Alliant Pistol/Shotshell
Alliant Red Dot
A long-standing target shotshell powder for light and standard 12 gauge clay loads, with handgun use as a secondary application.
The archetypal light clay target powder and one of the oldest names in shotshell loading. In light 12 gauge target loads it is clean, consistent and cheap to shoot, and it has a long secondary life in light .38 Special and .45 ACP target loads. The current formulation burns notably cleaner than the version older shooters grumble about. Its risk is the fast-powder risk — the charge occupies almost none of the case, which makes a distracted session dangerous rather than merely wasteful.
- light 12 gauge target loads
- 20 gauge target loads
- .38 Special target loads
Who has Alliant Red Dot today
Checked October 10Out of stock at every store we track
| Store | Size | Shelf | In hand /lb | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 8 lb | $255.95 | $35.92 est. | Out |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 4 lb | $119.99 | $37.86 est. | Out |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 8 lb | $331.99 | $46.18 | Out |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 8 lb | $368.99 | $51.99 | Out |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 4 lb | $183.99 | $55.36 | Out |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 4 lb | $197.99 | $61.22 | Out |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 1 lb | $37.95 | $69.39 est. | Out |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 1 lb | $49.99 | $87.44 | Out |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 1 lb | $53.99 | $100.89 | Out |
“In hand” is the shelf price plus that store’s hazmat fee and shipping, spread over one container. Stock is checked once a day — confirm on the store’s page before ordering. Compare all powders →
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Alliant |
|---|---|
| Product family | Alliant Pistol/Shotshell |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | shotshell, pistol |
| Grain form | flake |
| Lee VMD (bulk density) | 0.1413 cc per grain · 0.46 g/cc |
| Burn-rate position | 11 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 12 gauge, 20 gauge |
Grain shape
Thin, dyed circular flakes cut from extruded sheet; the thickness of that flake is the web, and it is thin, which is why it sits near the top of the burn chart. Degressive burn puts the gas out early behind the wad — exactly right for a light payload, and exactly why an overcharge goes straight to pressure.
Why geometry decides burn rate more than chemistry does: Shape Is the Product.
A long-established Alliant target powder, reformulated to burn substantially cleaner than the original. Promo shares its burn speed but is denser.
Burn rate
Fast burning; sits just ahead of Bullseye in Alliant's ordering.
Chart agreement: consistent across charts - listed in the same relative neighbourhood by every publisher that carries it Ranked by: Hodgdon, Alliant, Vihtavuori, Shooters World, Wolfe/LoadData.
Powders charted near it — neighbours on the chart are not substitutes, and adjacency tells you nothing about what charge either one takes:
- Hodgdon Perfect Pattern (position 8)
- Hodgdon Titewad (position 9)
- Ramshot Competition (position 10)
- Alliant Promo (position 12)
- Hodgdon Clays (position 13)
- Alliant Clay Dot (position 14)
Sources
The specifications above come from Alliant's own published documentation, linked below. The two “RCM's read” sections are ours, not theirs — our assessment of what this powder is like to load, drawn from its published characteristics and from what handloaders consistently report. No manufacturer endorses them and no source below backs them. If you think we have one wrong, tell us — we would rather fix it.