Norma Bondstrike .308 Ammo

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 1/21/2019 | P Massaro

[w1n1]

Norma Bondstrike latetest addition to hunting bullet line holds together well.
My trusty old Ruger 77 MKII .308 Winchester – a wellworn, and well-proven rifle – had come along for this afternoon’s hunt. I was sitting with a buddy in a small patch of woods, trying to test some new ammunition; he had a tag for a buck, and I had a doe tag in my pocket, so whatever we saw first would dictate who shot.
With the exception of the camaraderie, it was an uneventful afternoon; the squirrels kept us mildly entertained, but the deer activity was lackluster, to say the least.

It was 10 minutes before legal time was up when a single deer crossed about 60 yards out in front of us. My buddy grabbed the rifle, settled the cross hairs for the only shot he had available – a straight on shot – and broke the Ruger’s trigger. The small buck folded to the shot, not even twitching.
The ammunition we were testing was Norma’s new BondStrike, the third in the Strike series, and I'm happy to report that it’s very good stuff. In the preparation for deer season, while going through the normal sighting-in process, I had the opportunity to test the new Norma stuff. Now, that rifle I mentioned – my early 90's Ruger 77 MKII – is one I know very well.

It has a trigger that is, well, less than desirable – why I haven't replaced it with a Timney yet, I do not know – but I know how it shoots in spite of the factory. Nonetheless, the new Norma ammunition shot very well from my rifle. You see, this gun will rarely break 1 minute-of-angle (mostly due to the 6-pound trigger), but the Norma BondStrike printed a three-shot group measuring 0.8 inches, which is more than accurate enough for almost any hunting scenario.

Velocities came very close to matching the advertised figures; the box indicated that the 180-grain bullet has a muzzle velocity of 2,625 feet per second, and my 22-inch barrel gave a muzzle velocity of 2,608 fps on my Oehler 35P chronograph. Read the rest of Norma Bondstrike 308 ammo.

[oldasrocks]

Sixty yards??? That’s an easy 30-30 shot with factory ammo. Big deal.

[Cold Heart]

Yea but he did it with an undesirable broken trigger:)

[Williams]

I think his buddy shot the deer anyway. What 308 won’t stop a deer?

[IndispensableDestiny]

The best factory ammo is that which shoots well out of your particular rifle. I load my own.

[CommerceComet]

I know this is a .308 Winchester load but Norma makes a fine magnum load in .308 as well. A pre-1964 Model 70 Winchester in .308 Norma Magnum is right at the top of my personal wish list. I passed on one about a year ago and have been kicking myself ever since. What was I thinking? Actually, I got distracted by a possible chance to get a Husqvarna 1600 in .358 Norma Magnum. Turns out, I didn't get either which pleased Mrs. CommerceComet.

My first real rifle was a .308 Winchester that I still have. My dad bought it for me because he wanted all us boys to have the same caliber when hunting. The .308 Win was just not a sexy caliber and I was disappointed but the more I study firearms the more I realize what a fine caliber the .308 Win really is.

[nonsporting]

180gr 308 is a lot of bullet for deer. 150gr should suffice and have less felt recoil.

The real test of the rifle, shooter and ammo would have been a 400 yard shot. 60 is hand gun hunting range.