Vihtavuori N500 High Energy
Vihtavuori N530
A high-energy powder for small bottleneck cases and large straight-wall cases; it was developed for 5.56mm NATO military loadings and STANAG qualified, and also saw small- and big-game hunting use.
Discontinued. Canisters still circulate, but the maker no longer produces it — and load data for it may be withdrawn or archived.
Official Vihtavuori load data →
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Vihtavuori |
|---|---|
| Product family | Vihtavuori N500 High Energy |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Application | rifle |
| Grain form | extruded |
| Composition | double-base |
| Burn-rate position | 113 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 223 Remington, 308 Winchester, 45-70 Government |
Nitroglycerine added to a nitrocellulose base for higher energy content. Small tubular grains. Vihtavuori no longer lists N530 among the seven N500 powders on its current series page, it is absent from the current canister burn rate chart, and it has no description in the latest Reloading Guide, so it is treated here as withdrawn; retail stock may still circulate.
Burn rate
Was the fastest-burning member of the N500 high-energy series.
Chart agreement: coverage gap in the opposite direction - ranked by Hodgdon and Wolfe/LoadData but omitted from Vihtavuori's own current tabloid chart. Ranked by: Hodgdon, Wolfe/LoadData.
Powders charted near it — neighbours on the chart are not substitutes, and adjacency tells you nothing about what charge either one takes:
- Ramshot TAC (position 110)
- Alliant Power Pro Varmint (position 111)
- Hodgdon H4895 (position 112)
- IMR 4895 (position 114)
- Vihtavuori N135 (position 115)
Sources
Other Vihtavuori powders
Verify the charge, not just the recipe
Good data gets you a safe starting point. It does not tell you what actually went into the case on stroke 340 — a bridged measure, a double charge, a squib. That is what an RCM Laser Powder Check is for.