VihtaVuori Primers

[Doom]

Sorry Doom, but the Federal packaging change was due to a catastrophic explosion when a pallet of primers dropped off a forklift around the late 1980's or very early 1990's on the East Coast.

I was shooting PPC at the time and was using Federal primers and there was a 3 or 4 year glut of the primers in Canada, so I set my revolvers up for CCI primers.

Nothing I said was incorrect. DOT requirements are outlined here.

https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2022-01/The%20Facts%20on%20Small%20Arms%20Related%20Hazmat%20brochure.pdf

As to the incident you mention that may well have lead to the requirements or to a change in requirements.

 

[Taylorbok]

Packaging looks huge for only 100.

Could just be a picture also, who knows.
might not be the final packaging or what ever.

 

[3Ackleys]

I'm betting there'll be another presidential election before VV starts shipping.

Says "Vihtavuori is expanding its expertise with the launch of primer production at our newly built primer factory in Vihtavuori, Finland."
If the factory is built, they might be shipping pretty soon.

 

[mtncwru]

VV powder is cheaper and arguably better than the American brand powders, so hopefully the primers will follow along.

Yeah, I was very pleasantly surprised at VV N140's price last time I bought powder. Quite a bit less than Varget, for example.

 

[WayneShaw]

I've seen a 8 pound jug of IMR4350 at the local store for $599!!!!!!!! I get Natchez fliers every month, and IMR, Hodgon, Accurate, etc. all going for about 400 bucks a jug.

 

[Taylorbok]

Yeah, I was very pleasantly surprised at VV N140's price last time I bought powder. Quite a bit less than Varget, for example.

I've got a Dasher build in the works, I looked at the price of Varget and said "No thanks I'll find a Viht alternative"

I also went to N140

 

[fatelvis]

I've got a Dasher build in the works, I looked at the price of Varget and said "No thanks I'll find a Viht alternative"

I also went to N140

If we all follow that way of thinking, I would bet the prices of the favorites of the past ( Varget,H4350, H4895, etc) will come down.

 

[HTSmith]

If we all follow that way of thinking, I would bet the prices of the favorites of the past ( Varget,H4350, H4895, etc) will come down.

I hope you are right, but Hodgdon has little influence on ADI as best I can tell. Me, my best Varget replacement is N150. Doubt I'll go back.

 

[BarnDweller]

I have been trying out their powders lately. So far I am very happy with them. I picked up a bottle of N320 for pistol loading. In the past have been using Rifle only. Dispenses nice and why is it 59$ and Hodgen gets 75$. I used to use Hodgen almost exclusively but they really screwed up their website a few years ago so they are no longer my first place to go for load data.

I look forward to try their primers even though I may have enough for the rest of my life......

 

[BarnDweller]

If we all follow that way of thinking, I would bet the prices of the favorites of the past ( Varget,H4350, H4895, etc) will come down.

I am having i lot of luck with N540 in my 6 Dasher.

 

[mtncwru]

I hope you are right, but Hodgdon has little influence on ADI as best I can tell. Me, my best Varget replacement is N150. Doubt I'll go back.

I thought about N150 -- could have gotten 16 lbs. locally for real cheap. N140 was the better fit for me since it's the Do Everything powder for all the calibers and bullet weights I care about. It might not be quite The Best powder for a given thing, but minimizing my chance of grabbing the wrong thing has a lot of value for me.

 

[ISS]

I ask again, who's the biggest threat to recreational shooting; Democrats in Congress or component producers...? One wants to outlaw the sport, the other just wants to make it unaffordable for as many as possible.

 

[ogre1911]

I hope you are right, but Hodgdon has little influence on ADI as best I can tell. Me, my best Varget replacement is N150. Doubt I'll go back.

This has been my experience as well. It's (N150) interchangeable with Varget in my 6 br and dasher. Shoots to same poi with same charge.

 

[NZ_Fclass]

"Vihtavuori is expanding its expertise with the launch of primer production at our newly built primer factory in Vihtavuori, Finland. Located next to Finland’s only propellant factory,"

mmm...maybe I'll go somewhere else for the holiday....

 

[6.5 forever]

If we all follow that way of thinking, I would bet the prices of the favorites of the past ( Varget,H4350, H4895, etc) will come down.

I really wonder if anything we do can affect prices.

 

[HTSmith]

This has been my experience as well. It's (N150) interchangeable with Varget in my 6 br and dasher. Shoots to same poi with same charge.

Same here. In my 6br, I use the exact same charge for N150 that I did for Varget for an accuracy load.

 

[jelenko]

I really wonder if anything we do can affect prices.

Maybe so.
In the end, it's about supply and demand. For reloading components, individual reloaders [i.e., us] are a tiny portion of the overall market.
Guns like the M777 use 20 - 23 lb's per round. How many rounds has just Ukraine fired? Somewhere around 36,000,000 lbs of powder per year.

By comparison, if all 80,000 Accurate Shooter members shot 1,000 rounds a year with an average powder charge of 50 grains, that would be just under 0.6 million lbs of powder per year - i.e., 1/60 of what Ukraine uses.

 

[nakneker]

I’ve been using more and more VV powders for the last 4 or 5 years, using it in a broad range of rifles and pistols. I tried VV mostly because I could get VV at the time but I’ve stayed with them because my accuracy, SD, ES does very well with VV. The bonus is their pricing is decent and stable especially compared to Hodgdon and Alliant the last couple years. Hopefully their primers do well too, performance and price.

More primer sources is a good thing as we’ve learned multiple times the last 15 years.

 

[CJ6]

I ask again, who's the biggest threat to recreational shooting; Democrats in Congress or component producers...? One wants to outlaw the sport, the other just wants to make it unaffordable for as many as possible.

You have to ask WHO is making the profits.
The importers, wholesalers or distributors. Knowing what the manufacturer is actually selling for is something we may never know.
There's a small shop not too far from me (couple hours) that was selling primers for $75-85 per k all through the last shortage and he said he was making his margins at those prices .