Vihtavuori N100 Rifle
Vihtavuori 20N29
Developed for .50 BMG and military use, and applied to other very large capacity magnums with heavy bullets in long-range target shooting.
Vihtavuori's slowest catalogued powder, developed for .50 BMG and military use and applied to the biggest overbore magnums such as .30-378 Weatherby, .375 CheyTac and heavy .338 Lapua. There is nothing general-purpose about it: in anything smaller than an enormous case it will not develop pressure or burn cleanly. Very few handloaders have real hands-on time with it, and the kernels are large enough that charge handling is a job in itself.
- .50 BMG
- .30-378 Weatherby Magnum
- .375 CheyTac
Who has Vihtavuori 20N29 today
Checked October 10In stock at 1 store — lowest in hand $49.30/lb (8 lb at Graf & Sons)
| Store | Size | Shelf | In hand /lb | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 8 lb | $356.99 | $49.30 | In stock ↗ |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 1 lb | $40.00 | $77.45 | In stock ↗ |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 8 lb | $328.99 | $46.99 | Out |
“In hand” is the shelf price plus that store’s hazmat fee and shipping, spread over one container. Stock is checked once a day — confirm on the store’s page before ordering. Compare all powders →
Official Vihtavuori load data →
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Vihtavuori |
|---|---|
| Product family | Vihtavuori N100 Rifle |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | rifle |
| Grain form | extruded |
| Composition | single-base |
| Burn-rate position | 198 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 50 BMG, 30-378 Weatherby Magnum, 375 CheyTac, 338 Lapua Magnum |
Grain shape
Very large extruded single-perforated grains; an enormous web is what makes it this slow, and it is why only a huge case can burn it properly. Kernels this size will not meter with any precision through a volumetric measure, so weigh every charge.
Why geometry decides burn rate more than chemistry does: Shape Is the Product.
Single-base and surface treated, with very large extruded grains the same nominal size as 24N41. The designation follows Finnish Army naming. Vihtavuori groups it with the N100 series.
Burn rate
The slowest powder Vihtavuori catalogues; it sits at the very bottom of their burn rate chart, below 24N41.
Chart agreement: consistent - ranked as the slowest powder on the chart by Hodgdon, Vihtavuori and Wolfe/LoadData alike. Ranked by: Hodgdon, Vihtavuori, Shooters World, Wolfe/LoadData.
Powders charted near it — neighbours on the chart are not substitutes, and adjacency tells you nothing about what charge either one takes:
- Hodgdon US 869 (position 195)
- Shooters World SW 50BMG (position 196)
- Alliant Reloder 50 (position 197)
This powder is obscure enough in the US that its practical character is thinly documented. The note above is deliberately short rather than padded.
Sources
The specifications above come from Vihtavuori's own published documentation, linked below. The two “RCM's read” sections are ours, not theirs — our assessment of what this powder is like to load, drawn from its published characteristics and from what handloaders consistently report. No manufacturer endorses them and no source below backs them. If you think we have one wrong, tell us — we would rather fix it.