Norma Ammunition
Norma is a Swedish ammunition manufacturer active since the beginning of the 20th century. The name of the company is inspired by the homonymous opera by Bellini, much loved by its founders, the Enger brothers.
Born in Oslo, Norway, the Enger brothers esablished Norma Projektilfabrik A/S there, but in 1902 the company, which at the time had only one employee and two machines, was transferred to Sweden. In those years Sweden and Norway were part of a union of kingdoms that dissolved peacefully in 1905. The company prospered by producing ammunition for civil and military use and in the following years opened to exports. In 1942 the company already had 800 employees. In the 1950s, legendary American ammunition inventor Roy Weatherby turned to Norma for the industrial production of the powerful cartridges that still bear his name. Meanwhile in Sweden, ballistics expert Nils Kvale collaborated with Norma to create calibers such as the .308 Norma Magnum , forerunner of a series of proprietary cartridges such as the .338 Norma Magnum and the .300 Norma Magnum. In 1967 the new plant was inaugurated, employing 530 people and producing 64 million cartridges. In 1990 Norma was acquired by Dynamit Nobel, and in 2002 RUAG Ammotec became the new owner of the brand and company. In 2013, Norma's catalog included 110 calibers, with a production of well over 30 million pieces. In 2017, with the acquisition of Gyttorp, the largest Scandinavian manufacturer of shot shells, by RUAG Ammotec the circle closes. In 2019 Norma started the production and distribution in selected markets of pistol and revolver ammunition.
A complete line of specialized ammunition
Among the most interesting products among those recently introduced, it's worth mentioning the Norma Bondstrike Extreme rifle cartridges, designed to offer hunters the maximum in terms of accuracy and stopping power even at longer ranges than usual. The Bondstrike bullet features a polymer tip that allows controlled expansion and maximum weight retention thanks to the unique jacket and core bonding technology developed by Norma. The "boat tail" , typical of match bullets, ensures maximum accuracy even over longer distances. This ammunition is particularly suitable for hunting large ungulates, from wild boar to elk. The Swedish company's production is not limited to hunting ammunition. In its catalog you'll find many target shooting loads, even very specific ones such as the Hybrid Target line . Norma is also very active on lead-free ammunition with the Ecostrike range featuring nickel-plated copper bullets, available in .300 Win. Mag. 150 gr, .300 WSM 150 Gr, .30-06 Spring. 150 Gr, .308 Win. 150 gr, 7mm Rem. Mag. 140 gr, 7x64 140 gr, 7x65R 140 gr, 8x57 IRS (JRS) 160 gr, 8x57 IS (JS) 160 gr, 9.3x62 230 gr, and 9.3x74R 230 gr.
Norma also shows its attention to the environment in the study of packaging. The shell holders of newly produced Norma hunting cartridges are manufactured from renewables, and the wood fiber content is 50%. Once their functional life is over, these holders can be used as fire baits.
Norma reloading components
The wide Norma catalog of commercial ammunition almost overshadows the fact that the Swedish company is a leader in the production of reloading components . In fact, Norma catalog includes eight reloading powders, from the very fast Norma 200, particularly suitable for calibers such as the .22 Remington, to the Norma 217, extremely progressive and suitable for calibers such as the .30-378 Weatherby, for which it was developed, and is excellent for Long Range shooting ammunition with heavy bullets such as the .338 Norma Magnum and the .338 Lapua Magnum. The website offers a wide selection of cartridge cases, target shooting and hunting bullets and in a special section it also offers reloading data for a hundred calibers, from .220 Swift to 9.3x74 R. For each caliber you can see a table listing the different possible combinations of bullet and propellant.
The Norma website is full of resources that can be downloaded free of charge from the
general catalog
, where 68 pages contain every detail on the Swedish company's production.
To learn more please visit Norma's website:
www.norma-ammunition.com
