Anybody using Vihtavouri?

[TD-Max]

I've had such good luck with Re10x that it's tough to justify a change, but I have a good supply of N133, 135, and 140. From what I gather the 133 is most likely match to the 204. Has anybody tried this against 10x?

[jo191145]

I've tried 133 135 140.

The problem I had with all three was proper obturation of the case necks (expanding)
seems no matter how much annealing I did the case necks would not expand reliably.

Go ahead try some. Maybe extra neck tension would help. I can't recall if I tried extra tension.
I liked 135 the best followed by 140. 133 should work too tho.
133 worked well with the 26 VG's
What bullet?

[TD-Max]

I've been hooked on the 32 and 39 SBK as they shoot so nice in my Sako and the same loads work well in my Remington as well.

[jo191145]

Try the 135 first. The accuracy potential I saw was impressive.
Berger has some data out for Viht in 204R. Be careful, its way to conservative. I saw massive blowby at above Berger starting loads.
140 also showed good potential but for me it was'nt till WAY HOT that it settled down.
Just keep an eye on the necks of your brass while using it.

You could do a search on this forum for more info. Try "Viht Curse". That might get some hits.

[TD-Max]

Thanks I'll try that search. I tried a search of N133 prior to posting assuming it was the better choice and got a mess of posts, but hard to find any REAL info.

[TD-Max]

I did a search and found 3 recent and 2 old. The 2 old were all postal shoot and winners circle.

[TD-Max]

How is the temperature stability of thess powders?

[Rick in Oregon]

The only bummer about VV powder is the freakin' high cost! My Cooper M21 Varmint shoots bugholes with N133 and the 40gr Nosler BT, but at just over $35.00 a POUND, my two pound jug is gonna last me quite a while.

The flyers are the pilots fault, I'm sure the rifle/load combination is much more accurate than I am:



This stuff is the darling of all the top BR shooters, and for good reason, but for shooting varmints, I can live with other powders that give me .010" less at the 100 yard target, but save me ten bucks per pound. It's just too expensive to shoot the stuff at rats, period.

[Ethan]

I have used N133 in my 223 for years and it is my favorite powder. Great accuracy and smoking velocity. I loaded up some Dogtowns with 25.5 in my 204 Encore 2 years ago. They shot ok but I did not tinker at all with that load. It seem very sedate, but I did not chrono it.

I have just loaded up some more with 26.0 and both some 32 grain Hornadys, and the Dogtowns. I hope to get to the range soon and chrono both. I will post up when I do. I have not found much in the way of load data.

[TD-Max]

IMR, Hodgdon etc $19/lb or $134 for 8#

Vihtavouri $25.40/lb or 168/8#

So the price gap narrows with the larger containers.

I bought heavy at Powder Valley a couple of years back so I have a bunch of this on hand. A soild order of primers and powder helps to offset the hazmat fees. I can't hardly find much of anything local without a lot of hassle so I order mine now.

Gander mtn wants about $29/lb for most of their limited selection.