Even so, the accuracy was nothing to crow about, though plenty good enough for 100 yard shots on deer, which is as far as I would shoot, anyway. The terminal ballistics were excellent.
I've learned a few things since then and was wondering if I could give the 180 grain / 1800 fps combo another try ?
So ..... here's the 180 grain "Lover-rider," a blend of Loverin and bore riding features.

(the close-up photo distorts the ogives and makes them look cockeyed, but that's just the camera, not the bullets


I started out with the same 15.3 gr. charge of Lil Gun that is used with the 190 grainer, however, velocities were much lower than the 190 grainer. Perhaps the "lover-rider" has less engraving resistance, or perhaps the lighter bullet doesn't burn the powder as efficiently. Either way, it looks like quite a bit more Lil Gun is required to hit 1800 fps.

Pressure:
The strain gage had been covered up with wraps of tape to protect it, however, when I removed the tape, the gage came off with the tape ! I'm not going to put another gage on this gun since I tote this gun a lot and the gage just gets in the way.
Accuracy:
5-shot groups with 15.3 grains Lil Gun: 6.1", 4", 3"
3-shot groups while walking up powder charge: 3.6", 5.1", 4"
In other words, about the same accuracy as the 190 grainer. Mind you, that's with a peep sight and my terrible vision, and I don't have shooting glasses that can focus on the front bead. Sometimes it acted like it wanted to shoot, and no doubt it would group better with a scope, but I'm not going to go there.

Things To Try Next Time:
-- use H110 or WC297 instead of Lil Gun. Lil Gun doesn't seem to burn well with this bullet.
-- change one of the bore riding bands (the one just above the crimp) to 0.359". I suspect it won't matter one way or the other, but I'd like to see what happens.
Otherwise I am about out of ideas since I am hemmed in by COL and powder space. I can't make the base longer because I'm out of powder space. I can't make the nose longer because I'm out of COL. All I can do is try to optimize the band and groove configuration.