Quote:
And BTW, 3dr in modern definitions is 1.125oz at 1200FS. ATA mandated and factory certified for both AA's and GM's.

A drams is a weight which equals 1/7000lb, 1/16 oz or 27.34375 grains. Always has been & still is. 3 drams then = to 82.03125 grains. This was a common load in black Powder days.
In "Modern Definitions" the correct term is "Drams Equivelent". This term was set up to convey to a shooter the power level of what he was shooting when he was still familar with black powder. It has stayed with us for years. Nominal velocity for a 3 DE charge behind 1 1/8oz of shot has been set as 1200 fps as stated. However a 3 DE charge can be used behind other shot weights than 1 1/8oz. The velocity will then vary according to wt of the shot. As I recall 3 DE with 1oz of shot goes to about 1255 fps, while with 1¼oz it drops to around 1135 or so, don't have a chart of these in front of me currently. Thus a 3 DE listing means that the powder charge regardless of its actual type, wt or whatever will produce a velocity level nominally equal to that of 3 drams of black by weight for the amount of shot used. Nothing more, nothing less. In years past I bought a large number of factory loaded 12ga shells on which was marked 3Drams Equiv-1oz #8, #6 etc according to shot size. These were the "Economy" shells in those days, now-a-days these loads all contain 3¼ DE which gives a nominal 1290fps to the 1oz of shot to insure working a gas gun adequatly.

Miller/TN
I Didn't Say Everything I Said, Yogi Berra