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Which Powder type/Brand? Vihtavuori vs Lovex

5K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  JACKTW  
#1 · (Edited)
Hi,
I'm new to reloading, just bought myself a used RCBS singe stage press kit and ready to reload.

At my local gun store the only sell Vihtavuori and Lovex powder.
Which brand do you people prefer, and why?

And what type of powder do you recommend in these brands?
Its for a .30-30 with a 150gr bullet,
Vihtavouri recommend:
N120
N130
N133
N135
N140

Lovex:
S040
D036
S060
D073.4
D073.5
D073.6
S062
S065
S070

Which powder of the above do you use/prefer? And why?
Thnx for the input!
 
#2 ·
Vihtavuori is excellent powder.
Your footer shows 30-30Win and Walther 9mm.
Have had no experience with Lovex, so can't comment, but I do use N133 in my 6PPC.
Which cartridge is it you want info' for (I take it that the 150gn is for the 30-30?), or are you contemplating the 9mm as well?
This link: - https://www.vihtavuori.com/reloading-data/ will give you data for the 30-30 with all your listed Vv powder.
 
#3 ·
Vihtavuori is excellent powder.
Your footer shows 30-30Win and Walther 9mm.
Sorry, my bad, it's for the .30-30W with a 150gr bullet.
I adjusted the first post.
 
#4 ·
Each manufacturer should have a website listing loads of their powder for various calibers. I was quickly able to find https://www.vihtavuori.com/reloading-data/rifle-reloading/?cartridge=29
And they publish a reloading manual as well.

I am not familiar with Lovex but they also have a reloading guide in a PDF format. https://explosia.cz/app/uploads/2016/11/reloading_Lovex_EN.pdf

These should get you started. Either manufacturer should be able to allow you to reload for anything you need short of special purpose experimenting.

Feel free to ask questions about anything that comes up while you are reloading. Good luck. Be safe.
 
#5 ·
Each manufacturer should have a website listing loads of their powder for various calibers. I was quickly able to find https://www.vihtavuori.com/reloading-data/rifle-reloading/?cartridge=29
And they publish a reloading manual as well.
.
That is the problem, from their list I can choose between 5 different powders! N120 up to N140
My budget doesn't allow me to purchase all the 5 powders en see where what happens...
That's is why I drop the question and like to hear what you guys use (in these brands).
 
#6 ·
How many different calibers do you reload?

The idea of publishing data for multiple powders by one manufacturer is to allow you to choose a powder that will work for most of the different calibers that you reload. Unless you are experimenting and testing your reloads, velocity for standard deviation, chamber pressures, or trying to squeeze out that extra 1/4" group reduction, you are not likely to notice any significant difference between the powders.

Buy a pound or two of one of the powders, then load up some rounds to learn the process. See how they shoot for you. When that canister is empty you can either buy that one again, or try another powder, depending upon how you the first batch.

For what it's worth, my manual list N140, N135, N133, N130, and N120 for the 30-30 and 150gr jacketed bullets.
The highest velocity, 2200 fps, is obtained from N140. As the powder numbers decrease, the grain weight of powder loaded also decreases, and so does the velocity. The max load of N120 gives 1950 fps.

This suggests that the lower number powders burn faster than the higher numbered powders and therefore reach the maximum pressure earlier. Any of these is safe to use for 30-30 in your rifle. It comes down to a question of flexibility (use among different calibers that you own), cost of the powders, and whether you want to be able to load 218 rounds from a canister of N140 or 310 rounds from a canister of N120 (at a lower velocity).

As an aside, not too long ago, folks were using many varieties of less than optimal powders because that was all that was available. They were willing to accept dirty chambers, lower velocities, etc, just to be able to have something to reload and shoot, optimum or not. With experience, and necessity, just about any powder can be made to work. (Some calibers, like 45-70 are much more flexible than others.)

Personally, I'd probably go with the N140 or N133 as they would allow me to load 170gr jacketed bullets if I chose to. V140 and V133 seem to deliver a bit better performance (slightly more) than V130 and V120, at the cost of requiring more powder for each cartridge. If the number of rounds per pound is important to you, go with the N133 or the N130.

After you have more reloading and experience shooting your reloads, you may develop a favorite powder on the basis of economics, recoil, how clean or how dirty one powder is in your rifle, brass life, etc. But these are longer term observations.

There is not any "right" answer to your question.

Good luck. Be safe.
 
#8 ·
I'm not familiar with Lovex but have had excellent consistent performance from VV N-140.


Jack