Old School Green Dot
 

As an Old School reloader I have been reloading and shooting Green Dot powder in my 28 gauge for nearly 50 years now. I am way too old to change.
Is it just me or are others finding it difficult to find Green Dot powder? Help!
Thank you.
Steve Kleist
Ely, MN

Steve:
I commiserate on finding Green Dot. Its been a horrid mess for the last 8 years. That's why I also load 20/28. When you have two options, it's a bit easier to find a powder.

Interesting. Green Dot is one of the few powders I could find during the past shortage. I would not say that I could buy it whenever I wanted but if you kept your eyes open it was readily easy to find especially compared to Hodgdon powders.

In the Alliant line of powders, Green Dot is a little on the fast side for the 28 gauge. I know there are a couple of loads on the chart, but my choice would be Unique.

Green dot in 28ga? Hmm....I have an old 3# tin of it; I'll have to look in the data for a load to use it up. Maybe in 20g also?? I've been using PB for 20 because I have LOT of it.

By far my favorite load for 20ga 3/4 oz utilizes Green Dot.

All the loads I saw used a CCI 209 primer, which I have none of. I want to keep using the Win209's because I have almost 10,000 in stock. I did see a variety of loads for 20 and 28 ga using Green Dot in the Lyman shotshell books.

If you have a Cabela's near you, you can go online and they have 8# kegs on sale right now for $179.99.

Elect ship to store and there is no shipping or hazmat fee. They will call you when it comes in.

I load the following 20- from the Alliant site:

Win 209 primer
13.8 gr. Green Dot
Claybuster 1075-20
3/4 oz hard shot

It burns clean, is in the mid pressure range, and patterns very well in several guns I have tested it with. Does a wonderful job on clays but I do not hunt with it.

Thank you all who replied.
Thank you Tad for the Green Dot source tip.
I ordered 8 lbs of Green Dot that should get me to the finish line (& beyond).
FYI my favorite Green Dot loads are (some from a '60's vintage Herters catalog):
12 Ga 1 1/4 oz 23.0 grns Green Dot Win 209 plastic shot cup (excellent upland load)
12 Ga 1 1/8 oz 18.5 grns Green Dot Win 209 plastic shot cup (good for skeet, spt clays, and an awesome handicap trap load. It is fast with even patterns.)
20 Ga 7/8 oz 14.5 grns Green Dot Win 209 plastic shot cup (target & upland)
28 Ga 3/4 oz 12.4 grns Green Dot Win 209 plastic shot cup. (target & excellent grouse/woodcock load with (shot cupless) spreader through an "open" .001" & .003" choked Parker.)
Thank you again.
Best Fishes,
Steve Kleist Ely, MN

I would think the CCI and Win or Cheddite primer would all pretty much be interchangeable. The CCI209M and Fed primers are hotter and would need about 1 gr less powder.

I have used the cheddite and Win primers and haven't changed anything else. I believe they are for all intent and purposes the same. My go to powder for the 28 has been Unique for 20 years.

No objections to the loads accessed from the sixties loading manuals. They probably won't blow your gun up. The date of the manual is my only objection. Fifty years later, loading information is available on the powder company websites. In the sixties, a recommended target load for 12 gauge was 23 grains of Red Dot. Today, it is about 17 grains. Do you see the problem?

For our old guns - yes.





.

I suspect it is foolhardy to assume that any powder has not changed some in a fifty year time span. Why not access current data.

Not too many years ago Alliant had numerous loads listed on their website using Green Dot for 7/8oz 20 ga loads. Today I do not think you will find one. Why? I have no idea.

I'll stick with currently published data thank you!

Gary, Bill & Dean,
You are all correct.
Somehow some of us old Geezers seem to keep doing things the same way as before and that does not make it right, but hopefully, the same at least for the most part.
Good advice. Thank you.
FYI: Both of my Parkers are Reproductions.
Steve

The 1968 Hercules Smokeless Powder Guide lists a 1 1/4 ounce lead load in 10ga driven by 29 grains of Red Dot with a "Cup type Over Powder Wad". With a Card Over Powder Wad it lists 31 grains.

Is there anybody out there who would shoot this much Red Dot with a 1 1/4 ounce load in 10ga, even in a fluid steel gun? I sure wouldn't.

Gary, "why" is because of wad configuration, hull construction, you name it. The bottom line is that powder companies continually test various combinations of all components. That's why we don't shoot 24 grains of Red Dot in 12 gauge target loads. Things change.

Am I remembering incorrectly that Remington shotshell primers produce up to 1000psi more than Win 209? With my .45-90 and 400gr cast bullets WLR primers produce 80fps more velocity than CCI equivalents. Anyone have any actual comparison data between Win 209 and CCI?

Richard. This is the best I can come up with:
http://www.armbrust.acf2.org/primersubs.htm

bill even 24 grains of reddot in a 10 ga would be plenty stout...charlie

Plastic hulls and wads are more efficient. I think powder formulation has changed too. I watched a friend damage a nice Ideal grade Smith with an old MEC 11/8 oz. charge bar and Red Dot. The old bars had a fixed powder measure. The shells popped his bottom rib and slightly bulged both barrels. He denied it could be the bar throwing too much powder because he had used it since the 60's. But always in a Remington 1100. I tried to tell him that was because it was a loosey goosey auto that forgave such an overload. When I measured the powder charge it threw it was 24 grains! Like Murphy says, we don't do that anymore.