358 Norma Magnum

NORMA MAGNUM 358= A BIT OF RECOIL. I was shooting one of my Swede 96s at the range when 3 fellows showed up with a new to them 358NM. Our walks to the targets showed the 96 with open sights had better groups than the scoped 358, that shouldn't happen. Turned out none of them could shoot the rifle very well. This caliber is not for everyone.
Enjoy.
 
This is a true "Thumper", with energy figures close to the 375 H&H.

The recoil in a light rifle is certainly no maiden's caress, believe me.
A decent weight, and a quality recoil pad will go a long way towards mitigating this negative factor.

However, if you can handle it, you have a very fine chambering, capable, with power to spare
for any game on this continent, and probably a good part of the world.

Brass can be made from several different existing belted cases.
Factory ammo is hard to find and very pricey, so reloading is pretty well a necessity.

Has plenty of "pinache", as has been mentioned already, lol

Regards, Dave.
 
Eagleye said:
This is a true "Thumper", with energy figures close to the 375 H&H.

The recoil in a light rifle is certainly no maiden's caress, believe me.
A decent weight, and a quality recoil pad will go a long way towards mitigating this negative factor.

However, if you can handle it, you have a very fine chambering, capable, with power to spare
for any game on this continent, and probably a good part of the world.

Brass can be made from several different existing belted cases.
Factory ammo is hard to find and very pricey, so reloading is pretty well a necessity.

Has plenty of "pinache", as has been mentioned already, lol

Regards, Dave.
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It certainly is not the New king though is ??
;) ;)
Rob
 
The 358 NM is one of the finest medium bores available. It is unfortunate that it didn't catch on in NA as it should have but it was competing with the 338 WM (not really as it is far superior) and the 340 Wby as well as the 375 H&H. These cartridges were well established before and around the same time as the 358 NM washed ashore in NA. With no NA ammo makers picking it up it quickly became very "elite" considering the cost of European ammo, especially when Win was pushing it's then new 338 WM and ammo was 1/4 the cost. Even the Weatherby ammo for the 340 was less than Norma 358 NM ammo at the time, and it was even double the cost of 375 H&H ammo in the day. As well none of the NA rifle makers embraced the cartridge either and I do not believe it was ever chambered in a NA factory rifle.
All these factors worked against the 358 NM and it was never allowed to shine with the full brilliance the cartridge deserved, considering it's ballistics. For those who are somewhat desensitized to recoil, the 358 NM does everything the 375 H&H will do and is a good choice for heavier NA game and all the worlds game right up to the elephant/rhino class. I would have no qualms thumping a buffalo, bison, lion, hippo or croc with the 358 NM, or any bear walking the planet, especially given the quality of bullets available to us today as handloaders.
Brass is easily made from 338 WM, but it will come out about .050" short, if you are anal about this, you can push the shoulder back on 300 WM brass to fit the chamber and then fireform and trim to perfection. If you have access to 308 NM brass then it can be just fireformed and voila........358 NM brass. When loaded to potential in a modern action the 358 NM will equal and actually exceed 375 H&H ballistics......what's not to love !!!!!
 
If you can handle it, you won't regret it.
Also, it's a very easy round to load for. Just pick tough bullets, as it hits pretty hard for a regular cup & core bullet.
 
Not much, if anything, that I could add to the info already posted. I've posted on this calibre previously. For me, the Schultz & Larsen is my favorite bolt action and I had one in 7x61 S&H and a second in 308 NM. On the front cover of my old copy of the Norma reloading manual there's pictured three cartridges that apparently were the result of co-operation between Norma and Schultz & Larsen. I decided to make the three my S&L 'collection'. Top down;
- Model 68DL in 7x61 S&H
- Model 65DL in 308 NM
- Model 68DL in 358 NM



Prior to 'FINALLY' getting one in 358 NM and after turning down a couple of Husqvarnas and a CZ in that calibre, I was offered another Husky by Why not?. Initially, I informed him it was a S&L I was looking for but after he sent me a couple of photos,:redface: I couldn't resist.





I 'need' two 358 NM's like a hole in the head but I haven't yet been able to put the Husqvarna beauty I got from Ted, up for adoption.:redface: All I've shot with either is paper so far but :dthe general plan is to slate one for my next Moose hunt.
 
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SuperCub said:
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Nice shooting SC,:) VERY nice!! What rifle? Just prior to getting the Husqvarna from Ted, at a local gun show, I picked up seven boxes of 250gr Norma factory loads from a site menber, lefty 338-06. Then, for a bit more of a brass supply;) 'cushlon', I picked up a ;)'quantity' of new Norma unprimed brass from a site sponsor, Henry at Budget Shooter Supply. With the Husqvarna I got from Ted, here's a couple of targets with

- 250gr Norma



- 225gr Barnes TSX reloads



Something a little different with two of the boxes of factory loads, in that two appear to be loaded with a form of Norma's dual core bullets which I believe are nickel clad/jacketes, much like the factory 308NM.



 
Johnn Peterson said:
Nice shooting SC,:) VERY nice!! What rifle?
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I sent a M700 7mag in a Brown Precision stock to Bevan King a few yrs ago He put the bbl on it. I was very happy with it as per the attached targets.

A young fellow I work with talked me out of it ........... It went to a good home.
 
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