red dot powder

[charlie cleveland]

loaded up12 rounds today in 10 ga of petes listing of useing 19 grains of red dot..and a ounce of bb shot...this is fast becoming my favorite load for plinking at cans..it should be a very good game getter out to 55 yards with the bb shot...i tested the loads at 55 steps the target was a dr pepper can..it would put from 2 to 3 shot in can every time i checked it..believe me it hit the can with plenty of force...a fellow could fire a coupla boxes of these loads and never no he had shot them...i m gonna use my loads to hunt squirl with but a fellow could change the shot size and have a dove round that s perfect and would definely do a big old grouse justice...best part fairly clean burn and easy on them old 100 year old stocks..so if you aint never tried this load i would recommend it very much... i gots say pete lester s the man on this one...charlie

[charlie cleveland]

i meant to say that was a ounce and a 1/8....of the payload... charlie

[Pete Lester]

Charlie it took me some trial and error to learn that 19gr of Red Dot was a sweet spot for the Short Ten with 1 1/8 ounce. I also like 22gr of Green Dot with 1 1/8 ounce. Green Dot has a long history of use by trapshooters for lower felt recoil and tighter patterns for Handicap shooting. My Remington '94 10ga shot 92-93% using Green Dot. You should try that powder too and see if it tightens up your patterns a little.

[charlie cleveland]

will try some green dot when i find some pete..id like to get my parrerns tightened up for sure..but this red dot load is gonna be hard to beat....i think.... charlie

[Paul Harm]

What wad is everyone using? The plastic Rem SP-10 or fiber wads ? I do believe the fiber wads have a lot less recoil.

[Pete Lester]

What wad is everyone using? The plastic Rem SP-10 or fiber wads ? I do believe the fiber wads have a lot less recoil.

Fed Hull, Fiochhi primer, 19gr Red Dot, SP10 wad, almost 1/2" 16ga filler wad, 1 1/8 ounce shot, fold crimp. Shoots really well.

[carl ference]

Regarding RED DOT: I am wondering about recipes for 16 GA application. Very little is published. Using a recipe from a long time hunting partner and a cache of once fired Win 16 Gauge AA hulls here is what I reloaded:
Win AA 16 Gauge Hull
Win 209 Primer
Rem SP16 Wad - 1 OZ
14.9 gr Red Dot

The (6) rounds loaded patterned very nicely at 25 yards (IC & MOD) and preformed well on a few clays... addtional guidance would be appreciated along with any thoughts on a
1 1/8 OZ recipe.

Carl

[John Campbell]

I would not use Red Dot for 1 1/8 oz loads in the 16. A weight of 1 oz is pushing the limits of this powder in that bore size. But why would you need more than 1 oz of shot for any reason? That's my heavy field load for pheasant in a 12-bore.

[carl ference]

Simply stated certain powders do allow for a 1 1/8 load in 16 gauge... whether it is practical can be be debated, which is not my intent. It seems that Red Dot can be suitable for 1 OZ application. Is there a recommended charge grain value with which you have some experience?

Thanks,
Carl

[Paul Harm]

As of late I've been shooting 17grs of Promo [ same as Red Dot ] and 1 1/16oz of shot in my short 10's. Very enjoyable. Tried the 19gr charge but didn't like it - must be too big of a sissy. And when using fiber wads it's like " no recoil ".

[Daryl Middlebrook]

1 1/8 oz. with red dot in a 16 gauge is a NO NO !!!!!!!! Pressures are waaaay to high.

1 1/8 oz. with red dot in a 12 or a 10 gauge is a good choice.

[Daryl Corona]

I agree with Daryl and John. Even a powder suitable for that load would raise pressure and recoil to a level that would punish you and the gun. I have been loading 3/4oz. in the 16 and I have yet to find a bird, be they feathered or clay, that it would not kill or crush. Sometimes less is better.

[Paul Harm]

Carl, it's probably pretty hard to fit a 1 1/8oz load in a 16ga. Maybe with fiber wads. A one oz load will kill about anything you're likely to hunt. If you want something with a bit more punch like for duck, goose, or turkey, get a 12 or 10ga. Good luck - Paul

[carl ference]

Gents:
Thanks so much for the info. Seems from your feedback and the material which I have read on several blogs is that RED DOT has it's best application in 12 or 10 GA. I completely agree that R/D with 1 1/8 OZ is not by any means suitable for a 16.

Paul, also appreciate the insight on PROMO. My powder of choice by Gauge over the past several years has been Unique (16), Long Shot (28) and Clays (12). Since it was given to me, the Red Dot has been a mystery and needless to say your collective guidance has helped me tremendously... At this stage of my life I do not want to put myself and my gun into low orbital flight!

Thanks to all,
Carl

[Paul Harm]

Promo uses the same data as R/D - but may weigh differently with the same bushing - it must be weighed with a scale. Some claim it burns a little more dirty than R/D but that has never bothered me. After shooting black powder for over 40 years all nitro seems clean to me. My last 8#'s was 80$ compared to 700X going for 105, so if you're shooting a lot it makes a difference.

[John Campbell]

Red Dot has been around practically since gunpowder was invented. And it's been known as a dirty burning powder for just as long. But... it has always been cheap and available.

The nave in me thinks Hercules had about 12 trainloads of the stuff made up. So, Alliant invented the name "Promo" (as in "promotional") and decided to get rid of some of it under that banner.

[Paul Harm]

I've been told it is RD but the grain size isn't as uniform as RD and that's why you have to check each new batch with a scale. Guess they save a little by not keeping as close a tolerance. Dirty, only till the next shot blows the old dirt out and leaves some new. There's some residue left, but not enough to worry about. People wanta talk about dirty barrels, they need to shoot BP - now there's some dirty barrels.