by smurfman on Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:04 pm
I pick up the least expensive powder I can find. Typically, that is Alliant Promo which tends to run about 3/4 the price of Red Dot and 2/3 that of Hodgdon Clays. It only comes in 8 pound kegs but it lasts and one can use a fair bit of shotshell powder over the year. It uses the same data as Red Dot for weight but one needs a scale to determine the bushing to use as it is different than red Dot. A good rule of thumb is to start 2 sizes smaller than that called for with Red Dot and weigh. Move up or down as called for.
I run mostly 7/8 oz at roughly 1250 fps for target in my 12 ga as I am cheap and don't want to use more shot nor get kicked harder than I have to. From long use I found if I miss a clay it is much more likely my fault than the load. It works fine in the O/Us and the Beretta 391 but I suspect the 11/87 would have issues as these are lighter than what that gun may like. I recall when I used 11/87s they did not run well on Winchester Xtra-lites or their equivalents when the round count approached 100. These were field guns of 2 decades ago so Remington may have tweaked them to run better since.
Replicate the "heavy trap" loads of 1 1/8 oz of shot at 1200 fps with clays, Red Dot, Promo, Green Dot, International Clays, and the like will be pretty fool proof. Start lowering the velocity or shot load and you may begin having some issues. Generally, lower shot load first and then adjust powder drops as necessary/needed while consulting a manual. It may take a bit of playing but you will find something you like.