RE: Gold Dot range report
I've been shooting it in Whites. My Ultra Mag seems to love the stuff and shoots well almost without regard to the projectile. I was using 90 grains volumetric behind 200 grain Shockwaves and getting very good groupings (the .504 White is a 1:24" twist). It also did very well with lesser charges behind several different heavy conicals. My .451 97 White (1:20")is sighted using 70 grains by volume of Swiss FFFg, RWS 1075+, 420 grain BullShop conical, again with very good accuracy.
I don't own a chrono but fully expect the results from the Swiss would equal or exceed those from T7. One thing I really like about the powder is how well it meters into a volumetric measure. Simply fill and level it off, there is little to be gained by tapping the measure - unlike T7 - so I would translate to greatly increase consistency.The accuracy results tell me that is true.
When firing conicals, I don't really worry about velocity. I tend not to shoot heavy charges so leading is not a problem. So far as trajectory, I verify trajectories by shooting at multiple ranges out to my own imposed limits.
It IS black and does have the rotten egg smell but not nearly as bad as other blacks I've shot or been around. There is an even coating of fouling left in the bore that seems very uniform and swabbing between shots is an easy task.