308 norma magnum

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I have a friend with a 308 norma magnum. He wants me to load some rounds for him. I only have old data for this cartridge in my speer manual. I shoot a 300 win mag and noticed they are very simular. I use rel 22 with the 300 and was looking to get some info on using this same powder in the 308 norma mag. Any info would be greatly appreiciated.
 
My Lee manual doesn't list Rel22 for the Norma in any weights. Has H4350, H4831, H1000 and similar powders, @ ~3000fps with a 180gr bullet.
 
I shot a 308 Norma Magnum in the 60s and used Norma 205 powder, exclusively, for reloading.
As a point of interest, Norma ammunition in 308 Magnum is very potent! I have seen new Schultz and Larson rifles stick the bolts, sometimes severely, with Norma ammunition.
This is just a heads up, in case someone comes across some Norma ammo in that calibre. Actually, all old Norma ammo is likely a fair bit "hotter" than other brands of commercial ammo is today. Norma is the only ammo I know of where the published velocity figures are actually acheived in a hunting rifle, when checked with a chronograph.
The same thing applies to their loading charts. I used a Norma loading for years in my 30-06 that gave the usual 2700 fps with 180 grain bullet. Years later I checked it and it was dead on, 2700!
Quite a change to the modern loading books that all show 2700 for the 180, 30-06 bullet, but actually are more in the neighborhood of 2500 feet per second, plus or minus.
 
I also shot/hunted with a 308 Norma Mag for about 15 years my grandfather gave me this rifle.

My load of choice was 75gr Norma MRP powder with 180gr bullets...

I came up with this load by pulling a factory round apart and weighing the powder charge I new that Norma loaded these loads with MRP from all the data that they supplied at the time.

Now the rifle has been transfered into my son's name and it is sitting in the safe downstair...
 
My favorite 30 cal magnum. The first 308 Norma Mag I had was a Parker Hale and the one I have now, and have had for quite a few years, is a Schultz & Larsen. If your interested, PM me your e-mail address and I'll send you a scan of a target I shot with it a short while ago along with the reload info of the load.
Some of the better accuracy I've got with the caliber was using Norma N 204 which is no longer available but I'm getting good results now using IMR 4350 and the Sierra 200gr SBT.
 
Great timing. I hope I'm not hijacking here, but I am looking for a load for my 308 Norma Magnum, particularly using 180 grain Failsafes. Anyone have a recipe that uses these bullets?
 
I shoot both the 308 Norma Mag and a custom 30-338, which is ballistically the same. I use Norma MRP still, since I have some on hand. My load is 75.5 grains for 3085 fps in the Norma Mag and 3125 in the 30-338 (custom barrel) But Reloder 22 and MRP are very close in burning rates, and I would start at around 73 grains of RL 22, and work up. Your max should be around 75-76 grains for about 3100 in a 24" tube. As Bruce observed, the original loading that Norma marketed was quite warm, and IIRC, the load they used was 76.7 grains of old Norma 205, which MRP replaced. I chrony'd this old ammo in 3 different rifles, all with 24 inch barrels, and every one of them was right around 3140 fps (+ - 15) Today Norma loaded ammo for the 308NM is scarce and pricey, so reloading is the answer. I now make all my brass for it from 300Win Mag brass, which works great! I still think the 308 Norma is hard to beat as a useful big 30. Regards, Eagleye.
 
Eagleye said:
Today Norma loaded ammo for the 308NM is scarce and pricey, so reloading is the answer
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while reloading is always the answer, factory Norma with 180 gr Swift A-Frames is only $10-15 more than Federal premium 300 Win Mag with 180 gr Nosler Partitions :redface:
 
H-4831 for the 180gr and up.IMR 4350 for the 150gr.............MOA for both in my FN Browning Safari...........................Harold
 
Correct me if I am wrong but from what I understand RL22 is the same powder as MRP.

MRP is the top grade that meets Norma's specs and RL22 is when the mix doesn't meet MRP spec's.
 
Hey guy's I've just joined this site and was hoping I could get help. I have been having trouble finding information on the .308 Norma Magnum.... it seems not to many people are familliar with it. I just inherited a Voere model 2165 from my father in law and have been told by my hunting buddies that I'm crazy for wanting to use it for deer hunting because there will be no meat left. I'm going to be doing my own reloading and was wondering if there was any suggestions on loads and bullets. I was looking at using either Hornady 180gr Interloc or Nosler 180gr Accubond since I think this would be an all around load for deer and moose. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Long Shot 1000 said:
Hey guy's I've just joined this site and was hoping I could get help. I have been having trouble finding information on the .308 Norma Magnum.... it seems not to many people are familliar with it. I just inherited a Voere model 2165 from my father in law and have been told by my hunting buddies that I'm crazy for wanting to use it for deer hunting because there will be no meat left. I'm going to be doing my own reloading and was wondering if there was any suggestions on loads and bullets. I was looking at using either Hornady 180gr Interloc or Nosler 180gr Accubond since I think this would be an all around load for deer and moose. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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First off, welcome to the site. There's a lot of good people here. As I've mentioned on my earlier post on this thread, the 308 Norma Magnum is my favorite 30 cal magnum. I'm not familiar with your rifle but I've had two, the 1st was a Parker Hale and I presently have a Schultz & Larsen.
I wouldn't say you're "crazy" for wanting to use it on Deer but I think it's definately on the high end of what's required for Deer in most range situations. It would be a good choice however for the more open country and long range conditions.
One of my favorite loads, not only for the accuracy but also because it's performed well on Moose is a combo of IMR 4350 & 200gr Sierra SBT's. Nothing the matter with either of the bullet choices you've made mention of though.
If you plan on using a specific bullet, I'd be tempted to go by the manual info of that bullet manufacturer, as a starting point anyway. Even then, after that it still becomes a matter of 'tweeking' the specs to best fit your rifles needs and/or performance. Having said that, a quick look at the Nosler 5th edition manual I have I notice they don't list loads for the 308 Norma Magnum caliber. For the most part, 180gr info, minimum powder charge & C.O.L. dimensions from another manual 'could' be used as a starting point, then the 'tweeking' again comes into play.
 
Thanks for the warm welcome Johnn it's much appreciated. Also thank you verry much for the information. I do agree that the Norma is on the high end for deer under 100 yds which is the most common scenario here in Ontario. That's why I was hoping to take advantage of versatility of doing my own reloads. My biggest concern was gettin a pass through shot with no expansion under 100 yds....although the energy should be enough to drip it, but I want the clean kill. What about this though. Either drop the velocity and keep the 108gr and hope for enough expansion or drop down to a 160gr or 165gr to get better expansion. The twist on the barrel is 1 in 12 and our information says that that is best suited for 170gr and up. I guess this will give me a chance to make up some of the home made ballistic gell I found on the NET and do some fun CSI shooting. Are there any other bullets you would recommend? My reloading buddy was mentioning Bear Claw's or maybe solid copper. I told him if he wanted to use solid copper he could buy them!
 
Long Shot 1000 said:
Are there any other bullets you would recommend? My reloading buddy was mentioning Bear Claw's or maybe solid copper. I told him if he wanted to use solid copper he could buy them!
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I'd save the higher end bullets for the heavy game. In the Norma, on deer, I'd likely use a Hornady Interlock Soft Point. If you have longer shots, I'd use a 150 or 165gr. Other than that even the 180 will work well.

I don't have a Norma, but have used the .300WM in the past on deer and had no problems with Speer 180 SP's. Check Hodgdon's site for loading data...
 
Long Shot 1000 said:
Thanks for the warm welcome Johnn it's much appreciated. Also thank you verry much for the information. I do agree that the Norma is on the high end for deer under 100 yds which is the most common scenario here in Ontario. That's why I was hoping to take advantage of versatility of doing my own reloads. My biggest concern was gettin a pass through shot with no expansion under 100 yds....although the energy should be enough to drip it, but I want the clean kill. What about this though. Either drop the velocity and keep the 108gr and hope for enough expansion or drop down to a 160gr or 165gr to get better expansion. The twist on the barrel is 1 in 12 and our information says that that is best suited for 170gr and up. I guess this will give me a chance to make up some of the home made ballistic gell I found on the NET and do some fun CSI shooting. Are there any other bullets you would recommend? My reloading buddy was mentioning Bear Claw's or maybe solid copper. I told him if he wanted to use solid copper he could buy them!
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There's a lot of good 'stuff' out there today and as technology 'marches on' there will continue to be improvments on all components. A lot of hunting bullets available today are more than adequate to take game. There may be 'better' choices when it comes to specifics like what to use on Cape Buffalo or Gophers but for your average variety of North American game, they're all more than capable.
I'm not saying it's right but with todays quality in expandind bullets, in just about all my calibers, my #1 criteria for a bullet choice is accuracy. If I have that extra little bit confidence, making the shot, for me, all hinges on shot placement.
As example, will a 180gr Nosler partition do as good or better than a 200gr Sierra SBT in my 308NM? Probably. But for accuracy, if I was a betting man, where would I put my money, again specifically in this example for me??
200gr Sierra SBT's. But again, that's just me.:);)
 
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