scooter123
Member
After discovering the extreme position sensitivity of SR7625 in this caliber my powder choices were reduced to Accurate #5 and Unique. Both worked quite well and the Accurate #5 meters wonderfully. Unfortunately with only 2 pounds of the #5 on hand and none in sight anywhere I've looked I have to hold back the remainder of the #5 for 45 ACP loads. Anyone who has tested Unique statistically knows that it meters poorly in most of the powder measures out there and in my measures the deviation can exceed 1/2 grain. As a result I've have been hand weighing each individual charge which means that best case I can load 30-35 rounds in an hour.
I've always heard great reviews for VitaVouri powders and when I saw a 4 pound bottle of the 3N37 for 130 dollars at a local gun show I decided to gamble a bit. It was a good gamble. First, this powder has granules that are similar in size to SR7625 and it meters wonderfully. Second, it's NOT observably position sensitive in the load I worked up. BTW, that is a 125 grain Ranier plated bullet with 6.5 grains of powder. Based on a comparison using alternating rounds loaded with Unique that I've chronographed I expect the velocity will be around 850 fps from a 4 inch barrel. Recoil between the two loads was a match and the POI relative to the reflex sight on my 620 was identical.
So, those looking for an alternate to Accurate #5 for the 38 special can purchase the VitaVouri 3N37 with confidence that it will work every bit as well as #5. In fact it might even be considered a direct replacement because both loads feature a load range for charge weights that is near match. About the only downside is the VitaVouri doesn't report any pressure results so you have to rely on VitaVouri that the pressures are within specification for the caliber. From what I saw with my low/midrange charge level indicates that pressures are not the least bit excessive. Final plus is that it's a somewhat slow burning powder and if you up the charge weight you can get some rather good velocities. Meaning, it's an excellent powder to use when you need to meet a power factor floor in a competition load.
I've always heard great reviews for VitaVouri powders and when I saw a 4 pound bottle of the 3N37 for 130 dollars at a local gun show I decided to gamble a bit. It was a good gamble. First, this powder has granules that are similar in size to SR7625 and it meters wonderfully. Second, it's NOT observably position sensitive in the load I worked up. BTW, that is a 125 grain Ranier plated bullet with 6.5 grains of powder. Based on a comparison using alternating rounds loaded with Unique that I've chronographed I expect the velocity will be around 850 fps from a 4 inch barrel. Recoil between the two loads was a match and the POI relative to the reflex sight on my 620 was identical.
So, those looking for an alternate to Accurate #5 for the 38 special can purchase the VitaVouri 3N37 with confidence that it will work every bit as well as #5. In fact it might even be considered a direct replacement because both loads feature a load range for charge weights that is near match. About the only downside is the VitaVouri doesn't report any pressure results so you have to rely on VitaVouri that the pressures are within specification for the caliber. From what I saw with my low/midrange charge level indicates that pressures are not the least bit excessive. Final plus is that it's a somewhat slow burning powder and if you up the charge weight you can get some rather good velocities. Meaning, it's an excellent powder to use when you need to meet a power factor floor in a competition load.
