Noble Sport Vectan Powder Review

[d_striker]

Over the summer I ran out of E3 with no sign of it becoming available. I decided to test a variety of Noble Sport Vectan powders as they are readily available and pretty cheap. These powders are not very popular as there isn't a whole lot of reloading data for most of the powders they offer. All of the powders I tried are single base powders. Note-the information below is simply my VERY limited testing with some unknown powders. I assume no liability or responsibility in your results.

I personally like faster burning powders in 9mm for minor with a 147gr bullet. I heard good things about the SP line of Vectan powders but they are a bit more expensive than some of the other Vectan offerings. I tried two powders (Prima V and AS) which are similar in burn rate to Titegroup and two powders (Prima SV and A24) which are similar in burn rate to Clays according to the burn rate chart published by Noble Sport. http://issuu.com/grafandsons/docs/vectan_reloading_data?e=1795079/11745149

Prima V and Prima SV are both irregular spheres with very high density. 9mm minor charges with a 147 bullet will typically fill a little less than half of the case volume. If this sort of thing bothers you, don't use this powder. Personally, I like powders that are a bit more dense as I seem to get less powder spillage on the 650 compared to a fluffy flake powder. Both powders meter very well and consistent. Almost as good as Titegroup. Note: ALMOST.

AS and A24 are both a square flake powder. Both of these powders have average metering properties. Not horrible, not great. I'd say it meters similar to other popular flake powders. Less dense than the Prima line, they fill about a little more than half of the case with typical 9mm minor charges with a 147gr bullet.

All powders that I tested seemed to be relatively good candidates for 9mm with a 147gr Xtreme plated bullet with the exception of Prima SV with MY personal process and guns. YMMV. Testing over the chrono with a 147gr Xtreme loaded to 1.140" showed bigger extreme spreads in velocity than the other powders. I believe that this might be due to the high density of the powder causing a larger "free space" inside the case. It could also be a barrel size issue as I realized that my bullets are a touch undersized for my barrels after I performed this initial chrono testing. I had the same issue with Clay Dot as well on erratic velocity readings. I really was hoping Prima SV would work for me as it is very soft shooting and pressure did not seem to be an issue.

I ruled out AS and A24 purely due to the case filling volume. Note, this is purely personal. A lot of people like a powder that fills at least half of the case.

I settled on Prima V. Chrono readings are very consistent even with mixed brass and accuracy seems very good. My personal belief has always been that consistent chamber pressure leads to accurate ammo. The mechanical accuracy of the pistol itself is a separate issue, but I digress.

Prima V burns relatively clean. I'd say it's comparable to n320 in cleanliness. It burns much cooler than Titegroup and meters almost as well.

While I settled on around 3.2gr of Prima V with a 147gr Xtreme, I would recommend you start around 2.8gr and work up just to be safe. 3.2gr with a 147gr Xtreme has made 133PF in one of my Shadows and 136 in another at a major match chrono over the summer.

20 yard accuracy with a CZC Shadow and Prima V posted below. I ordered a rail mounted red dot mount for more accuracy testing. I will post more photos when time/weather permits. Group below was 20 yards off of a rest. I was testing various OAL's this day and I shot around 5 groups with this particular combo. .355" has already been backed out of the calipers. 4 other groups were all a little under 2". Photo below was the best group.

Edited December 20, 2015 by d_striker

[.45 ACP nut]

Thank you for the review. Very informative.

[d_striker]

Thank you for the review. Very informative.

No problem!

At first, I wasn't going to say anything about Prima V. I truly think it's one of the best 9mm minor powders I've ever used and I didn't want everyone to make a run on it. Now I'm thinking that if more people don't start ordering these powders, retailers aren't going to keep them stocked.

For reference, I've tried Clays, Universal Clays, e3, n320, WST, Titegroup, Bullseye, W231, and 700x for 9mm minor.

[Bamboo]

Another good Nobel Vectan powder for the gamer pistol rounds is GM3.

It is a single based granular powder that burns clean, cool, uses low charge weights ( for me 3.0gr w/ 147gr bayou FN = 128pf), and and gives good accuracy results in the 9mm loads I've tried (115 gr to 160 gr bullets). Seems forgiving and doesn't pressure spike like clays/clay dot. I've loaded 160gr bullets in 9mm up above 140pf before getting any primer flattening. It measures very well out of a dillon measure once the powder in the hopper has settled.

But there is very little data for it and you need to have a chrono and work up, so you have to be a little adventurous. A few other shooters in my local area are using it and have been happy with it, also.

Nobel Vectan offers us some good powder and I hope they keep the flow coming to the USA, Fortunately they are also popular shotgun powders and have gained some traction here in the US, so that will help.

[caspian guy]

They make good powder. If they'd import sp2 they'd sell tons and tons to the open shooters of the world. When I could still get it before (they stopped importing it) it was all I used in my 9mm open gun.

[Bamboo]

I'm not sure why they aren't importing SP2, like you said it would sell like hot cakes. Looks like all the powders they are importing are single based, while the SP powders are double based.

The are now offering BA 7 1/2, which I think can be used to make major, no experience with it myself, though.

[d_striker]

When I mentioned SP line in my original post, I meant BA line.

BA 9 1/2 seems perfect but it's a bit more expensive than Prima V.

[1sickPuppy]

Anyone tried using BA9.5 under a 147 gr?

[d_striker]

Another good Nobel Vectan powder for the gamer pistol rounds is GM3.

It is a single based granular powder that burns clean, cool, uses low charge weights ( for me 3.0gr w/ 147gr bayou FN = 128pf), and and gives good accuracy results in the 9mm loads I've tried (115 gr to 160 gr bullets). Seems forgiving and doesn't pressure spike like clays/clay dot. I've loaded 160gr bullets in 9mm up above 140pf before getting any primer flattening. It measures very well out of a dillon measure once the powder in the hopper has settled.

But there is very little data for it and you need to have a chrono and work up, so you have to be a little adventurous. A few other shooters in my local area are using it and have been happy with it, also.

Nobel Vectan offers us some good powder and I hope they keep the flow coming to the USA, Fortunately they are also popular shotgun powders and have gained some traction here in the US, so that will help.

What shape powder is GM3? How does it meter and what is the density like? How much of the case does 3 grains fill?

Edited December 29, 2015 by d_striker

[d_striker]

Anyone tried using BA9.5 under a 147 gr?

If you are willing to pay a little more for it, I think this might be the ultimate 9 minor powder based on the burn rate.

[Bamboo]

"...What shape powder is GM3? How does it meter and what is the density like? How much of the case does 3 grains fill?..."

1. Granular, similar to Prima V

2. Once the hopper settles (takes about 50 to 100 throws, or you can agitate the hopper with a hand held vibrator for a minute) it meters very consistently. If you only check the first few throws, the load charge will increase about 0.3- 0.5 gr after about 50-100 rounds. Once the hopper settles it is very consistent (+/- 0.1gr), If doing a marathon load session just be sure to refill the hopper when it gets down to about 1/3 full to keep things consistent.

3. Don't know the bulk density, but a 9mm case filled to the rim and leveled is about 6.2 grains of GM3. I suspect it is similar to Prima V in density. I also suspect that GM3 is a very near cousin to Prima V with some changes made to slightly slow the burn rate.

[fellas]

as here in EU are available i tried the AS and A1 which are good powders but have the problems with metering like , the gm3 is a favorite in minor loads for 9mm and meters without a problem even the PRIMA . I tried just a couple of shot of the Vectan PRIMA in both 9mm and 40 sw which surprised me how nice it shoots , these are the result that i got after

i chronoed the GM3 next i will do the PRIMA

9mm 145 gn LRN 3.1 GM3 COAL 1.140 899, 899, 902 885 TANFOGLIO STOC 2

9MM 124 gn FMJ 3.9 GM3 COAL 1.135 1078 1042 1099 1092 TANFOGLIO STOC 2

9MM 124 gn FMJ 3.9 GM3 COAL 1.135 1099 1091 1042 1078 TANFOGLIO STOCK 3

40 SW 200GR 3.8 GM3 COAL 30MM 876 864 862 869 864 TANFOGLIO LIMITED CUSTOM

40SW 180GR 4.8 GM3 COAL 30MM 1017 1033 1017 994 1019 TANFOGLIO LIMITED CUSTOM

hope it helps

andre

[lesm]

I don't shoot major 9 but, for my medium power 9 I have been getting good results with Ba7 1/2.

[MarkS_A18138]

All the kids with South Texas Shooter's Centerfire Team have been using AS for 6 months...I would say an easy 10-15k in ammo has been loaded and shot. Has been working awesome!

[fellas]

AS powder is very nice to shoot , except for me it has metering issues , next time i have the chrono i will test the vectan PRIMA

[d_striker]

AS powder is very nice to shoot , except for me it has metering issues , next time i have the chrono i will test the vectan PRIMA

I liked AS as well. It didn't meter horrible for me in a polished Dillon powder measure, but it didn't meter awesome either like spherical powder does.

I suspect you'll like the Prima V. I've noticed, like most powders, that it has an optimal pressure with regards to cleanliness. Too low of pressure and it leaves hard, caked soot. It burns extremely clean for me in the 133-136 PF range with 147gr plated bullets.

[fellas]

if i,ll find available i ll try it for sure,Actually i discovered the PRIMA line of powder because of some top Italian shooter,s in standard division were using in 40sw and they use the PRIMA V ,

[fellas]

here is a reloading chart from Nobel Sport Italia thee producers of PRIMA SV , PRIMA V GM3 and PRIMA

HOPE IT HELPS

NSI - Tavola di ricarica 2015 - web.pdf

Edited February 10, 2016 by fellas

[d_striker]

here is a reloading chart from Nobel Sport Italia thee producers of PRIMA SV , PRIMA V GM3 and PRIMA

HOPE IT HELPS

Awesome. Thanks for sharing that. There is very little pistol data for all of the Nobel Sport powders and none for the Prima line over here. This is the first published pistol data that I've seen for Prima V.

[ZackJones]

If given a choice between these powders and E3 would you go back to E3 or stick with one of these? I use E3 for everything.

[d_striker]

If given a choice between these powders and E3 would you go back to E3 or stick with one of these? I use E3 for everything.

That's a really tough call as I really liked E3. Assuming unlimited availability and uninterrupted supply, I'd probably stick with E3 for minor loads.

With all things considered (price, versatility, & availability), I would move to Prima V and stay with it. Now that I've made the switch, I'm not going back to E3 even if it comes back strong.

I don't shoot much 40 major anymore but I wouldn't hesitate to use Prima V for it when I go back to Limited. I didn't have success with using E3 in 40 major.

Edited February 10, 2016 by d_striker

[haiedras]

Anyone tried using BA9.5 under a 147 gr?

I did, I can't remember if I posted it in another thread, but with a 147gr Acme fp at 1.100 oal, 3.5gr out of my stock II put me right around 130pf. 5 shots, max V was 896 fps, low was 875.

[motosapiens]

color me on the vectan bandwagon. d_striker seems like a smart and thorough guy, so i bought a bunch of prima v (and also a little a24 and ba9.5 to experiment with. Based on d_strikers comments, I expected the case to be less full, but it's plenty enough volume to easily tell by eye if the charge is screwed up, and to see that there *is* a charge in the case. I loaded up 10 rounds with 2.85 and 10 rounds with 3.1 grains to chrono later this week (under a coated 147gr flatpoint.). I'll report my findings back.

[d_striker]

color me on the vectan bandwagon. d_striker seems like a smart and thorough guy, so i bought a bunch of prima v (and also a little a24 and ba9.5 to experiment with. Based on d_strikers comments, I expected the case to be less full, but it's plenty enough volume to easily tell by eye if the charge is screwed up, and to see that there *is* a charge in the case. I loaded up 10 rounds with 2.85 and 10 rounds with 3.1 grains to chrono later this week (under a coated 147gr flatpoint.). I'll report my findings back.

Looking forward to seeing how Prima V works for you with the coated bullets.

I'm also really looking forward to seeing how the Ba9.5 works as well.

[motosapiens]

under a leatherhead coated 147gr fp, with s&b primers (which give me the exact same velocity as cci and federal, as closely as I can test), out of a dan wesson pm9 1911 (5" barrel), on a 60 degree day.

2.85 gr prima v = 868 fps = 128 pf with a SD of 6

3.1 gr prima v = 903 fps = 133pf with a SD of 8.

both loads seemed to group sufficiently accurately, within a 2" circle at 10yds shooting freehand. The recoil impulse on the heavier load felt indistinguishable from red dot at the same pf (I chrono'd some of those too and killed a few minutes just trying to group in the 2" circles). I think I'll shoot for around 3.0 grains, make sure that works, chrono it on a cold morning with cold ammo and again on a warmer day, and start using it. with those low SD's, i feel pretty comfortable dropping closer to 130 or 131 pf.

I didn't have time to try anything with the ba 9.5 or a24. that's a project for when the weather is nicer.