jOe: In general, what we call 'promo' loads ARE well constructed shells. What they lack is a brass head hull with long reloading life. The Gun Club hulls can be, and frequently are, reloaded with decent hull life.
Just because STS/AA/Gold Medal shells are top of the line, does not mean that the more economical offerings are necessarily ineffective. I've had zero problems with Federal promo loads, and I've shot thousands of them. A few Gun Club shells have slipped by QC that shouldn't have, and Winchester has issues with the Super-X shells. I've used RIO with success, and find them an excellent shell at a great price.
The pressure is on all the makers to keep price down. Doing so without reliability problems must be quite a challenge. Some do better than others.
There was a time when I swore I'd never buy another Remington shell or primer, but now their STS shells set the standard. Things change.
