over one container. Stock is checked once a day — confirm on the store’s page before ordering. Compare all powders →
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Hodgdon |
|---|---|
| Product family | Hodgdon |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | shotshell, pistol, rifle |
| Grain form | spherical |
| Lee VMD (bulk density) | 0.0678 cc per grain · 0.96 g/cc |
| Composition | double-base |
| Temperature stable | Not marketed as temperature-stable |
| Burn-rate position | 72 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 410 bore, 22 Hornet, 357 Magnum, 44 Remington Magnum |
Grain shape
Fine spherical, degressive and free-metering, packing a lot of energy into a small charge volume. That energy density is exactly why the flame is hard on throats and why a small metering error shows up as a large velocity swing.
Why geometry decides burn rate more than chemistry does: Shape Is the Product.
Hodgdon designed the granule to fit, meter and burn correctly in the awkward 410 case — no spilled shot or bulged hulls. Spherical form gives consistent metering.
Burn rate
Slow, just faster than H110, near Vihtavuori N110.
Chart agreement: consistent; Vihtavuori declines to separate this neighbourhood at all, banding Lil'Gun, H110, H4198, CFE BLK and H4227 into a single burn rate step. Ranked by: Hodgdon, Vihtavuori, Shooters World, Wolfe/LoadData.
Powders charted near it — neighbours on the chart are not substitutes, and adjacency tells you nothing about what charge either one takes:
- Shooters World Heavy Pistol (position 70)
- Vihtavuori N110 (position 71)
- Hodgdon H110 (position 73)
- Winchester 296 (position 74)
- Accurate No. 11FS (position 75)
What reloaders say about it
Unverified community anecdote. The following is a summary of what handloaders report in public forums. It is not manufacturer information, it has not been tested, it may be wrong, and it contains no load data by design. Treat it as colour, not guidance.
Lil'Gun draws a specific and repeated caution: at least one experienced .458 SOCOM loader describes it as noticeably sensitive to temperature variation and inconsistent near the top of its range. Others use it happily for subsonic loads.
- reported temperature sensitivity
- reported inconsistency near the upper end of published data
- used and liked for subsonic and small-capacity applications
- separate widely-circulated concerns about throat erosion exist outside these threads
Availability: Not a scarcity topic in these threads.
Reported cautions:
- One detailed user report describes results becoming unpredictable close to maximum published charges. This is a single knowledgeable account, not a consensus, but it is a reason for extra caution rather than less.
Consensus level: single report to commonly mentioned. Drawn from thread 1.
Sources
The specifications above come from Hodgdon's own published documentation, linked below. The two “RCM's read” sections are ours, not theirs — our assessment of what this powder is like to load, drawn from its published characteristics and from what handloaders consistently report. No manufacturer endorses them and no source below backs them. If you think we have one wrong, tell us — we would rather fix it.