.308 Norma Magnum

Marc has acquired a very pretty gun, a hunting rifle chambered for the .308 Norma Magnum cartridge. This picture isn't his gun. It was the first one that popped up on the Google Image search, but it sure looks like it.
    Norma is a hundred year old Swedish ammunition manufacturing company. This cartridge was designed in 1960. It was an initial success, but was soon outpaced by a similar cartridge from Winchester.
    I am not particularly enamoured of magnum rifle cartridges. For me, a 30-06 (thirty ought six) is plenty big enough. Shoot, AK-47 ammo is plenty big enough. Shooting an AK is exciting, but has nowhere near the visceral impact of shooting a big cartridge, like a 30-06. Shooting big cartridges is a shocking experience, literally. Your whole body feels the sound of the cartridge detonating. I suppose it's a bit like riding roller coasters, or riding a motorcycle. Some people, once they try it, find they really like it and keep coming back for more.
    The reason for Magnum rifle cartridges is higher muzzle velocity. A normal 30-06 cartridge has a muzzle velocity of 2500 to 2900 FPS (Feet Per Second), depending on the weight of the bullet. The 308 Norma Magnum muzzle velocity ranges from 2900 to 3300. This is roughly three times the speed of sound.
    The ammunition is more expensive, roughly $3 a shell compared to $1 for 30-06 ammo, but unlike 30-06 ammo, which has virtually disappeared from store shelves because of the gun-grabber in the oval office, this Norma Magnum ammo is readily available. I suppose if you were willing to pay $3 a round for 30-06 ammo you could find someone who would sell you some, but that would be like sacrilege in modern day, quibble-about-everything, America.

    Two more little bits of info. This is a "belted" cartridge, which means there is a little belt of metal just above the base. It is used for headspacing. The other was that this cartridge does not drop to subsonic velocity until it is about a thousand yards out, which is over half a mile. Remember that old rule about thunderstorms? You see the flash of lightning and then you start counting seconds, one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three .... if you get to five, you know that the lightning strike was about one mile away. The bullet from this gun will be halfway there in one second.