Norma "Triclad" bullets

sniper58

sniper58

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Quesnel, BC
Does anyone have any loading data for these bullets?

I picked up a bunch of .277 150 grain at the gun show in Calgary, and can't find loading data for them.

"Triclad" bullet jackets are constructed of a layer of mild steel between 2 layers of gilding metal. They have been discontinued for a number of years.
They are supposedly an excellent bullet. I weighed all of the bullets that I bought and the weight variance is only 0.2 grains +/-.

I'm just worried about excess pressure caused by the steel in the jackets.

Thanks in advance

sniper58
 
I have no specific data, but the few Norma steel jacket bullets I have loaded in .308 seemed to generate normal pressure. Just work up loads like any other watching for pressure signs.
 
I have quite a few of those bullets in 6.5mm, 270, 7mm and 30 cal. I have never seen any pressures outside of normal when using them. Still, good reloading practice says you should back off a bit and work up when changing any component. Regards, Eagleye.
 
I too, have used those bullets in 270 and 30-06. Like Eagleye states, I have never noticed any difference in pressure between those and any other bullet of the same weight.
Most Norma loading charts didn't distinguish between bullet types, just gave the weight. However theold Gunbug's Guide does show two bullets of 150 grains for the 270.
It shows a 150 grain SPPBT and a 150 grain FJP.

Edited to say Damn, I hit something on the computer and it fired off this one while half finished, and I didn't even know it until I posted the right one, below. Maybe some kind monitor will remove this one.
 
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I too, have used those bullets in 270 and 30-06. Like Eagleye states, I have never noticed any difference in pressure between those and any other bullet of the same weight.
Most Norma loading charts didn't distinguish between bullet types, just gave the weight. However the old Gunbug's Guide does show two bullets of 150 grains for the 270.
It shows a 150 grain SPPBT and a 150 grain FJP. Don't worry about it, though, it shows the same charge for each, 52.4 grains of N204, with velocity of 2802.
They also show three different bullets in 130 grain for 270. They show the same load for all three bullets, 57 grains of N204 and the same speed for all, 3140.
As a point of interest, when this Gunbug's Guide was printed, Norma had not yet came out with their slower 205 powder. They switched to Norma 205 for the 270 after it came out and that increased the efficiency of the 270, in particular with 150 grain bullets.
 
THANKS GUYS!

I'll be working up loads as per usual (safe) practice.
I'm going to start with RL22 and see how that works.

I'd like to try to get around 2800 fps out of these bullets.
 
What about terminal performance(expansion) of these bullets, anyone with any results? What was the purpose of the steel jacket?
 
Here's a write-up from a 1972 "Handloader" magazine ad.
It's about all I could find about the bullets.

The NORMA TRI-CLAD Bullet is
specially designed for maximum
effect against tough game. It
consists of leadlantimony core,
surrounded by a unique jacket
design. Starting from the core,
this jacket has an inside layer
of gilding metal facing the lead.
For maximum killing power, it is
important to keep the jacket
from folding too far back when
the bullet hits the game. The
next jacket layer in the NORMA
TRI-CLAD bullet solves this problem.
It consistsof a special soft,
but still tough, Swedish steel,
which is strong enough to hold
the strips of the expanded jacket
out at an angle - providing a
strong support for the mushrooming
lead. The perfect timing
and degree of expansion is
obtained by internal grooves
swaged into the jacket during
the manufacturing process.
The reinforcing steel layer is protected
by an outside (third) layer
of gilding metal - which at the
same time provides the correct
grip for the rifling lands and
reduces friction, exactly like a
regular all-gilding metal jacket.
Actually, less pressure is exerted
on the bore walls by the TRICLAD
bullet than by one with an
all-gilding metal jacket. The inside
steel reinforcement makes
the TRI-CLAD bullet more resistant
to upsetting in the bore -
(higher longitudinal stiffness)
which results in lower combustion
temperature and consequently
less erosion in the forcing
cone and rear part of the rifling.
The three layers of the TRICLAD
bullet are welded together
and hot-rolled to form a solid
sheet of material. It will not
come apart even under the
highest temperatures and velocities.
As a matter of fact, the
TRI-CLAD bullet can stand higher
velocities without stripping
the barrel lands or splitting
jackets after leaving the muzzle,
than a bullet with an ordinary
gilding metal jacket.
 
Ben those bullets, including the Norma factory loads with them, were very popular in the north central BC area in the late 1950s and through to the late 1960s, at least. They had a reputation for holding together well and penetrating deep in moose.
Sorry, but I can only go in generalities here and can't think of specific cases.
 
I have a couple of recovered tri-clad bullets that I personally took game with. One is a 180 Grain 308 diameter bullet that I shot a moose with from a 308 Norma Mag. The shot was about 120 yards, and the recovered bullet is a perfect mushroom, about .720" in diameter and weighs 141 grains. The other is a 6.5mm 139 grain from a 6.5-06 which took a mule deer buck at about 65 yards. this too, is a classic mushroom, but it lost a bit more weight, %-wise. It weighs only 93 grains. Frontal is about .56". Both these bullets started out at about 3100 FPS. Regards, Eagleye.
 
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