Felt Recoil and Powders

[BCFred]

A year or so ago I ran into a buy on a flat of Remington 1 1/8 oz coming out at 1235 ft/sec. So, I bought it and, admittedly with some fear, actually tried it in a handicap match. I expected to be shoved all over the place and was amazed when I felt it didn't kick any harder than any of my 1200 ft/sec loads. In fact, I felt it might not be quite as sharp as them. At any rate, after some research, I tried Green Dot running a similar 1 1/8 oz load at that velocity and again felt it didn't kick all that much in comparison. Normally I use faster powders and don't shoot 1 1/8 oz loads over 1200, but I was impressed with these fast heavy loads. I'm aware that some people can get exercised over the whole issue of felt recoil, but I have wondered if anyone else has had similar experiences with these loads. I know Green Dot is popular with trap shooters, perhaps this is why. I have also wondered if Hogdgon had a powder that someone has had similar experiences with and thinks might be worth a try at these heady velocities. I have tried Unique as well but, for me, it yields pretty heavy recoil and muzzle blast. I also haven't bought shares in Remington, just in case you were wondering!

 

[Claybuster]

I've had the same experience comparing what are otherwise identical loads. The most noticeable was between a Challenger and Winchester Super Target that were both 1 ounce at 1,350fps. The Winchester Super Target kicked the snot out of me while the Challenger was much softer shooting. I wondered whether Challenger was optimistic in its velocity claim but after chronying both shells this wasn't the case.

I can't name a Hogdgon powder that will do the same thing but Alliant American Select is to my shoulder one of the softest shooting powders around. Having tried a variety of powders over the years once I found American Select I've not bought anything else for 12 gauge even though there are less expensive powders on the market.

 

[Covey Ridge]

Fred,
I have the same impression of Remington’s gold handicap load. It seems very soft for the velocity claim. I would buy them and use them as the source for all my hulls but in my area they are scarce or over priced. I agree with CB on American Select being one of the softest. With 1 oz loads I find AS softer than green dot.

 

[Labatt50]

I've had the same experience comparing what are otherwise identical loads. The most noticeable was between a Challenger and Winchester Super Target that were both 1 ounce at 1,350fps. The Winchester Super Target kicked the snot out of me while the Challenger was much softer shooting. I wondered whether Challenger was optimistic in its velocity claim but after chronying both shells this wasn't the case.

I can't name a Hogdgon powder that will do the same thing but Alliant American Select is to my shoulder one of the softest shooting powders around. Having tried a variety of powders over the years once I found American Select I've not bought anything else for 12 gauge even though there are less expensive powders on the market.

Interesting, I tried a pound of that stuff and was unimpressed. I found it very dirty burning like the old red dot. I never noticed a recoil difference. I loaded it in three different loads at pressures from 8900 to 10500 in a 1oz load and it never got satisfactorily clean. I also noticed an increase in muzzle report over my usual clay dot loads. To boot, it had a horrendous static electricity-evoked metering problem. One thing I did notice is it was easy on Federal Paper hulls. I don't think I'll ever buy another ounce of the stuff.



Claybuster, do you load 1oz or 1 1/8th? Curious if payload weight might be the reason for my findings.

 

[Covey Ridge]

Lab 50,
I have used AS in 7/8 and 1 oz loads. Found it meters very consistent and with 1200-1250 1 oz, it is a pleasure to shoot. I think it is cleaner than the average powder, but clean is not my thing. Once you have cleaned a gas loader you realize they all burn dirty, even clays. As far as the green dot being easy on recoil I really am not sure, but green dot has a reputation among long yardage hdcp shooters as having very good pattern at higher velocity.

 

[Claybuster]

I'm loading 1 ounce @ 1,200fps and 7/8s @ 1300 fps. I have had no problems with metering. I would agree that it might not be as clean as Clays but isn't as dirty as old Red Dot. I've never been too concerned about how clean burning a powder is. When Clays hit the market I can recall guys comparing barrels and marvelling how clean they were compared to Red Dot. Never got the excitement.

 

[BCFred]

I have to say that Clays is the cleanest powder I have used. It's almost like I can shoot one reload using Clays to clean my barrel. I recall reading (don't remember where), however, that one has to be careful about cleanliness in barrels as the kinds of deposits left in barrels can be quite different and some deposits are not so easy to see. I think most of the dirtiness I see from my reloads comes from low pressures. I burn a lot of Promo, for example, and my skeet load is 17 grains of Promo with 12L wad or CB clone and whatever 209 primer I can grab. Sometimes I can clean the barrel and recycle the unburnt bits after a round. Cleaning the action is easy though, all you have to do is light a match and hold it close to it. But the load works just fine for hitting clays in skeet. Winter time causes some changes here too. I was kind of hoping someone had tried Universal or Longshot on the recoil topic.