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Question about Red Dot powder

3K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  Firpo 
#1 ·
I have a couple pounds of Red Dot, purchased from a friend. He poured it from a 12 pound can of Red Dot Shotgun powder. Can this also be pistol powder? My Lyman Third Edition Pistol and Revolver Handbook lists various loads using Red Dot, just want to ensure it is the same Red Dot powder. Can says Shotgun powder, maybe it is similar to Unique, can be used in either pistol or Shotgun...Am I right?
 
#5 ·
Glad I was able to get the two pounds. I share load with son and son-in-law, they both shoot 9's, I stick with my .45's. I have been using W231, Titegroup, PowerPistol, Unique and Bullseye.

While I have been reloading for several years, I didn't know about the versatility of some shotgun powders. Nice to have a backup source.
 
#8 ·
I have another question about Red Dot powder. I think I may have posted it elsewhere, but I can't find it now, so I'll add to this post.

A friend wants to reload .223 Remington, and has a bunch of brass and powder he bought for that purpose. Unfortunately, he bought Red Dot, not knowing any better. He's got 8 lbs of the stuff!

I've searched the web and found a load for this caliber with a 55 gr bullet using Red Dot, amounting to 6 gr or so of powder. But it makes me very nervous to proceed with this. That's too small a charge to fill the cartridge, and it's not going to ignite evenly. It very likely will also produce a huge overpressure spike, since it's fairly quick burning. No reputable publisher lists this powder for this caliber, either.

What I've been thinking about is making a trade with him. A local gun shop bought a bunch of IMR 3031 and can't get rid of it. I happen to know that this is one powder that is recommended for the .223, and I wouldn't have a problem with this. For myself, I load 9 mm Luger, and Red Dot is an acceptable powder for that round. So I'm thinking that the smart thing to do is for me to buy the IMR 3031 from the dealer, then trade with my friend for the Red Dot.

What would you do?
 
#9 · (Edited)
Old thread - 9 years

#6 Red dot is listed behind #4 Bullseye and #5 titewad on the relative burn rate chart (lyman). Powder charge weight would NOT be the same for these.

Titewad would likely make a good pistol powder also but I have never seen it listed in any load data other than for lighter 12ga trap and field loads. I'm not brave enough to play around with these fast burning powders - if I can't find published load data I don't load them.

Lyman#50 list red dot for 200 and 225 cast lead in 45acp. And in, 90 and 120 cast lead in 9mm.

30-31 works fine in some of my 223 loads. It has fat pieces so doesnt meter as well as some others - weighing charges is better as with 4895 but the 4895 is a little smaller. A2230 and others flow much better. 30-31 and the faster listed powders do better in shorter barrels IMO. They dont shoot as much fire and noise out the barrel - they still work fine in longer barrels also like my 22" bolt gun.
 
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