Vihtavuori in a 223 Rem w/55 gr bullets

[LCazador]

If I have one criticism of the VV N100 line of powders, it's that they seem to work at their best on a narrow spread of bullet weights. Maybe that's a single base characteristic?

I've tried N140 with 69 and 77 grain bullets in the 223, but it's a bit slow burning for that weight IMO. It's better with the 77 than the 69, at least.

I remember thinking at the time that I should try some N135 with the 69's to see what it would do.

I have what may be a shaky theory that the 223 works better with a powder that's slightly fast burning for the application than it does with one that's slightly slow.

I'm leaning toward trying the 55's with N133 and seeing what happens. It's interesting to see that the first line of VV's blurb on N133 is that it was designed for the 5.56 cartridge.

One thing that I've found is the N line of powders can get quirky in temperature spreads. Tuning the week before you shoot or on the day of can result in better groups. This is why N133-135 is so successful for "group" shooters who load at the range. A simple adjustment in powder charge for atmospheric conditions of the day can impact group sizes.

 

[JBT47]

N133 or N135 and titrate charge weights for low sd & es then do seating depth tests for best accuracy. Either powder may work better in your particular setup than in a different rifle. Both are good clean burning powders that seem slow to accumulate hard carbon buildup in throat and breech areas of bore compared to other brands of powders. If you clean while barrel is still warm from shooting you may never need to use abrasives to remove hard carbon as Viht powders are slow to carbon up and clean out more completely and easily using common liquid solvents regularly & immediately after shooting. For this and other reasons the Viht 100 and 500 series of powders are always my first choice. Best part is they are available to me and now lower priced than Hodgdon and are superior to H powders in more than one way. Just my experience though. I’m sure others may even have a contra opinion re: the same.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

Some good replies, just what I was looking for. Thanks!

The rifle is a Tikka T3x Varmint, 24" barrel.

I've been using TAC with both bullets that I listed in my original post, with good results. I'd like to make the switch to VV, it's easier for me to get than anything else.

Speed isn't a critical factor, anything at 3000 fps or a bit faster will be fine.

Search my old posts. I have result from 2 tikka varmints with tac and n133 and 53 gr vmax.

 

[plinker625]

N133 for 50/52/55gr
N135 for 69/77

 

[Chilly807]

N133 for 50/52/55gr
N135 for 69/77

The N133 seems to be the cat's pajamas for the 55 gr so far.
I found that N140 was a tad slow for the 69's and 77's when I used them, so N135 would likely be a good fit.
I'd say my experience mirrors yours.

 

[COLT45SA]

None of these responses mention barrel twist~!!! My .223 has a 1:12 twist and requires bullets weighing less than 55GR. I've been shooting 52 and 53GR bullets over N133 with pretty good success where 55 GRers don't work worth a flip.

 

[JLT]

N-133 has a characteristic worthy of consideration, especially for gas guns. It is remarkably clean burning, leaving very little fouling in the bore and gas system.

I've had very good results on target and good velocity with lighter bullets in .223, and the lack of fouling is a welcome bonus. It has become my powder of choice in the .20 Practical as well.

 

[SeabeeKen]

N133 in a AR with 52gr and 55gr..

^^^^ This in my AR also
H-322 shot amazing in a 40X 223 in UBR last year with 52 gr

 

[searcher]

If I have one criticism of the VV N100 line of powders, it's that they seem to work at their best on a narrow spread of bullet weights. Maybe that's a single base characteristic?

I've tried N140 with 69 and 77 grain bullets in the 223, but it's a bit slow burning for that weight IMO. It's better with the 77 than the 69, at least.

I remember thinking at the time that I should try some N135 with the 69's to see what it would do.

I have what may be a shaky theory that the 223 works better with a powder that's slightly fast burning for the application than it does with one that's slightly slow.

I'm leaning toward trying the 55's with N133 and seeing what happens. It's interesting to see that the first line of VV's blurb on N133 is that it was designed for the 5.56 cartridge.

I tend to agree with that faster powder theory.....

 

[Laurie]

I've tried N140 with 69 and 77 grain bullets in the 223, but it's a bit slow burning for that weight IMO. It's better with the 77 than the 69, at least.

N140 is fine with 77s and can be used with 69s, albeit I found N135 far better with this weight back when I had a Wylde chambered AR.

Here's how four Viht powders worked out as VarGet alternatives for me in a 223 Savage PTA based F-Class rifle with 30-inch barrel in a series of range tests loading the 77gn SMK seated out to 2.400-inch. Note the chamber has somewhat over 100 thou' additional freebore over standard 223 Rem SAAMI allowing ca. 0.8gn higher charges with VarGet and N140 type powders.

https://www.targetshooter.co.uk/?p=3856

 

[Ralo79]

N133

 

[kyotekiller25]

N140 is fine with 77s and can be used with 69s, albeit I found N135 far better with this weight back when I had a Wylde chambered AR.

Here's how four Viht powders worked out as VarGet alternatives for me in a 223 Savage PTA based F-Class rifle with 30-inch barrel in a series of range tests loading the 77gn SMK seated out to 2.400-inch. Note the chamber has somewhat over 100 thou' additional freebore over standard 223 Rem SAAMI allowing ca. 0.8gn higher charges with VarGet and N140 type powders.

https://www.targetshooter.co.uk/?p=3856

That was a very nice informative read. I enjoyed it.

I use N540 in my 28" 223 Wylde with 75g ELDMs. I too found the actual velocities to be quite a bit higher than QL predictions during work up. I settled on 24.7gn for 3000fps and 1/3 MOA. I ran it all the way up to 25.6gn at 3075fps before I popped a primer, didnt even make it to VVs max of 25.8gn. I think they show a velocity of around 2960fps at 25.8gn. I was looking for an H4895 alternative, and since I was chasing both speed and accuracy in this build, everything pointed towards N540. I don't shoot long strings of fire in this rifle, so the added heat being an extreme double base powder doesn't concern me a whole lot with barrel life.

Do you happen to have the link for the H4895 data and alternative powders? I'd love to give that a read as well.