Norma 38 spl load

[rockquarry]

I agree, they do make great brass and the ammo isn't bad either.

I've tried most every brass available and can see little if any difference in any of them as far as uniformity and case longevity. Case capacity is different from one brand/ lot to the other, but that's to be expected. A bad batch can slip out occasionally from any of the manufacturers.

Norma is very good brass; I've used a lot of it in 7x61 Sharpe & Hart over the years. I've also had the same good fortune with Remington, Winchester and other brass.

Perhaps I've just been lucky or I'm not very observant. There has a been persistent talk over a long time that Norma brass was softer than everything else. I don't know whether that's true or not, but it doesn't matter to me. The longevity of Norma brass is as good as anyone else's.

 

[CactusCapt]

Has anyone fired any of these Norma .38 special 158gr FMJFP over a Chrono? As I said in an earlier post, Fiocchi Perfecta .38 special FMJRN chrono’ed 899fps.from a 4” tube.

I got an average of 770 fps on my new Garmin out of a 5" HD yesterday, which I considered quite light given the published specs, but there's a large caveat. After I chronoed 5 rounds my daughter took the box to fire out of her 4" M67 and in the next 15 rounds had a FTF (it fired on the second hit despite a fully dimpled primer- the M67 is *not* the problem as it has been completely reliable) and a few rounds later she had a squib lodge a bullet halfway down the barrel- brass rod and Kroil to the rescue. I've fired quite a bit of Norma 38SP ammo over the last few years and this is my first issue with it.

This is the Hungarian manufactured stuff that advertises 968 fps out of a 6" barrel and it was purchased through Midway, lot #43L--S-004 (Norma also sells US-assembled stuff that advertises 863 fps). I'm going to weigh the remainder of the box and see if there's any indication of light charges in the remaining 30 rounds- ditto for one more complete box from the same lot. Barring that I'm questioning prior storage conditions of the ammo or general QC of the lot. I have a few more boxes of Norma 38 Spec from a different lot and will chrono a sample of each when I get an opportunity to hit the range again.

Update: no significant variation in weight on the remaining rounds in the box or any of the rounds in the remaining full box. I'll definitely be paying attention when finishing off this ammo.

 

[Norton 750]

As an aside, the lead round nose configuration is the worst possible choice for a defensive load. I would take a flat point over that any day, even though this is intended as range ammo. Being 158 grain, it shoots to point of aim in my fixed sight revolvers. Seems pretty stout, recoil wise. Which traditionally Norma ammo brings to the table.

 

[sigp220.45]

Midway had this load on sale for 9.99/50. I got the limit of three boxes, and shot up 50 rounds yesterday out of my 640. It was good stuff for the range.