Vihtavuori N500 High Energy
Vihtavuori N540
A general-purpose high-energy powder for medium-sized rifle cases, hunting and target alike, especially with heavier bullets where extra loading density and velocity are wanted.
Official Vihtavuori load data →
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Vihtavuori |
|---|---|
| Product family | Vihtavuori N500 High Energy |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | rifle |
| Grain form | extruded |
| Composition | double-base |
| Burn-rate position | 133 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 223 Remington, 308 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield, 6.5x47 Lapua |
Nitroglycerine-enhanced double-base formulation; Vihtavuori positions the N500 series as delivering higher velocity than the equivalent N100 powder at the same pressure. Symmetrical tubular grains that meter reliably. Vihtavuori calls it exceptionally clean burning. Note: the manufacturer's product page for N540 currently lives at a URL slug referencing N530.
Burn rate
The fastest N500 powder in the current lineup; on the chart it sits between N140 and N150.
Chart agreement: position varies - Hodgdon and Wolfe/LoadData place N540 well ahead of Winchester 760 / Hodgdon H414, while Vihtavuori's own chart bands N540 alongside H414 and W760, i.e. materially slower. Ordered here per Hodgdon. Ranked by: Hodgdon, Vihtavuori, 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 748 (position 130)
- Winchester StaBALL Match (position 131)
- Hodgdon BL-C(2) (position 132)
- Hodgdon CFE 223 (position 134)
- Alliant Reloder TS 15.5 (position 135)
- Alliant Power Pro 2000-MR (position 136)
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.