Norma Whitetail .308 150 Warning

[rosewood]

This is an eyeopening thread.

I never gave it a second's thought when grabbing a box of ammo off the shelf in a store. Not once have I considered some fool may have swapped ammo around.
People will do some low down things.

My favorite LGS keeps their ammo behind the counter. Hopefully this will safeguard against the dipsticks who'd attempt to do such things.

Wrong ammo in factory box happened to Ron. He made the discovery around 38 min mark.

Rosewood

 

[menhadenman]

After hunting this morning we decided to do a little shooting and brought the chronograph out to test a new pistol load. When that was finished, we thought it would be a fun idea to shoot our factory .308 loads. First we shot Norma Whitetail 150 308 since that is what the Remington 700 with a 20 inch barrel was sighted in for. First shot was 2400 fps even. I though the battery must be dying, so we went in the house and got another battery. 2nd shot was 2440, 3rd shot 2426. We then shot Prvi 150 and got 2667. We shot a 150 Power Point that measured 2764. That rifle was re-sighted in with Power Point. The Norma will deliver 1 hole groups at 50 on my pistol range, but the velocity was shockingly low. The Power Points gave a 3/4 inch group, but it would at least kill cleanly at 200. The Norma did recoil less, but I hadn't noticed it before since we usually don't shoot more than one brand in a session. I'm not trying to trash talk. I'd just hate to maim a game animal. The ammo was bought at Academy back when it was new and on sale for cheap.

Forgot to follow up on this - the Norma ammo I have (from a Tikka 308 with 20” barrel) clocks in at 2,544 fps with a SD of 33. Very accurate, though, not to mention pretty brass.

 

[Liberty]

Forgot to follow up on this - the Norma ammo I have (from a Tikka 308 with 20” barrel) clocks in at 2,544 fps with a SD of 33. Very accurate, though, not to mention pretty brass.

Thanks for following up. It’s good to hear that I’m not the only one getting slow velocities for 150 grain, although your speed wasn’t as bad as mine. Tikka almost certainly uses better tubes than Remington did post-glory, pre-bankrupcy days.

 

[rosewood]

They may make a good low recoil round for sensitive shooters.

 

[furtaker]

Today my Dad and I chronographed some of the Norma 150s out of his 22 inch Howa. Three shots averaged 2677. A little slow but not nearly as slow as yours. They were the slowest of the three 150 factory loads we shot. They group fairly well in his gun though.

 

[menhadenman]

After hunting this morning we decided to do a little shooting and brought the chronograph out to test a new pistol load. When that was finished, we thought it would be a fun idea to shoot our factory .308 loads. First we shot Norma Whitetail 150 308 since that is what the Remington 700 with a 20 inch barrel was sighted in for. First shot was 2400 fps even. I though the battery must be dying, so we went in the house and got another battery. 2nd shot was 2440, 3rd shot 2426. We then shot Prvi 150 and got 2667. We shot a 150 Power Point that measured 2764. That rifle was re-sighted in with Power Point. The Norma will deliver 1 hole groups at 50 on my pistol range, but the velocity was shockingly low. The Power Points gave a 3/4 inch group, but it would at least kill cleanly at 200. The Norma did recoil less, but I hadn't noticed it before since we usually don't shoot more than one brand in a session. I'm not trying to trash talk. I'd just hate to maim a game animal. The ammo was bought at Academy back when it was new and on sale for cheap.

Shot some more of the Norma I have on Labradar yesterday… 2,550 to 2,600 out of 20” bbl. Box claims 2882 fps out of 23.6” bbl so agree it’s off. It’s still nice brass and pretty accurate so don’t mind that I got a case of it at $19/box.

 

[Jester896]

2822fps...site claims 2789...but I still couldn't find the barrel length figures. I would imagine 24-26"...but yes, still slow for a 150. Federal with a 150gr Partition claims 2840fps and Hornady Superformance claims 3000 on the 150gr SST in a 24" The Whitetail and Custom 150s claim 2820fps in a 24"

as long as you know what the speed is, it won't matter until you reach 100 yards or whatever your 0 is to figure the drop for the second 100...dead deerz

 

[menhadenman]

23.6” seems like an odd barrel length but what do I know?

@Jester896 is right, dead deer and chip shots inside of 200.

 

[NE GA Pappy]

23.6 inches is 600mm. that is standard measurement for an European country

 

[Jester896]

@menhadenman I saw that in your post...I just can't find it on their site. Your right...just at .4" shy of a common barrel...it must be a test device of sorts

 

[menhadenman]

23.6 inches is 600mm. that is standard measurement for an European country

Learn something new every day!

 

[rosewood]

Learn something new every day!

600mm÷25.4mm/inch=23.62". Simple metric to imperial conversion. That makes total sense that they would do that.

I bet there boxes of ammo sold in Europe (if they can even sell there ), has the velocity in meters/sec and meters instead of yards.

If you look at reload data for Vihtavuori gun powder, it is provided in both metric and imperial. Takes a bit to learn to read their chart.

Fun fact. An American invented the Metric system, but we never embraced it here.

Rosewood

 

[Liberty]

I’m getting to the age where a case of 30-06 or .308 will kill every deer, pig, etc. that I ever want to hunt with plenty left over for the kids. I’m checking myself out of the bargain hunting ammo game and using standard loadings that have worked for me over the last 36 years, since I started hunting with a few newer premium bullets/ shot thrown in the mix if excessively bored. PowerPoints, Interlocks, Grand Slams, Partitions, Pro-Hunters and Lawrence shot have yet to disappoint when the right loading is used and proper shot placement has been achieved. I wish I could tell a 14 year old version of myself not to waste time and money on “bargains” when shooting game is the goal.

 

[Jester896]

I wish I could tell a 14 year old version of myself not to waste time and money on “bargains” when shooting game is the goal.

many do that with their rifle choice all the way down to optics...why wouldn't they do it with ammo too?

 

[Dub]

many do that with their rifle choice all the way down to optics...why wouldn't they do it with ammo too?

And self-defense weapons and ammo, too.

Their prime goal is to go cheap, vs perhaps spend a few dollars more and go with something that is proven reliable.

 

[Liberty]

And self-defense weapons and ammo, too.

Their prime goal is to go cheap, vs perhaps spend a few dollars more and go with something that is proven reliable.

Thankfully I’ve always thought my own hide was worth not cheaping out on, but if all someone can afford is a Taurus in a nylon holster it’s better than a sharp stick in the corner. How many people get the cheap pistol, a $300 tattoo, and drink 4 cases of beer the same month?

 

[Liberty]

Norma Whitetail 30-06 150 gr. Deer shot at 110 yrds broadside tight behind front shoulder,ran30 yards before going down.
Complete pass through, excellent blood trail.
View attachment 1297379
View attachment 1297380

Nice buck and good shooting, but the point of this post was to warn people that they might achieve less than desirable results on raking/shoulder shots, their expected drops might be off and velocities could drop below expansion sooner than expected in Norma .308 Whitetail. It wasn’t a blanket Norma bashing post. Not trying to be a smart Alec, but a good copper .223 or standard 30-30 load will do the same thing at 110 yards thru the lungs broadside.

 

[The Original Rooster]

Did anybody ever hear back from Norma regarding those lower velocity rounds?