.

What powder would y'all recommend for loading 3/4 ounce 12 gauge shotgun shells ?


Trying to keep velocities under 1200 fps for informal recreational clay target shooting by people with physical problems.

Shells will be shot in a relatively lightweight single-barrel trap gun.

So it is not necessary for the recoil or pressure to operate a semiautomatic shotgun action or a second shot with an inertia trigger.

I have the wads designed specifically for the 3/4 ounce load.


.

Hodgdon has some good load data available via their manuals or online page. Clays comes to mind.

I've also heard that Unique or perhaps Green Dot are good light load powders but have never explored that.

I've used 17.5 Red Dot with Federal Gold Medal cases and the 12SO Federal wad.

Hammer1-
I've no personal experience, but friends have found that Titewad performs well at 1150 fps with the CB1-0175 wads in either the Remington one-piece hulls or Winchester AAs.
--Bob

Why one would use anything but Bullseye or Red Dot is beyond me but I suppose there are others. I personally use Bullseye. I have used Green Dot but at higher speeds. Regards, Woody

Titewad should work well, but you are going to be struggling with consistent ignition at those speeds, especially if it gets a little cold. I've shot tens of thousands of 7/8ths load with titewad, and even those can get a little wonky when cold (below 10 degrees).

I would suggest using newish hulls, putting a good, deep crimp on them, and using the hottest primer you can get your hands on (ie. Federal 209a or cci magnum). HTH, Dutch.

Yeah, really light loads in 12-gauge don't generate a lot of pressure--which sounds like a good thing until it gets cold. I mostly use 'em in my shotguns for summer practice and early-season upland hunting, when weather's nice and birds tend to be closer. But I don't use 'em for December pheasants or February clays!

I've ran a chit load of 7/8 oz. loads in 12 gauges for the first shot on doubles or singles practice. My powder of choice was and has always been Hodgdens Clays. I started my son out shooting trap when he was 10 years old with said loads running in the mid 1,100 fps and then working up to around 1,250 fps. Good luck with your venture and kudus to you getting people interested in the sport!!!

He's not looking to run a semi-auto. It's single-barrel trap gun.

I've had good luck with Clays, Claydot, E3, and Extra Lite, Claybuster magenta 3/4 oz wads, STS cases, Win 209 primers.

+1 for Claydot.

I have used nothing but Clays for all my 12 gauge target loads for about the last 15 years, to include 3/4 and 7/8 ounce low vel loads. No complaints whatsoever. Those light loads are used all year 'round with no ill effects, but of course winter cold doesn't mean the same thing here that it does out there in the land of the wind chill factor.

I have gone so far as to replace Bullseye and Red Dot with Clays, and Unique with Universal Clays in my pistol and low vel cast bullet rifle loads. Just personal preference, but the tipping point is that the Clays line of powders burn way cleaner, especially at really low pressures.

Clays and Clay Dot are fine all around powders. But when the shot load drops to 1oz or lighter, particularly 3/4oz, I really like Extra Lite. 3/4oz loads fire cleanly in cold or hot weather - no bloopers. It's my goto powder for reduced loads.