Vihtavouri N120:
The Best Savage 10ML-II Powder for 300 gr. Bullets?
To get the necessary cautions out of the way, Vihtavouri N120 is not yet an "Official Savage" 10ML-II propellant, though I hope it will soon be.
The loading information discussed here is to be considered theoretical only.
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One of the most commonly overlooked propellants for the Savage 10ML-II is indeed N120, called "God's gift to Reloading." The information released about this powder by others has been scant, and what I have read does not match my field testing at all. It is a fabulous 10ML-II propellant, specifically when used with 300 gr. sabots.
I've never had a misfire with Vihtavouri N120, and it has shown itself to have many virtues: it is very clean burning, very easy on sabots and vent-liners alike, and has given me sub-1/2 MOA 100 yard groups.
Vihtavouri N120 is not a fussy powder to work with at all; to the contrary it ignites easily, and is a relatively high gravimetric density propellant that groups very closely and consisently, even if the charges used are off by as much as half of a grain in weight.
Let's take a look at an internal ballistic prediction for 55 grains of N120 pushing a 300 gr. Barnes MZ-Expander:
With peak pressure in the calculated sub-25,000 area, it isn't hard to see why a load like this is easy on your sabot, vent-liner, and barrel. It still gives us an approximately 90% propellant burn inside the barrel, and if you can hit it with this load, you can eat it. Average chronographed velocity for the 55 gr. load is 2187 fps.
Stepping up the N120 charge to 60 grains, our interior ballistics begin to look like this:
We still are well protecting sabot integrity with peak pressure of just 27,604 PSI, and our propellant burn is now at about 93%. Actual chrono results with this 60 gr. load @ 68 degrees F. in "my ambient conditions" have averaged nearly 2300 fps with Federal 209A primers and a .033" vent liner. Another nice feature when using a .033" vent-liner, Winchester 209 primers, and of course Vihtavouri N120 is that there is about 60% less carbon build-up in the standard Savage breechplug than with several factory loads. It burns beautifully clean, and no swabbing is required between shots at all.
From a terminal standpoint on game, there is little that can survive a well-placed shot: This example is for the 55 gr. N120 powered Barnes 300 gr. Expander-MZ @ 2193 fps.
So, if you are looking for a superb hunting load for the 10ML-II with a 300 grain bullet, in my opinion-- you just can't do much better than the Vihtavouri N120 powered loads cited here.
Randy Wakeman, his agents, heirs and assigns, hereby disclaims all possible liability for damages including, actual, incidental and consequential, resulting from usage of the information or advice contained on this cite.
Use the data and advice at your own risk, and with extreme caution
Email: randymagic@aol.com
© 2005 by Randy Wakeman
