Vihtavuori Pistol
Vihtavuori N320
A general-purpose fast handgun powder covering roughly .32 through .45 calibers. Vihtavuori points it at sport and hobby shooters, including cowboy action competitors, and at law-enforcement/authority loadings.
If a fast pistol powder can have a fan club, this one has it. Clean, including in suppressed guns, soft-shooting at competition minor, it meters well, and it is bulky enough that a double charge is visible in the case, which is a genuine safety property rather than a marketing line. It covers .32 through .45 comfortably, and the historic objection, price, has narrowed enough that people who left for cheaper powders keep coming back. This is the fast pistol powder to hand somebody who is tired of sooty light loads.
- USPSA 9mm minor
- .45 ACP target
- .38 Special range loads
- suppressed pistol loads
Who has Vihtavuori N320 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 | $61.99 | $99.44 | In stock ↗ |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 4 lb | $203.99 | $62.72 | 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) | 0.1210 cc per grain · 0.54 g/cc |
| Composition | single-base |
| Burn-rate position | 28 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 9mm Luger, 38 Special, 357 Magnum, 40 S&W, 45 ACP, 44 Special |
Grain shape
Small tubular grains, slightly larger than N310's, neutral-burning; the tube geometry keeps the pressure curve gentler than a degressive flake or sphere at the same burn rate, which is a good part of why it feels soft. Bulk density is deliberately low, so the charge occupies visible case volume.
Why geometry decides burn rate more than chemistry does: Shape Is the Product.
Vihtavuori states N320 contains an added decoppering agent. Tubular grains slightly larger than N310's; it reaches higher velocities than N310 at acceptable pressure.
Burn rate
Fast pistol powder, one step slower than N310.
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:
- Winchester Super Handicap (position 25)
- Shooters World Clean Shot (position 26)
- Hodgdon International (position 27)
- Accurate No. 2 (position 29)
- Ramshot Zip (position 30)
- Hodgdon HP-38 (position 31)
What reloaders say about it
Unverified community anecdote. The following is a summary of what handloaders report in public forums. It is not manufacturer information, it has not been tested, it may be wrong, and it contains no load data by design. Treat it as colour, not guidance.
N320 is the most consistently praised pistol powder in these threads: users describe it as clean, soft-shooting, well-metering, and bulky enough that a double charge is visible in the case. Multiple posters who tried to save money by switching away from it report switching back.
- reported as very clean burning, including in suppressed pistols
- meters well
- described as soft-shooting for competition minor loads
- bulky enough that users cite double-charge visibility as a safety benefit
- widely regarded as worth its price premium
Availability: Described as widely available, with pricing that has stayed comparatively sane relative to other brands. Several users report it now costing close to what budget options cost.
Reported cautions:
- Users report N320 and Alliant Sport Pistol behaving very similarly for them — but one commenter in that thread also described blending pounds of different powders, which the community should treat as an outlier practice and not a recommendation.
Consensus level: widely held. Drawn from thread 1, thread 2.
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.