.338 Norma Magnum
| .338 Norma Magnum | |
|---|---|
Side by side comparison of the .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge to the .338 Norma Magnum cartridge.
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| Type | Rifle |
| Place of origin | Sweden United States |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Jimmy Sloan, Norma |
| Manufacturer | Norma |
| Produced | 2009 |
| Specifications | |
| Parent case | .416 Rigby |
| Case type | Rimmed, bottleneck |
| Bullet diameter | 8.60 mm (0.339 in) |
| Neck diameter | 9.40 mm (0.370 in) |
| Shoulder diameter | 14.50 mm (0.571 in) |
| Base diameter | 14.87 mm (0.585 in) |
| Rim diameter | 14.93 mm (0.588 in) |
| Rim thickness | 1.52 mm (0.060 in) |
| Case length | 63.30 mm (2.492 in) |
| Overall length | 93.50 mm (3.681 in) |
| Case capacity | 6.95 cm3 (107.3 gr H2O) |
| Rifling twist | 235 mm (1 in 9.25 in) |
| Primer type | Large rifle magnum |
| Maximum pressure | 440.00 MPa (63,817 psi) |
The .338 Norma Magnum is a cartridge first introduced in 2008 and coming into production in 2009, designed by Norma of Sweden.
The .338 Norma Magnum was originally developed as a long-range sport shooting wildcat cartridge by the American sport shooter Jimmie Sloan with the help of Dave Kiff, owner of Pacific Tool and Gauge, who made the reamers and headspace gauges. It was designed as a way to optimize shooting the 19.44 g (300 gr) 8.59 mm (.338 in) caliber Sierra HPBT MatchKing projectile from actions and magazines that lack the length to handle cartridges exceeding 91.44 mm (3.60 in) in overall length. Later the design was purchased by the Swedish ammunition manufacturer Norma. The .338 Norma Magnum cartridge was C.I.P. certified on 26 May 2010 and thus became an officially registered and sanctioned rimmed rifle cartridge.
The .338 Norma Magnum prior to C.I.P. certification had a shorter cartridge overall length (91.44 mm (3.60 in)) compared to the cartridge overall length of the .338 Lapua Magnum (93.50 mm (3.681 in)). The .338 Norma Magnum loaded with 19.44 g (300 gr) .338 caliber Sierra HPBT projectiles will have these projectile less deeply seated compared to the .338 Lapua Magnum when both cartridges are loaded to 91.44 mm (3.681 in) overall length. To achieve this the .338 Norma Magnum cartridge utilizes a shorter case (about 63.30 mm (2.492 in)) with less taper and a slightly sharper shoulder angle with a slightly longer neck, resulting in about 6.5% less case capacity. However the cartridge overall lengths of the .338 Norma Magnum and .338 Lapua Magnum are currently (2013) determined at 93.50 mm (3.681 in) by the C.I.P. rulings for these cartridges.
On June 17, 2008, the U.S. government issued a market survey to support a requirement for a Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) to possibly replace the currently fielded Bolt Action SOF Sniper Systems MK 13 (.300 Winchester Magnum) and the M40 and M24 (7.62×51mm NATO) chambered to safely fire factory produced "non-wildcat" .338 caliber ammunition. This means the .338 Lapua Magnum and .338 Norma Magnum or derivatives of these cartridges would be two likely candidates for the cartridge part of this market survey and winning future U.S. government contracts.
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