Vihtavuori Pistol
Vihtavuori 3N37
A competition-oriented handgun powder Vihtavuori promotes for IPSC and USPSA practical shooting, including 9mm Major loads for Open division. It is also used as a submachine gun propellant.
A practical-pistol powder first and last. It lives in IPSC and USPSA Open guns, in 9mm Major, .38 Super, hot .40 S&W and 10mm, where a slower and bulkier pistol powder makes more gas for the compensator and fills the case better than a fast powder driven hard. It burns very clean, and it meters better than an extruded powder has any right to because the grains are tiny. If you are loading light minor loads, this is the wrong end of the shelf.
- 9mm Major Open
- .38 Super comp loads
- 10mm Auto
- hot .40 S&W
Who has Vihtavuori 3N37 today
Checked October 10In stock at 1 store — lowest in hand $60.86/lb (4 lb at Graf & Sons)
| Store | Size | Shelf | In hand /lb | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 4 lb | $205.99 | $60.86 | In stock ↗ |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 1 lb | $51.99 | $89.44 | In stock ↗ |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 4 lb | $155.95 | $46.85 est. | Out |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 1 lb | $43.99 | $75.43 est. | 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 Pistol |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | pistol |
| Grain form | extruded |
| Lee VMD (bulk density) | 0.0913 cc per grain · 0.71 g/cc |
| Composition | single-base |
| Burn-rate position | 52 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 9mm Luger, 357 Magnum, 40 S&W, 10mm Auto, 45 ACP |
Grain shape
Small, porous, near-cubic tube grains rather than a flake; the porosity raises effective burning surface for the grain size, while the tube geometry keeps the pressure curve steadier than a degressive flake would at the same speed. Small enough to drop cleanly through a progressive measure.
Why geometry decides burn rate more than chemistry does: Shape Is the Product.
Very small, porous, near-cubic tubular grains that meter smoothly. Vihtavuori notes Sako used this powder type for 9mm submachine gun ammunition in the mid-twentieth century.
Burn rate
Medium handgun burn rate, very close to N350.
Chart agreement: consistent across charts - listed in the same relative neighbourhood by every publisher that carries it 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 CFE Pistol (position 49)
- Ramshot True Blue (position 50)
- Ramshot Silhouette (position 51)
- Vihtavuori N350 (position 53)
- Vihtavuori 3N38 (position 54)
- Winchester 572 (position 55)
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.