Reduce powder & shot in given reciepe

grayingghost

I have a number of modern 12 ga. guns and I use Unique powder to load for them, I like its flexability as working in handguns also. My question is (seriously guys, please no 'pat' follow the book exactly answers) In a given load in AA hulls, WWAA wads proper primers a 1 1/8 oz. load calls for 23 gr. Unique. Why couldn't I drop that down to 1 oz. and reduce powder cge. by a few grains and have a milder less pressure load??? I ask because I have a couple old fellas, one a Rem. (looks like the #9) with last pat. date june 1903 than others pending, so it should be about that era. It's a noticably used gun, but solid and has a mirror bore, another is an old (around 1930's) model 12 in 16 ga. I'd just like to shoot rather gentle loads in these. I don't want to buy another can of powder (it's expensive!) that I probably wouldn't use up in my lifetime (Im kinda old, retired and I shoot these pieces infrequently). I do, however; shoot'em, I can't stand a wallhanger; all my guns gotta stand tall and do their thing!!!!

20gabob

Unique is really too slow burning to make an effective 1 oz load in a 12 ga. Green Dot would be marginal in a slow speed low pressure load but much better than Unique. 17 gr of Red dot would still be your best bet and pressures wouldn't be too high i don't believe. The Unique load you want to try might go bang but pressures and velocities would be all over the place.

bpost

Powder needs resistance to build pressure as it burns, the wrong powder choice messes with the important transformation from a solid to a plasma-gas in a repeatable, safe manner. You may find 20 rounds fire OK then five that go POOF and dribble shot out at your feet.

Powder has the same basic energy per pound no matter the type, how fast and at what pressure points it operates efficiently and repeatably is the reason some powders are for rifle, some for pistol some for shotgun and even some crossover.

The large volume of a shot shell powder area and low peak permissible pressure is actually a drawback for extrapolating much information from one load to the next. Only pressure testing can show if it is (1) safe (2) repeatable and (3) useful.

gcs10

I looked at the Alliant web site for 12 gauge AA Hulls with AA wads and 1 1/8 ounce of shot. If you used a Rem 209P primer and 23.0 grains of Unique, you would have a load that ran around 1200 fps at about 7500 psi. I doubt that pressure would bother an old timer. The recoil of 1200 fps 1 1/8 ounce of shot might rattle its bones a bit but chamber pressure would be very low.

If you felt the recoil was too much, then I would look at a 1 ounce load running around 1145 fps; Red Dot would be an excellent choice for that load; chamber pressure would be around 8000 psi. One pound of Red Dot would not cost too much and would give you over 400 shells for your old geezer.

I see a couple of 16 gauge loads using Unique powder with Federal or Fiocchi hulls so you could create something useful in that gauge with your current powder.

zimmden

Please, for your safety and others don't guess about loads or use unpublished advice. "Pat" answers all work safely in good firearms. Our goal as reloaders should be to duplicate proven loads as published. These are verified in pressure chambers and over chronographs. My Lyman book lists Dupont SR 7625 and 800X and Win WSL as the lowest pressures (6500 PSI) and high velocities (1150 to 1200 FPS)in 12 gauge 1 oz loads. At $22 per pound (400+ loads)the cost for proper powder is sleight for good safe loads. A few reloading manuals are cheap or free. Good Luck.

gotstolefrom

One thing that has not been said, but I'm pretty sure is valid for most who replied, and that is. " I did something similar one time and it did not work out well".

At the least we ended up with variable performance , unburned powder left behind, and other traits of a load we were not proud of.

I'm also pretty sure most who replied are not 'conformists' as a rule, but we do conform to the rules in these cases.

Use the alternate powder/loading that has proven to deliver the performance you want (like we ultimately did). You will be proud of the loads for those old fellas, and will use all the powder eventually.

ENJOY !

CapnMidnight

For shooting doubles I load 1oz and 17.5gr Red Dot in the first barrel, and my standard Red Dot 1 1/8 oz load in the top barrel.
I'm a firm beleaver in Red Dot, I use it in everything except the 410.
W.D.