Plopped open my copy of American Rifleman for this month and found out Alliant has come out with a new shotshell powder they’re calling “Extra Lite.” Nothing on their website about it yet so I had to do some reading on shotgun forums where Alliant has a rep dishing out info.
It’s less dense than Red Dot so it’ll take up more room in the hull and is designed to be used in 7/8oz and 1oz loads. This page reprints a press release from Alliant, which is the first result when searching Google for “alliant extra lite”, that says it’s for shooters transitioning from 1 1/8oz loads to 1 7/8oz loads. That’s incorrect. I’m guessing the editor of the press release saw “1 and 7/8 ounce loads” and buggered it up. Easy mistake.
It’s also supposed to be cheaper than Red Dot too. That gets me excited!
The problem with Red Dot in light loads is that it operates at a lower pressure which can cause burn problems in cold temperatures. I got to see this first hand this winter when shooting some sporting clays with my 1oz loads. Not on all shots, just a couple in a 50 round course, but the report was significantly quieter on a couple of them. I didn’t understand why at the time but I do now.
Alliant says they just got DOT approval to ship the stuff and we should be seeing it in stores around mid April. I’ll probably pick up a pound of the stuff to play with it and figure out how it meters in my loader in a couple of months. I’ve still got 4-5lbs of Red Dot in my keg though so I’ll probably try and burn through that during the warmer months, switch to Extra Lite when winter hits, and if everything goes well with it just grab an 8lb keg whenever it’s time to restock and maybe a 1lb jug of Red Dot for times when I actually think I need to load up some 1 1/8oz loads.
Did I mention that I’m excited? I am. Also, I just realized I’m a huge dork because I’m this excited about a new powder hitting the market.
Selling is easier if the company have accurate prospect information.