I know Lil Gun is dirty.... but I don't find A-1680 as dirty as you are making it sound. Am I missing something?
It’s all relative.
If you are using pistol gas, you can move to faster powders. In general they will be quieter, cleaner and blow less gas in your face. N120 is a bit of an anomaly. It’s cleaner, and quieter than 1680, with a bit less gas, but not as noticeable as moving to something like H110. It’s a great carbine gas powder.
I find all the Vihtavouri powders to be exceptionally clean and they all now have anti copper agents. All pluses for low density loads.
The other thing N120 has going for it is that it has more bulk for weight and takes just a bit more powder than 1680 to reach the same velocity. Higher load density in slow powders generally produces less ES. That really helps the vertical past 100 yards.
With pistol gas I skip the slower powders all together, there’s just too much muzzle pressure that translates into ejection port pressure and pop along with unburned gas and powder blowing back. Carbine gas needs it to cycle so it’s a different issue.
It s just a great powder that is often overlooked. Partly due to price, partly due to lack of data online, you actually have to invest in a book. Hornady, Sierra and Vihtavouri all have good data.
1680 data works in a pinch, but velocity will be low.
It’s not that 1680 is bad, N120 just has more qualities that I look for, and generally noticeably less vertical at 200 yards and beyond.
