The information found on this page was assembled from other websites.

Dram (or DRAM Equivalents) is an antiquated measure based on the amount of black powder (in drams) it takes to propel a certain mass of shot at a specific velocity.   In this day and age we rarely, if ever use black power in our shotshell loadings.   Because of this fact, DRAM Equivalent specifications is a reference for volocity.   Consideration is not taken for the many other variables that make a good shooting shotshell, such as actual volocity with the lowest chamber pressure (resulting in lower recoil felt by the shooter).

Dram equivalent is proportional to both velocity and shot mass making this specification both difficult to relate and confusing which may lead to errors when loading shells. This is because the same DRAM Equivalent may be completely different based on the shot charge and type of gun.

The following table provides some of the many dram equivalents for different shells, shot payloads and guns:

10 Gauge