Can someone recommend a clean burning powder for semi-auto shotguns? Just got a new Beretta A391 (first semi-auto) and want to load some ammo for the upcoming dove season. I'll be using Win AA hulls and 1 1/8 oz. of 7 1/2 or 8 shot at about 1250fps. I always used Unique in my pump but it did seem to leave quite a bit of unburned residue.

Try one of the loads using American Select
There are some going 1250 FPS

Link

Johnch

Try some Hogdon Clays for clean burning, cleanest burning I've ever seen. Lyman shotshell manual shows some 1 1/8 oz loads in AA hulls at just under 1200 fps.

Try some 7/8 oz or 1 oz loads and save some money. Doves'll be just as dead.

As swheeler mentioned, Hodgdon Clays is just about the cleanest burning powder you can find. It's really nice. International Clays isn't bad either.

One rule of thumb that I've found is that the higher the pressure of the reload, typically the cleaner it will burn.

Clays for me too.

You might also try Hodgdon Titewad in a 1 oz. load. It burns clean, and I do not see any difference in the effectiveness of the 1 oz. load vs. 1-1/8 oz.

Thanks for the comments. Looks like Clays/Titewad are the ones to try. Agree 1 1/8oz loads are little heavy, especially on the opener when there are lots of birds. But, later when it becomes dove "hunting" rather than dove "shooting" I do a lot better on the longer birds with more shot. Also, the last time I tried an autoloader (a Rem. 11-87) it just would not reliably cycle ligher loads. After several unsuccessful trips to Remington gunsmiths I sold it. If the Beretta will cycle 1 oz. loads I'll give em a try on the opener.
Thanks again for the information.

Clays, if I recall, is aquired from VitaVu in Finland. A dealer explained they use cotton as their nitrocellulose base whereas everyone else is likely to use old newsprint, corncobs, sawdust, or whatever else blows in the shipping & receiving door.

Guys,
Clays is actually an Australian powder - AS30N.
And yes, a very clean burning powder.

Kirby.

Maybe Graf&Sons still has some french powders, check with them, they had very clean fast burning powders for light loads.

What Edmond said. Normally the Vectan A1 and A0 powders work well in shotguns. The A1 is the faster of the two.