Question for those familiar with Red Dot

You won't get an accurate throw from the charge bar with Unique or the Dots at really small charge weights. Modding the charge bar can make it more reliable for charges in the 4-5gr range. Below 4gr with large flake powders it is just not reliable enough for the small charges needed for .380acp. Use the disks instead. They will give you accurate and repeatable charges if your technique is sound. I only use the charge bar for powders with excellent metering characteristics or where larger quantities are required.

Yep very similar to Unique in metering only. But it's a great powder for certain purposes. It will run through your disks just fine. Remember to record the disk volume and add it to your notes so that you don't have to rediscover it later.

OP,
Yep, it meters poorly with the Lee charge bars and disks -- based on my buddy's testing at the lower charge weights. You will need to test it and see how it consistent it may be for you. Or, try some other measure.
I'm loading 380, 9MM, 38spcl and others with Promo which is similar to Red dot in consistency and Alliant says to use Red Dot data for it. In my Hornady LNL powder measure I have no issues staying within .1 grain of the desired charge.
It's a great powder and pretty useful across a wide range of calibers, but at the lower charge weights it will be problematic in some measures.

I don't load Red Dot below about 3.7 grains through my LCT/PAD. I get inconsistent throws. At that or above I get very little variance.

Great powder... I use a lot of it.

I'll post a link to a charge bar mod that I got from Maxx Havoc here at THR.

Here it is

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=757530


I can bang out small repeatable charges over and over and over now for 380. Cant recall if Ive tried it with the bulky shotgun powders yet though.

I shoot IDPA with 9mm, 124g Xtreme, 3.2g Red Dot. Fairly soft, and accurate. With my Lee Classic Turret press, it meters inconsistently. Great for twenty rounds or so, but then it will drop a 2.0g instead of 3.2. So, I hand weigh every round for IDPA. I gotta say that the problem is my metering equipment, not the powder.

For the many 45 Colt loads and the few 9mm I used a Lee scoop (modified for the 9mm) into a balance and then trickled. Slow but safe.

Used to, Red Dot was one of the very first if not the very first powder every new reloader got familiar with. A great handgun and shotgun powder for the better part of a century.

If I could only have one powder for 380, 9 & 38 Red Dot would be at the top of the list.

Red Dot's a nice shootin' powder. It meters ok in my Lee Perfect Powder Measure (I have one mounted to my LCT), but when I want true consistency in my RD loads, I will either use a dipper I made or weigh each load.

OP to the question of which would be more forgiving I'd say the 38 spcl, but and it's a big but -- only if you aren't pushing the envelope at the upper limits and have a stronger gun. But, with that I'll add, that you should figure out which measure and charge will get you the most consistency. It's a small margin in 380 and in 9MM.
I've been loading 2.8 grains (Promo) for my 380. Started at 2.6, went up .1 at a time, and settled at 2.8. I may go up to 2.9 depending on my Glock 42 shoots tomorrow, and others have gone higher, but I'm loading 380 on the lighter side so it keeps the recoil pleasant. A jump of 2/10s of a grain is felt in the recoil of my LCP and the Beretta 84.
In 9MM I'm loading 3.3 - 3.5 grains under 124/125 gr LRN and now some Plated.
Another point, you will find some good data for Red Dot in the 2004 Alliant handbook. The 2014 doesn't show as much for Red Dot in handguns.

Ì've probably burned 6 pounds of Promo (Red Dot w/o the dots) in cartridges from .380 to .45 Colt, over the last few years, so I'll admit of SOME familiarity with it. It IS a P.I.T.A. to use in charge weights <@ 4.0 grains. BUT, if I took the time to weigh each charge, it delivered some of my best accuracy in .380. I don't LIKE using it for 9x19mm, but it'll work. You may find that using 115 grain (or lighter) projectiles broadens your window for titration a bit, and you have a nicer margin for error.

The majority of my Promo/RedDot use is in .45 ACP, where it works wonderfully. It's also not bad for .357 Magnum loads to be shot from short (less than 4") barrels.

I'll stand by my assertion that if I was limited to ONE pistol powder for all cartridges, I'd want UNIQUE, followed closely by HERCO. But if neither of those were available, and all I had was Red Dot/Promo, I wouldn't cry about my misfortune (well, okay, I wouldn't cry MUCH).

If you find yourself pulling your hair out in frustration over how it meters, try adding about a gram (15.4 grains) of powdered graphite to a 1 lb. can. Sometimes it helps.

I use it all the time in shot shells, and sometimes in 9mm and .38 spl. It does meter like crap, so I weigh every charge to be safe. Its a good powder, but make sure you stay below max, it is a really fast powder...small amounts go a long way, just don't over do it.

I use Red Dot for my .38 Special cowboy action loads which are a small charge weight. It meters just fine out of my Hornady LNL-AP's rotary drum powder measure.

Im a dipper with my Red Dot
and i love my Red Dot
wish i had some more!!

I just picked up my first jug of Red Dot at the last gun show. Last night I worked up my first test loads in 45acp, where I hand weighed each round.

I was using my Uniflow to drop the initial charges. I had slightly better results using the optional baffle, and that gave a roughly 0.25gn range on the drops.

After I finished working up my loads, I then experimented with my Dillon measure. It also gave a range of 0.25gn. But then I added my aquarium pump to the hopper and it improved to a total range of 0.12gn. So, when I get to the point of making production runs with Red Dot, it will be on my Dillon 550.

But, there are some of us that are getting it to work. I'm relying on the LNL AP for mine, so, it is possible to automate. My buddy is using it in his LNL as well.
I'd say test it, see how you can make it work with your equipment.

I have an 8lb jug of Promo that is used primarily for my 125 grain LRN .38s. I have loads between 3.2 and 4.8 grains that I have optimized for each of my .38s/357s.

Also, while I do think some powders like Bullseye perform better in .45, Promo/Red Dot works very well.

I did a fair amount of testing with Promo and lead cast 9mms but never really found any degree of accuracy.

I use Red Dot for 44 special and subsonic cast 30/30 loads.

Schwing said:

I did a fair amount of testing with Promo and lead cast 9mms but never really found any degree of accuracy.

Click to expand...

I assume you slugged your bores? My SIG P226 and Beretta 92 both have .357 bores so .358/.359 MBC smallball work great. 3.8 of red dot under smallball is my main outdoor match load for the SIG (smoky though). Bullseye works a bit better in the Beretta but both are very accurate.

You can see the sig in action here if you want... I'm the fat guy wearing the scarf

http://youtu.be/vu_xDxz6dRM?t=2m51s

1KPerDay said:

I assume you slugged your bores? My SIG P226 and Beretta 92 both have .357 bores so .358/.359 MBC smallball work great. 3.8 of red dot under smallball is my main outdoor match load for the SIG (smoky though). Bullseye works a bit better in the Beretta but both are very accurate.

You can see the sig in action here if you want... I'm the fat guy wearing the scarf

http://youtu.be/vu_xDxz6dRM?t=2m51s

Click to expand...

Yes. My 92 was actually .358. I cast my own bullets so I just bought a .359 sizer and still never had much luck with Red dot. Like you said, bullseye is great. That and Unique are pretty much my go to powders for 9MM.