Why oh why - Viht so expensive?

I guess it's an import/shipping deal - as well as perhaps just high price.

I stocked up a while ago on N-110 (6 lbs - moderately good deal) - my fave for 44 and 357 mag loads but - I fear when this gets close to running dry - no more Viht. What a pity.

Any other users who think they have priced themselves out of the market?

i would like to try it, but at its price i don't feel a need to - especially since i don't think vv can do any better than the powders i currently use.

dakotasin - true very true but - my liking for Viht over many years has been driven by two things in particular..

1) . excellent metering

2) . clean burn

There are many good choices but I have as yet to find a powder that actually exceeds Viht characteristics. Probably will have to try tho eventually! :p

The only viable way to do it is to buy in bulk from Powder Valley.

It's been years since I tried it but I did like it.It's just not redily avail. close to me.
How much for a 'pound' container these days average on their powders?

Just checked Powder Valley - (thx for that mention Zach) - $36.50 for a 2 lb jug of 110. Factor in hazmat and that'll be probably getting up to near $40 - depending how much bought.

I guess it is still worth thinking about, if the order can be big enough - meaning of course, large expense at one time.

Did occur to me how much I see some shops sell other powders for - so maybe I am being unfair to Viht - knowing a buddy recently paid around $17 plus for a 1lb of 2400.

Bulk is obviously way to go - just the darned Hazmat that bumps things up so much.

p95, i've been using vv for a long time and love it primarily for the "clean burn" you mentioned. it's not been my experience that it meters better than any other powder. in fact, it's probably worse.

but... man, that clean burn sure makes a difference.

i've also been quite happy with the low-flash too.

so the answer to your question is complex. I'd SAY that no, they haven't priced themselves out of the market. but in reality, i'm buying/using lesser powders right now because of the $$$.

i am saving my stockpile of ammo with VV in case I ever "need" it. but my practice/"day at the range" loads have to be cheaper.

if VV managed to cut their prices, I'd flush my current powder to make room for all the new VV i'd buy.

taliv - yep - if those prices were brought down significantly - I would use no other. Funny re metering - I had little to complain about on that for most part.

I have used 340 for 9mm for years - found 133 great for .223 loads - and in particular - love 110 for mag. My 6 lbs or more of that will be used until I have a 2lb jug left - after which I will conserve that, probably!

Oh and - love 140 - makes a beautiful load for .243.

Still - I guess we should be pleased that overall we do have a superb choice of propellants these days - can't be that bad!

VV is at times real hard to find..I use N140 in my high power loads, lately it seems to be out of stock everywhere but Powder Valley. I guess I'll have to order a sleeve of my favorite primers too. *S* One shop in Kommiefornia told me the fed's shut down VV due to under weight containers, then again the guy had only half his normal stock of VV, loks like he didn't pay his bill on time.

Makes me think - I am glad in many ways I am ''just'' a consumer. I don't think I'd want to cope with the hassles of being in the ''supply chain''! ;)

In our small town Walmart has the biggest powder selection...heck,the ONLY powder in town...and several of 'em are over 20.00 now by a buck or two.
Speaking of 'pounds' of powder,read the weights on the jug.clays is only 14 oz making a pound of it come to over 22.00 bucks in our area.Just a FYI.

It hits the pocketbook a little, but when I order powder online, I try to spread the haz-mat out as far as possible. Last order from Powder Valley was for 40lb of powder and 10K primers. I figured that the haz-mat was broken down to 40 cents/ lb of powder or per 1K of primers.

It'll be a while before I need powder again.

SASS - indeed what you mention does rather put prices into perspective. So really I guess Viht is not quite so severe as I was thinking and, as Mr Chitlin states - buying big does get hazmat down to acceptable levels.

40 lbs - shucks - that hurt the pocket book! :)

A significant factor in the price of inported goods is the currency exchange rates... dollar has fallen a lot in the past couple of years.... which increases the prices o fimported goods.

Look at S&W ammo...now more expensive than U.S. stuff.

FWIW

Chuck

Yet another excellent point - even more evidence that my whining is perhaps becoming unfair and unfounded after all :rolleyes: :p

Chris,

Actually it wasn't as bad as it sounds. I picked up 4 8lb jugs of DP73 at $52/jug (I use it in 308 and 223) and 1 8 lb jug of Unique for $90.

It is all I shoot anymore for my highpower needs. I even traded my rl-15 I had for somethng else.
I do have a like 7 pounds of 140 left but and will use it for my reduced course and practice loads. But I have totally switched over to n540 and berger bullets for xtc matches.
We order 100 pounds at a time of vit at the beginning of the year. and this year it came out to like $131 total for 8 #'s of n140 and close to $40 for a 2 pounder of n540.
It has taken us over 2 years to make a deal to get the stuff straight from the importer and we will do that next year. It will bring the price down but we will have to order a good quanity also. Any body in CO who wants some come dec. can contact me come sept or nov for current prices that will beat the wholesalers. NO I WILL NOT SHIP.
The container problem was taken care of right after the new year.

I'm a new reloader, so I don't have a good comparitive history, but I bought a # of Vhit N340 to reload my first 10mm. I had ordered it from a gunshop I use in the next town, but it hadn't arrived, so I picked up a # at the small range I use. It was 25.00! I figured they were just higher. I had priced other brands at 16-18 /#. I left the other pound on order since I really like the results I got. It seemed to meter better for me than AA#7, which was ok, just got some +.01 grain readings (I'm working up new loads, so I weigh each one).
Is $25 a common price? Just wonder what everyone else is paying for a #.

$25 seems pretty spendy to me! IIRC I have seen 2lb jugs marked at around $36, maybe just over. Can't imagine ''on the shelf'' any less than that - bulk purchase then only way to drive price down.

I guess when that is compared with an $18 per # for an Alliant powder it seems less bad.

Mr Chitlin's mention of $90 for 8# of Unique is what I like to hear! Just over $11/# - can't be bad! :)

Powder Valley has 4# for 68.75. Add 20.00 hazmat and shipping, and I'd still be out around 25/#. I'll see what the other shop charges me for a #. It should be in next Monday. At some point I'll probably try another powder, tho I sure like the N340. Looks like the best way is the annual order-it-all-at-once strategy. Group buy would be great. This is one reason I'm try to keep it down to a few powders that will give good results for .38/.357- 10mm- .45ACP. I constructed a

Does anyone know of a "Consumer Report" type publication/article/book that discusses the pros and cons of the most popular powders? I haven't seen one, but it would be an interesting read.

I have settled on Titegroup after trying several other brands of powder including the VV powders. I did not find the VV powders to be any more accurate or cleaner burning than TG.
Bottom line is I pay $82-$90 for 8 lbs. of TG at gun shows. VV costs twice as much. I think most folks just like the sexy name. Hodgdon would double the sales of TG if they changed the name to Tihta Groupuori.

Tihta Groupuori. Good one Joe - :D

Does anyone know of a "Consumer Report" type publication/article/book that discusses the pros and cons of the most popular powders? I haven't seen one, but it would be an interesting read.

I think this here forum is about as close as you're going to get.

And I'm glad its here.

The Gander Mtn in town here just raised the prices of all their Hodgen powders to 20.99 ($22.35 OTD)!!! I didn't check on the others.

So $25 for VV - you could do worse.

When you compare cost you must also look at how much you use for a given load. I use 9.8 grains of VV N340 for some loads. The cost runs a around $78 per 4 pounds. This gives a cost per round of $0.02730. Now compare tis to a load using H110 of 19.5 grains that costs around $109 per 8 pounds, which costs $.03796 per round. Both of these loads are a particular use load. They are not what I practice with, but as can be seen when you break it down to costs per round of loaded ammunition they cost is minimal.

My practice load of 9.0 grains of Universal come in at a cost of $0.01750 per round. So although VV may cost more it still is not as expensive as some other powders. And if a load is tailored for the powder and its characteristics it is not that costly.

True Popbang - as I gave dug deeper after original thinking - it does seem that VV is in fact not quite as outrageous as it seems. Certainly, a viable proposition still and one I will probably continue to consider. Glad tho I have a good stock of N110 for now! :)