kdj Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 I've always used VV N350 in my 38 super. In fact, I've never owned a powder that wasn't VV. I'd been about to try 3N38 in my new shortie gun and now I hear that due to a "misclassification" VV powders can only be shipped as explosives. Until this is fixed that effectively means no shipping of VV. So what should I try now? I've read the various threads concerning 7625, 4756, AA7 and now TrueBlue and am confused. All I want is a nice clean consistant powder that make 169 PF comfortably in a 38 super case, has lots of gas pressure and is both soft and flat ... and I can get delivered on a regular basis! Not too much to ask, right I'm tending to 4756 or TrueBlue. Anyone want to speak up and steer me in the right direction since I don't like having to play with loads? Thanks, Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 I have ran all 7625, 4756 and True Blue. I personally came back to 7625. I will be experimenting with VV for next year however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Bill Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 Kevin- I have recently tried 1 pound of True Blue in a 9major gun due to the unavailability of SP2 and 3n38. I really liked its performance in my gun. My gun has a 4.5" barrel / 3 snort holes / and a 5 port EGW comp. It didn't seem to have the same blast as 3n38, but the dot movement seemed the same to me. The accuracy wasn't as good as 3n38, but was close enough for USPSA. IMO... Also....thanks to Caspian9major for the good TB load data.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterj Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 4756 works well but is a little to light and flakey. It likes to jump out of the cases when my 650 indexes. 7625 works well too, but is much more dense and easier to load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Schwab Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 I've had unusual experiences with 4756, so I'm steering away from it. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...c=12720&hl=4756 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 I tried 4756 last week. I only have 115 gr. bullets. I could make major with this powder/bullet combo, but I had to fill up the case all the way to the top, and then cram the bullet down on top of it. Shot side by side with my regular load of N350, I liked the feel of the Vhit load better. I'm going to try and make it out to the range today with some Win540 (same as HS6) and some HS7. Again using 115 gr. bullets. I'll try and post my findings later. I'm toying with the idea of working up a new load. Vhit is sometimes hard to find locally. I usually try and stock up from the vendors at the big matches. But it might be nice to have a back-up load already worked up in case the supplies of Vhit dry up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perf40 Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 I called in an order of 16lb. of Vit N320 from Powder Valley today. They said that they will ship it out tomorrow. I mentioned the shipping problem and they said that they had not heard of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 kdj, Try contacting Powder Valley or Grafs & Sons first. If they can't get 3N38 to you, try 7625. Seems to work well for Max Michel. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 Just checked Grafs. No go. However, Powder Valley has it ready to roll. Push come to shove, I can spot you some powder for this weekend. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus Hobdell Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 I recived a letter from Kaltron (vihtavuori) importers the other day, stateing that there will be no shipments until the classification of the powder has been changed. Unless they are sent by placarded truck. Which belive me is VERY expensive. Kaltron are in the process of doing this so it should not be too long. Be aware that anyone shipping powder to you by fedex ground is in brach of DOT regulations untill this powder has been reclassfied. Saying that we do have supplies of VV powder on hand and are awaiting another shippment immeninent any time, we are located in Phoenix and personal collection can be arranged. "Sorry Brian for making thi sound like and adverisment, but I think it is neccessary for people to know the truth and still be able to get powder if they need it, I will understand if you delete this message" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 I spoke with Chuck @ Shooter Connection and he said same as Angus. Local pick-up? Do I hear "Road Trip" ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 Thanks Angus, not a problem; thanks for the helpful post. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 Just got back from the range. My little thermometer read a balmy 105 degrees in the shade. I loaded a 115 gr. Zero JHP over Win 540. Charge weights from 8.0 to 10.0. It felt really good, and shot very flat. I'm going to have to play with this some more. I also loaded some HS-7. Charge weights from 8.5 to 10.5. I barely made major with the top load, but the primers were still rounded with no signs of flowing back into the firing pin hole. This is a relatively dense powder. There is still a lot of room for more powder in the case. This load also shot very flat, and felt a little better than my N350 load with the same bullet. It burned dirty, though. It was throwing unburned granules out of the gun when the empty case would eject. This was somewhat distracting. This might go away with some higher pressure loads. I might try loading this up a little hotter and see how it does. If I get a chance, I'll load up 100 of the Win 540 loads and do some more direct comparison with my N350 load. Probably wouldn't hurt to shoot for accuracy as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 IIRC, the biggest problem with 540 was that it was very rough on comps. It would errode the baffles something fierce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 IIRC, the biggest problem with 540 was that it was very rough on comps. It would errode the baffles something fierce. Hmmm. I had only heard that about AA#7. Didn't know 540 did that too. What about HS-7? Any issues? Does it stop spitting unburned grains out when you get it loaded to a high enough pressure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 BTW, Unburned or still-burning powder grains are responsible for a large part of comp erosion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmon Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 Winchester action pistol is no longer in production but Ramshot silhouette is the same powder, might give it a shot...seems like it makes major OK. 4756 seems to be an OK powder if you buy 5 pound cans of it...i use it in my 9mm production gun and it shoots good and soft(even without a comp) my load was 6.3 grains of 4756 and a 115 FMJ..i recently got a can of powder that was a little slow..my gun would stovepipe with 6.3, i had to bump it up to 6.7 and thats damn near a case full on the 9mm. i am going to burn up the rest of it, then im switchin to something more uniform..probably U clays or something similar. Last time i checked Clark Custom guns had SP2 powder. 8 pounds for 120 dollars.. i was curious as to why i couldnt get any VV powders, i guess now i know. Does blue dot work in an OPEN gun?? just a thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpnBlstr Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 I like 4756 in my open blaster. I used to use 3N38 until the local supply ran dry last year so I went looking for a replacement. I can't tell the difference between the 3N38 and 4756 under a 124 in my 5" S2 comped pistol but my wallet sure can! It's not quite as clean as the VV but I can still shoot 1500 rounds between cleaning with no fear of malfunction and that's all that matters. I tried 7625 in my gun and while a lot of shooters use and like it I found it didn't do as good a job in keeping the muzzle down - ineffective in my gun I suppose. I haven't run into the massive charge/power factor swings others have experienced but then I only bought 1.5 lbs to try it out and then went to 5lb cans once I settled on the 4756. Both lots were exactly the same for thrown weight and power factor. I currently run 8.4 grs 4756 under a 124 in standard super at 1.275 MAX OAL. This gives me a 174pf and perfectly balances my pistol. 8.5 chronoed 181 but it sure felt soft! I tried the 115 with 4756 and it just seems too wierd to be loading with such a compressed charge. It looks like you dip the case, strike off the extra, and stand on the loader to stuff that bullet in. No matter though since I like 124 better anyway. YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdj Posted August 24, 2004 Author Share Posted August 24, 2004 I finally have my new gun in hand and I tried a couple of powder experiments this weekend. Since I had no idea of where the gun would factor out, I was conservative and not all of the loads were major. My observations, using a 121g in Supercomp brass: 7.5g of N350 (roughly my old load) factored to 161 and was pretty harsh in recoil 7.8g of TrueBlue factored to around the same. It was slightly less harsh than 350 with a little less dot bounce. It only half filled the case, which is an advantage. It was *noticably* dirtier to shoot than the other powders I tried. ?? of W540 factored to about 155. Slightly less snappy than the Vit and a little more dot movement. I didn't shoot much of this. And since I'd managed to lay hands on some - 10g of 3N38, factored to 167. Softer in recoil and very manageable dot bounce. Very loud and a sheet of flame is apparently visible from the comp and porpoise holes but I didn't notice it. Very clean. So, my conclusion is that it's worth the effort to find 3N38 and it's my powder of choice for the moment. I'll try a load of about 10.1 in my gun and I'll try to avoid competing with Ong45 for the "most spectators' teeth rattled" award Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 Try IMR 7625. Works for Max. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ankeny Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 I have used AA7, VV3N37, VV3N38, IMR7525, IMR 4756 and most recently HS7, all with 115 and 125 bullets. Due to price, availability and so on, I just settled on HS7 and 125 grain bullets. FWIW, the HS7 load at 172-175 PF is the most reliable, shoots flat (but it hits in the hand) is fairly clean, and I can find it anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZGUNNER Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 I'm loading N105 with Zero 121jhp. Seems to shoot really flat, but this is my first open gun so I don't have much to go on, I just see the dot and pull the trigger as fast as I can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdragon Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 I personaly use HS-7, We have VIT and Are going to bring some to the National's If you want some call me and I will bring to you. Ivan SCS Vegas Armscor 775-537-1444 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 I have been using 540 about 9.1gr on a 124 zero fmj bullet. Running out of powder though so gotta try some new stuff out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Cazes Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 Kevin, I have had pretty good results loading HS6 with both 125gr. and 115 gr. MG JHPs and at $118 locally for 8lbs and $98.00 from powder valley it is easy to get and relatively cheap. The 125s loaded to 170 pf are a nice accurate low recoil load with moderate dot movement but our new blaster really shines with 115 grain MG JHPs loaded to 170 pf with 8.9 grains of HS6. The 115 load is a bit dirtier and hits your hand a little harder but very flat. How has the new shorty worked out so far? I am anxious to hear about the characteristics of the custom comp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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