9mm Cast Boolits and VV N340 ?

[Sapper771]

Hey Guys, its me again. I was out shopping around yesterday and found some VV N340 powder for $25 per pound. I went online with my phone and downloaded the Vihta Vuori load guide and they did show loads for 9mm cast and N340, so I bought a pound. $25 looked like an awesome price seeing how its usually $33-$38 at other stores.

I am not really looking for loads, I have load data, I just need to do some development and see what is going to work well. My question is How well does VV powders do with cast boolits. I have never used VV before. All I have heard from others is that it is awesome. Just looking for some opinions on its performance, less smokey?, accuracy?

I am using the Lee 120gr TC Boolit. I would be interested in hearing from those who have used N340 with cast 9mm.

Thanks

[Ola]

I've been using VV powders a lot, cause I have little choice. Here Vihtavuori is expensive, but the only other brands (Hodgdon and Norma) are extremely expensive. Currently a pound of Hodgdon is 70-80 euros (95-105 USD)...

Back to your question. VV powders usually work great with cast boolits. I've been using N320, N32C, N330, N340, 3N37, N105 and N110 in 9 mm, 357 mag, 44 mag, .45 ACP...

My overall favorite of these is 3N37. It is a slow burning powder in 9 mm, "slow'ish" in 357 mag and 44 mag.

N105 and N110 are considered to be the slow burning "classics" in Magnum full house loads (but Hodgdon H110 is better IMO).

In 9 mm I shoot mostly Lee 120 gr TC. N320, N32C, N330, N340, 3N37 are all suitable for it (also N310 and N350 can be used; N310 with extreme CAUTION and only if you know what you are doing). I like the 3N37. With max load it gives good velocity (>1200 fps) and accuracy is better than I'm capable of. The N340 is a bit faster but quite similar.

All VV powders burn cleanly even in winter temperatures if the load is hot enough. The smoke is not a problem.

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

I've shot a bunch of VV in .45acp, 9mm, 357 & 44 mag.
I like the stuff 'casue its fairly clean and doesnt snot up up guns

[Humbo]

Ola, VV powders expensive in Finland?! I thought you guys got it so cheap you could fertilize your lawns with the stuff. But I guess it's like the gasoline prices in Norway, we've got tons of oil, but gasoline prices are insane. How much is a kg of N110? We pay about 110 USD for 1 kg. Why do you prefer H110?

Anyway, back to topic. VV powders work great with cast boolits. I use them all, N105-N160, N310-N350 etc. Accuracy is great, and they sure burn clean. They really do fill the cases though.

[Ola]

Wow, you win! 1 kg of N110 is ONLY about 60 euros in Finland. But when you compare that to the price of powder in US...

And we truely can not use VV as a fertilizer because some times it's not available at all. Couple of years ago the US markets were so hot that the Vihtavuori plant sold every grain they could produce of certain N100-series powders over seas. That was the time when Hodgdon started gaining popularity.

I prefer H110 only because it does not fill the case as much as VV. So when aiming for maximum velocity in large magnum's (.44 mag ->) H110 is pretty good stuff. Specially with heavier bullets it's the best we have around.

[FirstBrit]

Hey Guys, its me again. I was out shopping around yesterday and found some VV N340 powder for $25 per pound. I went online with my phone and downloaded the Vihta Vuori load guide and they did show loads for 9mm cast and N340, so I bought a pound. $25 looked like an awesome price seeing how its usually $33-$38 at other stores.

I am not really looking for loads, I have load data, I just need to do some development and see what is going to work well. My question is How well does VV powders do with cast boolits. I have never used VV before. All I have heard from others is that it is awesome. Just looking for some opinions on its performance, less smokey?, accuracy?

I am using the Lee 120gr TC Boolit. I would be interested in hearing from those who have used N340 with cast 9mm.

Thanks

I believe the slower powders like N-340 or 3N37 are very good powders for CB loads in the 9 mm. Here in Germany the Hodgdon Longshot is also a very suitable powder for such loads. I personally prefer the 147 gr. bullets for accuracy, but that's partlly due to the fact that our competition regulations stipulate a certain power factor which is easier to attain with heavier bullets.

Here in Germany the pistol powders from VV are sold in 500 g. packs a good price would be 45 Euros and normal price about 55-60 Euro. Rifle powders are sold in 1 kg. packs and a good price would be about 65 Euros with normal price 90-95 Euros.

Best regards,

Adrian - Germany.

[hogstad7]

Can someone post start/max and col on 120gr TC with N340? I will use it in a cz shadow. Thx