Can one use RED DOT powder for Reloading Buck shots,and if so How many grains does one need to use in a 2 3/4" shell,shot being 1 1/4 oz.

Secondly how does one convert Drams(powder) to Grains.

What an odd poll! I vote "How does one convert Drams(powder) to Grains".

On a more helpful note, here's the link to Alliant's buckshot data (nothing listed for 12 gauge 2 3/4 inch shells):
http://recipes.alliantpowder.com/rg.taf?_function=buckshot&step=1&_function2=setJavascriptFlag&guntypeID=

Looks like you got an accidental poll. There's too many options here and it's not the first one. No problem.

Red Dot is too fast for heavy buckshot loads by the look of the data. There's no data for it in the Lyman or DBI manuals either. There's lots of data for SR 4756 and Herco.

OK, let's be careful about Drams. The Drams Equivalent rating on a shot shell is the velocity that so many Drams of Black Powder produces. An equal weight of smokeless powder is disastrous. Take a standard 3 Drams Equivalent trap load. Depending on your choice of hull and wad, you'll need about 19 grains of Red Dot. There's 256 drams and 7000 grins in a pound. So 7000 / 256 = 27.34 grains per dram and 82 grains in 3 drams. Quadruple overload :eek:

If you're loading Black Powder and your measure or scale is in grains, the 27.34 ratio is handy to know. Also, don't confuse English Drams with metric Grams.

Bye
Jack

Don't try to convert Drams to anything, it is an obsolete unit of measure for black powder.

Buckshot - stick with published data for shotshells. There isn't a lot of room for error. Gut feeling is that Red Dot is a little fast and would not be useful except the very lightest loads. Get the Lyman Shotshell manual.