The 300 Norma Magnum.

[WildRose]

When I was still in the service we toyed a bit with a similar "super 300" from Norma and it got good reviews from those of us who used it but it just never took off.

A few years later comes the .300 Laupua Magnum which took a back seat to it's big brother the .338LM.

A couple of years ago when Norma announced the new, standardized version of the .300NM I got interested and have from time to time made it a point to keep up with it's development and reports from those using it.

I need a new caliber like I need a hole in the head but that doesn't keep me from looking. Admittedly having 3 ea .300wm's and .300 Rum's I've got the 30's covered pretty darned well but I just have to keep going back and looking at it again for obvious reasons. It lays between the 300wm and 300Rum but almost approximates Rum ballistics without the barrel wear.

I also talk frequently about spin and the fact it's a function of MV which is determined by barrel length and twist rate.

I came across this article in which the author talks about using shorter barrels with faster twists to end up with actually faster spin which gives gyroscopic stability greater into the subsonic range using VLD type bullets vs longer barrels with slower twist rates.

Anyhow it seems like a good read so I thought I'd share it here since from time to time I've seen a lot of interest in the .300NM.

Norma hasn't made a big splash for quite a few years but when I was younger they were one of the go to sources for extremely accurate factory ammo with great brass and good load data.

You can find it here.

http://www.accuracy1stdg.com/content/docs/binder7.pdf

 

[marioq]

I tried to build one of these the other day and found that the boat face necessary was the same as a Lapua. The shot my hopes down because the action I gave as a donor was a seven mag action. So, like you, I need another rifle like I need a hole in the head. However since this is owed to me from previous purchases, I figure I'll go with the normal 300 WinMag I will most likely look into the norma mag at another date. You are 100'percent buddy, the normal mag has some interesting ballistics that allows it to surpass the WinMag and almost achieve Remington ultra mag status with less powder and less burn. It is definitely a testament to efficiency and as you spoke with shorter barrels, that may be interesting Build to try. For example a 300 Norma mag chamber in a 22 inch barrel something to think about I guess. Maybe we should partner on making one of these guns and seeing how it works. What do you think old wise one?

Mario

 

[IdahoCTD]

I have a improved version on a Remington action with a PTG bolt and a Bartlein barrel. The thing shoots bugholes with 230 Bergers at 3045fps. It will run faster but the accuracy suffers. It's shot a lot of 3 shot groups in the .1's and numerous 5 shot groups in the .2's. If it shoots a 3 shot group over 1/4" I know I'm having a bad day.

It seems like the standard 300nm struggles to get to the higher accuracy node and people get poor case life when they push it there. My improved case holds about 6-7grains more powder and can get there easily. I'm about 3 grains less capacity then a 300rum but you can push roughly the same velocity. The cool part is I bought a lifetime supply of Lapua made 423 Dakota cases to use in it and the 7-338 Norma Imp I'm going to chamber in the next month or so.

 

[Good]

I've been interested in the 300 Lapua for a while. How would the improved version of that compare to yours IdahoCTD? I think that would be fun to do.

 

[IdahoCTD]

I have a 30-338 Lapua Imp too. With a 33" barrel and 112grs of WC872 it shoots 230 Bergers 3350fps. My 30-338 Norma Imp is a 30" barrel and shoots 91grs of R-33 for 3045fps. Like I said above it will shoot faster but it is stupid accurate there so that is where I shoot it. The 30-338 Lapua Imp is running full tilt to get that velocity.

 

[WildRose]

Personally if I wanted to do a 30 cal other than what I have I would seriously consider using necked down .375 Ruger cases.

I just dug this article up after someone had asked me about the caliber and thought I'd share it with you all since it gets discussed here with some frequency.

Owning a total of six rifles chambered in 300wm and Rum though I doubt I'll ever buy or build another.

If I do something in the next few years it will just be to build a .375 Ruger in about a 14lbs 28" barreled M70 just to see how far I can stretch it since I'm really in love with it's performance on big game. It's case volume for wild cats also make it very promising and it seems to be a very efficient cartridge.

 

[IdahoCTD]

Most of what I build now is based on brass quality/case life. For example: I'm doing a 6.5x68S Imp because I can get RWS brass for it, which many benchrest shooters have reloaded upwards of 50x, it's beltless, and it has a 35 degree shoulder to mitigate case stretching. I also have the 7-338 Norma Imp in the works to use the 423 Dakota brass I have which also has a 35 degree shoulder. I just finished a 300wsm and a 300wm also. The 300wm I built because I had the parts and 600 rounds of brass and the 300wsm I built because the case life is quite good and they are notoriously accurate with good barrel life. So far the 300wsm has proven it's accuracy. It's shot several sub 1/2" groups and a couple in the .2's while figuring out what load of R-26 it likes.

I'm with you WildRose, I don't need another .30 caliber magnum as I have 11 of them, but I will probably build a sporter barreled 30-338 Norma Imp. in the next year. The one I have now has a barrel that is 1" diameter at the muzzle and weights 15.5lbs.

 

[WildRose]

I have a 30-338 Lapua Imp too. With a 33" barrel and 112grs of WC872 it shoots 230 Bergers 3350fps. My 30-338 Norma Imp is a 30" barrel and shoots 91grs of R-33 for 3045fps. Like I said above it will shoot faster but it is stupid accurate there so that is where I shoot it. The 30-338 Lapua Imp is running full tilt to get that velocity.

With that accuracy and velocity I think I'd be perfectly content as well. That's a whole lot of energy from a very flat running bullet.

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

If I do something in the next few years it will just be to build a .375 Ruger in about a 14lbs 28" barreled M70 just to see how far I can stretch it since I'm really in love with it's performance on big game. It's case volume for wild cats also make it very promising and it seems to be a very efficient cartridge.

You're not the only one who's thought of doing something similar. Be hard to argue with .375 300gr Accubond doing ~2750.

 

[WildRose]

You're not the only one who's thought of doing something similar. Be hard to argue with .375 300gr Accubond doing ~2750.

Even out of the shortie I'm getting close to 2850fps with the 270gr.

Peregrine is supposed to be sending me some of their .375 VRG-3's and that should be some deadly medicine out to any range I shoot.

I can't wait to get back to Africa to see it on game!

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

Even out of the shortie I'm getting close to 2850fps with the 270gr.

Peregrine is supposed to be sending me some of their .375 VRG-3's and that should be some deadly medicine out to any range I shoot.

I can't wait to get back to Africa to see it on game!

I just made an educated guess based off the numbers on Hornady's website. Had no idea they could be sent that fast out of a 375 ruger. So 2800+ wouldn't be so far fetched with 300's.

 

[IdahoCTD]

For years I shot a 358STA necked up to .375. I mostly shot 250gr Sierras in it at 3080fps. I took it to Africa and shot 5 animals with it and a friend shot a couple more. I've also shot 5 or 6 elk and numerous deer with it.

If I build a rifle to go back to Africa it would probably be a 375 Ruger just because you don't have headstamp issues with the brass matching the rifle and the OAL is shorter so it fits in a magazine easier. A 37 Nosler or 375 Norma would be an option too but the brass would have to be there.

 

[WildRose]

I just made an educated guess based off the numbers on Hornady's website. Had no idea they could be sent that fast out of a 375 ruger. So 2800+ wouldn't be so far fetched with 300's.

Case size it's about a 10% increase over the venerable old H&H.

It's really a fun round to shoot.

 

[wwbrown]

A few years back I built a 30-375 Ruger, I had a magnum bolt Howa 1500 on the shelf that needed to be mated up with a barrel. I figured it was the greatest capacity case I could get into a 30-06 length action with a standard magnum bolt face. I wanted to be able deliver 210 g bullets to 1,000 yards with significant energy. The round does all I could ask of it.

If I were to do it all again I would go with the 30 Nosler, not even the 26 Nosler was out when I did the 30-375 R. I think the Nosler option gives you better brass, no necking down in multiple steps, cheaper dies, better resale if I ever decide to sell, a little more capacity, and headstamp matches caliber on gun if I took it out of the country. I do like to build some cartridges that are unique but in this case I would stick with the Nosler 30 brass.

Maybe I should look into necking the 30 Nosler up to 338 for something different.

wade