[Crpntr33]

Hey gang,
I have about come to the end of working 80 hr weeks and i am starting to consider Shooting long range.
I like the idea of the 1k yard contest.
Only rifle I own that might do the trick the 308 norma Mag. Mine was Built for me by Guy smith of Smitty's Gun shop, Akron Ohio.
I have read alot of posts on the web , pros an cons as to why to an why not to have this cailber, and i dont care the cost of brass or how hard it is to get cuz i got plenty and know what necks up or down to make more of it so thats not an issue.
My question for you pros out there.
Will this Caliber run that 1000 yards and have enough at the end to knock down the steel plate that some places use for a target. I currently have H1000 H4350 and H4351 and i have some of that new stuff XBR to try as well.
I hopefully can start this using 168 grain SBT's as I made a buy out on quite a few. Not to mention they eat nice quarter sized hole at 300 yrds with H4351
My best shoting with this gun is at 700 yards. I have no issues at that range but them last 3 football fields worry me a tad.
Im just wondering if this gun is of a caliber good at that range or am I better to set up a new gun altogether.
Thanks for any an all advice.

ps, Im the kinda Guy that rather make my kill at 500 yards instead of 50. That way I have a reason to use the bigger Gun !!

 

[unclenick]

Given that military snipers can knock things down just fine at that range with the .308, I think you can safely guess that you'll do fine with your .308 Norma chambering. Buckshot won't carry that far, so balls won't be part of the equation, but some good bullets will. The .308 Norma hasn't got quite as much powder capacity as the .300 Win Mag, which dominated 1000 yard target shooting for many years, but it's not a significant enough difference to think you won't be competitive with it.

When the .300 WM was 1000 yard king, it was mostly done shooting the 190 and 210 grain Sierra MatchKings (SMK's). The latter, with their high 0.645 ballistic coefficient, really buck wind well. The trajectory has more arc than a lighter bullet, but when you know the range, that doesn't matter. I don't know what your gun's barrel twist rate is, but the 210's require a 10" twist or faster to stabilize. I've always heard the .308 Norma did well with heavy bullets, so I'm guessing its usually built with a 10" twist, but you should check what your's is before buying any long, heavy bullets. If the twist is up to it, those bullets and some IMR 7828 SSC could make for impressive velocity.

When you referred to SBT's, I didn't know if you meant Sierra or Speer? For that matter, Sako and Sellier & Bellot also have 168 grain boat tail match bullets. I usually use SMK for the Sierra's to take advantage of the MatchKing brand name, which can't be confused with the others. Of the four, I've only used the Sierra's. Unfortunately, the Sierra 168 grain SMK's are not good 1000 yard bullets. They often become unstable in the transonic velocity range. Specifically, it seems to happen when they drop below about 1350 fps. Using .308 and .30-06, I've had them tumble and start whizzing off to the side firing at a 750 yard popper or at 800 long range paper targets.

When I attended Mid Tompkins Long Range Firing School at Camp Perry in 2001, a bunch of us, knowing no better, brought .30 cal. ammo loaded with the 168 grain SMK. The first target was 800 yards, and you should have heard all the griping and cursing during the sighter firing, as people failed to get or stay on paper and reports of keyholes came back from the pits for the bullets that did find the backers.

Sierra ballistic technician Kevin Thomas was attending the class that year, and he told us the 168 was designed in the late 50's to be a 300 meter International Match bullet. That it also worked well for the 600 yard phase of service rifle matches had proven to be a bonus. The bullet they made in the same weight range that was designed to hold up through the transonic velocity range was the newer 175 grain SMK they'd developed for the military in the 80's.

So, at the lunch break we all ran off to commercial row and bought up Federal and HSM ammunition that was available already loaded with the 175 grain SMK's. After lunch the shooting proceeded without a hitch. No more keyholes.

That 650-700 yard limit applies only to .308 and '06 muzzle velocities. If you can drive it to 3000 fps or a bit over, it won't be a factor until just after 900 yards. But I don't think you can count on it past 800, especially if your barrel twist is less than 10" pitch.

I should say, I've spoken to a couple of guys who've shot the 168 grain SMK at 1000 yards without getting keyholes. I didn't get to grill them enough to learn what was different about their guns or shooting conditions? I can only tell you that of the dozen or so at Perry at that LRFS, we all had the problem, so it would seem to be more frequent than not. If you were shooting a few thousand feet above sea level or on a very low barometric pressure day, it might not happen?

 

[TMan]

The .308 Norma was quite the rage for long distance shooting when it hit the states, back in the ? 70's ?? or so.

It predated the .300Win by a bit, and if Remington had picked it up, the Winchester would likely never have been born.

As it represents a fair boost over 30-06 performance, I think you'll be just fine.

 

[spitfire_er]

Should do the Job without a hitch. Almost everything has been mentioned already. It has been used by many for 1,000 yard competion.

I'm in the final stages of building my new .308 Norma Hunting rifle.... Can't wait to see how it shoots!

 

[GMFWoodchuck]

The .308 Norma was quite the rage for long distance shooting when it hit the states, back in the ? 70's ?? or so.

It predated the .300Win by a bit, and if Remington had picked it up, the Winchester would likely never have been born.

QUOTE]

Or Winchester could have picked it up for that matter. They are as close in "body styles" as the 7mm-08 rem and the 7mm Mauser. Only a few fractions of an inch difference.

 

[Crpntr33]

Many Thanks

Thank you very much for responding to this thread.
I have read much about the norma in the 15 or so years I have owned one, But have not Seen much about it posted for Match shooting.
As soon as I can, I will figure out how to post photos and drop a few of this weightly beast up to this thread.
SMC as previously used did refer to the sierra MK,s. I actually had a chance to buy out from a store going out of business. I guess I will load em and burn em out for practice, and test some powders etc.
I have much to learn I am sure but I have the feeling I am in the right place to get started.
Thanks Again !!

 

[spitfire_er]

One more note, some guys prefered the Norma over the .300 Win due to basically the same case capicities, but the norma has a longer neck which helps keep the runout on the bullet to a minimum.

 

[Poppa Phill]

Hello gang. I started this post some years ago about the Norma mag. I had a heart attack shortly afterwards so that was that. Since that time, I built a bunch of black rifles for LE In Georgia mostly and did some minor shooting with some scouts I know. Needless to say, I've still got Ms Norma. She wearing a leupold VX3i lrp of the Tmoa type. Going to load some SMK 200 AND 210,S TO see what gives. 8 years long time missed this place a bunch!!! God Bless