VV N-340 & .45 Colt 225 Gr TC-HB

[chriske]

Hi,
Does anyone have any experience with VihtaVuori N-340 powder ?

I'm trying to develop .45 Colt loads with 225 Gr plated hollow-based bullets for my 4-5/8" Ruger Blackhawk, say around 900 fps'ish.

The closest I can find on VIhtaVuori's own site are loads for 200 Gr LSWC (10.9 gr. to 11.6 gr., for 1100 to 1200 fps) and 230 Gr FMJ (9.7 gr. to 10.4 gr. for 990 to 1100 fps)

The bulletmaker's site (H&N-sport) only lists loads with N-320 powder (which is quite a bit faster than N-340 more like W-231), namely 6.0 gr to 7,5 gr. But assures me those bullets are loadable up to & beyond 1000 fps, depending on gun & barrel length.

Any ideas ?

 

[Walkalong]

I have some data at home I can share later if folks haven't already done so. Are you stuck on N340?

 

[chriske]

Not really stuck on it but -due to legal restrictions- for the moment I only have a limited supply of N-320, and N-340.
I kind of would like to keep my N-320 for light .38 Spl target loads.

 

[RidgwayCO]

Chriske, if you can give me the length of the bullet and the COL, I'll plug the numbers into QuickLOAD and see if I can give you a starting point.

I use a lot of N340, and have found it useful in a variety of cartridges from .380 Auto to .44 Magnum. I'm just getting into .45 Colt though, so don't have much experience there.

 

[Walkalong]

It should work very well, but I have not tried it in .45 Colt either.

 

[chriske]

Thanks, RidgwayCO,

C.O.L. would be 40.50 mm
Bullet length 16.20 mm

If usefeul : the hollow in the base is 5.20 mm deep.

 

[RidgwayCO]

Chriske, QuickLOAD computes that you'll need about 7.9gr of N340 to attain 900 fps out of your 4-5/8 barrel with a 40.5mm COL and that 225gr bullet. The available case capacity will be 45% filled, and 97% of the powder will be burned by the time the bullet exits the barrel.

Hope this helps and let us know how it turns out!