Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats My 308 Norma story

Hey guys,

First, a bit of a backstory!

Lately, I've been having some friends and family members come hunting with me - which is great, but unfortunately the smallest centrefire that I owned was a Winchester M70 Synthetic Matte in .338 Win Mag.
Now this was a very fine rifle and served me well taking both Fallow and Sambar deer - and l have a real soft spot for Winchester M70's, but it was a pretty light rifle.
And even though it was Magnaported and l was using 180gn projectiles instead of the 225gn, people who shot it all commented on it's heavy recoil.

So l started searching for a rifle that would still be effective on big Sambar deer - even at longer ranges, but be more pleasant to shoot than the .338...
Now due to some health issues and medical bills my gun budget was ZERO! So if l was to buy a rifle l had to sell a rifle... so that meant my much loved Winchester .338 was sold to fund another rifle.

So while all this was happening l was looking in the classifieds on a local hunting/ shooting forum and a rifle stood out. It was a M17 Enfield rifle that had been customised and re-barreled in 308 Norma Mag. A quick message to the owner and he assured me all works well. It feeds, extracts and ejects perfectly and the barrel and boltface are all in good condition. It also came with Leupold rings and bases, 48 pieces of Norma brass and loading dies - and it was being sold at a ridiculously low price... so l bought it based on photo's and description.

A few weeks later and the rifle was in my hands and the rifle was exactly as described. It worked perfectly and as an added bonus the rifle was glass-bedded and the barrel was free floated. The trigger wasn't bad and apart from some issues with the mounts (which the owner told me about) there was no surprises... except one.
The barrel was only 22.75" long. Now this wasn't a deal breaker anything, but I was curious on what velocities I would get out of it.

I had already made up my mind that l wanted to use 180gn projectiles and all my reloading manuals list this weight bullet as doing around 3000fps from the Norma, but with a 26" barrel.
I had already decided that l wanted at least 2900fps so l loaded up 6 rounds with H4831 powder and some 180gn Woodleigh PP projectiles that l had a handful of to see how close l could get.
l loaded 2 with 71gn, 2 with 72gn and the last 2 with 73gn - which is the book max.
The velocities l achieved were:
71gn - 2800fps
72gn - 2880fps
73gn - 2917fps
I made it!
None of these loads showed excessive pressure but l stopped at 73gn as l had achieved my desired velocity. Surprisingly, the 73gn load wasn't compressed either, but l do use a drop-tube for all my reloading.
So I had a velocity decrease of 103fps from 26" to 22.5" barrel length - or 30fps per inch.

The problem l had now was what projectile to use. The Woodleigh's performed really well but they are just so hard to get at the moment...
I thought of using Hornady interlocks, Sierra Gamekings and a few others but then remembered that the bullet manufacturer Atomic 29 make a monometal 175gn hollowpoint in .308.
Atomic 29 are an Australian made bullet manufacturer that make monometal hollowpoints in a variety of calibers. They have an outstanding reputation for both accuracy and field performance and they are what l use in my custom 425 Express.
So I've just purchased a box and as soon as they arrive l'll work up a load and chronongraph them. Am aiming for 2900 - 2950 fps... stay tuned!

As a comparison, the load l was using in my .338WM was the 180gn Woodleigh at a MV of 3060fps.
My Norma is shooting the 180gn Woodleigh at a MV of 2917fps, so a bit slower.
But the BC of the Woodleigh in the Norma is better so the actual trajectory between the 2 rounds is within .5" out to 350m. So nearly identical.
BUT the recoil of the 308 Norma is around 27ft/lbs while the .338WM was a touch over 40ft/lbs. This is a noticeable difference and after firing the Norma with full power loads l can attest that recoil is softer.

I forgot to mention that when l got the rifle it came with some reloads that the previous owner had loaded. He had already told me they they were mild starting loads with the 165gn projectile. I chronographed some and they recorded a speed of 2800fps. So .30-06 power level. And when fired were very easy on the shoulder.
As an added bonus, when I quickly fired a few at a target they all went in the same hole - so they're accurate too.
So my plan is to use these loads on family and friends to introduce them to the rifle and then work up to the full power loads.

So there's my 308 Norma story so far. The 308 Norma is one of those rounds that l've always been interested in from reading about it in old shooting magazines (the 8mm Remington Magnum is another...) and I'm now happy l finally own one.
Buying a used rifle is always potentially problematic - especially when you haven't actually laid eyes on it, but l'm happy to say this wasn't the case here. I couldn't be happier and fitted with my 3-9 Leupold it's all ready for action!

I'll keep you all posted on how it all goes and stay peeled for a hunt report... my 308 Norma journey has just begun!

Russ.








.300 Wby - .300 Win Mag - 308 Norma Mag