A Look at Vihtavuori N110
For years, Savage Arms has done the majority of their range testing with 42 grains of Vihtavuori N110, pushing a .452 Hornady XTP in the short black "MMP" MMP sabot. This is one of the very few loads that has given me 5 shot, 3/4 MOA repeatable accuracy. Here's a look at an internal ballistic representation of the load:
For some time, availability of Vihtavuori powders has been somewhat of an issue contingent on area. Currently, their distribution and stocking levels have greatly improved. Further, subject to local statute, you need not drop at lot of cash burning up the gas in your vehicle to find it-- Vihtavuori has an online store, and Savage preferred powders are just a few clicks away to add to your convenience."Vihtavouri Online" is right here: http://www.vihtavuori-lapua.com/shopping.asp . As cited here and else where, both N110 (for 250 gr. projectiles) and N120 (for 300 grain projectiles) have proved to be spectacularly good choices for Savage 10ML-II loads-- N120 being, in my view, overlooked for far too long.
Inspection of the 42 grain N110 load above offers a glimpse of why this load has been so good, for so long. The peak pressure is far lower than most would think, far below the 35,000 PSI accuracy / reliability threshold I aim for in 10ML-II load development. Ignition has never been a problem with powder, and it is very clean burning. This is no surprise, as this specific load gives us a better than 95% powder burn. The diminutive pressure has been easy on our sabots for a long while now, performing superbly even with the older polymer formulations of a few years ago. N110 needs to be weighed for best accuracy.
N110 or N120 handles most all Savage 10ML-II muzzleloading applications I can think of-- and a two-pound bottle of each will keep you shooting for a long, long while. Enough folks have asked "Where can I get this stuff?" by phone and e-mail to generate this brief missive on what it does, a prediction of its burn characteristics, and an easy way to get fresh propellant.
Email: randymagic@aol.com
© 2005 by Randy Wakeman
