Vihtavouri n555 Sooty

Jimothy

Jimothy

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howdy y’all
I tried out vihtavouri n555 powder in my 6.5 Creedmoor tikka today behind some Sierra 140’s in some virgin new brass. I found it very sooty! Every spent case I handled got soot all over my hands way more than any other powder I’ve used. Worse at lower loads and still quite dirty at max book load. Way sootier than Staball6.5. It was accurate though so no complaints there. Had anyone else found this sooty dirtiness with the N555?
 
Jimothy said:
howdy y’all
I tried out vihtavouri n555 powder in my 6.5 Creedmoor tikka today behind some Sierra 140’s in some virgin new brass. I found it very sooty! Every spent case I handled got soot all over my hands way more than any other powder I’ve used. Worse at lower loads and still quite dirty at max book load. Way sootier than Staball6.5. It was accurate though so no complaints there. Had anyone else found this sooty dirtiness with the N555?
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No, I’ve been using it for quite a while now and brass are clean and nothing special to report cleaning wise.
 
I agree with the others when they say the load is too light , soot is left on the case.
It is the only explanation - unless you were shooting your rifle and left some oil in the chamber, but that would not have the primers looking like that .
What is the actual powder charge?
Cat
 
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I'm using 42.8 grs of n555 in my tikka 6.5 creedmoor, lapua sp brass, cci 450 primer, lapua 139 secnar, has zero pressure signs, shoots great and brass is clean.
 
From 36.1 grain up to 40.6 in accordance with the Vihtavouri data for the Sierra 140 projectile as in the pic.
9D7F6E5D-AE6A-468A-802B-58B1BB2DC737.png

I think you’re right that the lower loads just didn’t seal. Then the higher loads picked up some dirt from the already dirty bolt face and chamber. The primers were quality CCI BR2 LRP’s.

Thanks for the knowledge sharing :)
 
Same problem: soot on rims for 100g bullet but none on the 140g

reload 6.5 Creedmoor :
Peterson brand new cases
Vihtavuory n540 powder
Hornady ELD match bullet in 2 weights 100g and 140g
Primers CCI magnum small rifles 450
Shoot with Tikka T3x

Vihtavuory table gives
100g Hornady ELD Match 2.598 N540 min:37.8 max:41.1 2923 3199
140g Hornady ELD Match 2.799 N540 min:31.8 max:35.8 2359 2595

5 cartridges for 3 loads for each bullet weight
100g -> 37.8 39.3 40.8
140g -> 31.8 33.8 35.8

Frankford Intelli dropper and double check weight on Lyman scale
all cases primed in one batch

Speed are a bit lower than expected
100g 2800 -> 3000
140g 2240 -> 2600

I shoot some Sako ammunition in between my test loads to check if soot was accumulating and nothing
 
After measuring my spent cartridges to the shoulder i confirmed that the lighter loads were insufficient pressure to form the brass to the chamber and that caused the sootiness. Seems to me that the starting load ought to be more like 40 grains with 140’s. It’s a rather slow powder for the Creedmoor IMO and the name of the game seems to be cram as much behind the bullet as you can. For lighter than 140 bullets I would reach for a 4350 or varget. I’m loading the 555 again with heavier loads to properly form the brass that was virgin to my chamber.
 
Jimothy said:
IMO a faster powder in the 4350 range is more versatile across all the bullet weights in the 6.5 Creedmoor. The 555 seems well suited for 140 grain and heavier bullets and less so for lighter.
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Understood. Curious to try it, just not sure it's worth it. Is it more of a consistent burn over the Hogdson or IMR? Or more temp stable.
 
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