What are folks' thoughts on Norma ammo for both PG and DG?

[Hornedfrogbbq]

I have no dog in this hunt...just curious. I see they load 300gr solids, 300gr Oryx and 350gr woodleigh soft nose bullets.

 

[375Fox]

I know it shows 350 gr woodleigh on their website but I’ve never seen the ammo available anywhere. I’m not sure how often they load the oryx anymore in 375 H&H either. I have a lot of rounds of 300 gr oryx that were loaded for me when ammo was scarce, but I find the oryx a really soft bullet. It is bonded, but it’s very thinly jacketed and no design features to really stop over expanding. I used 180 gr oryx in 300 win on a recent hunt and was disappointed in how soft the bullet was. I’d use again on PG but I would not use the oryx on buffalo if I had other options.

 

[cmk]

I use their bullets, brass and powders for most of my reloading needs, and I am very satisfied with the results. So component-wise, I am a happy customer.

Though I guess that you are asking about their African PH line of ammo, and more specifically in 375 H&H.

I have not used any of those, but I believe from looking at their specs (for 404J at least), that they might be loaded a bit on the conservative side.

Norma Oryx is a quality bonded bullet in the same league as Woodleigh Weldcore, Nosler Accubond or Swift Scirocco II.

EDIT: as @375Fox says it might be a bit soft for high velocities/very tough resistance. I use it in 6.5x55 and 30-06 for appropriate-sized game.

 

[wesheltonj]

I have no dog in this hunt...just curious. I see they load 300gr solids, 300gr Oryx and 350gr woodleigh soft nose bullets.

I have all three for for different reasons for each. The solids were super cheap and used them to sight-in my scope. I use the 300g Oryx for almost everything. I have the 350g in both FMJ and Weldcore. The African PH line is now extremely hard to find. I suspect because of the Woodleigh fire they were not producing those. Perhaps another reason might be Norma's new owners don't want to make a line that has limited sales. Or maybe both.

 

[UpNorthMI]

I've used Norma ammunition and components for many years with great results. I have not used any in .375 but have shot many other calibers such as Oryx bullets in 9.3x62 with good results.

I have used their orange tipped Tipstrike bullets in other mid calibers for soft skin game with effective results.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Norma 300Gr Oryx .375 Holland & Holland Magnum cartridges are magnificent for all the African plains game, alongside leopard & lion. They are only suitable for broadside heart-lung shots on Cape buffalo (and that too, only if the shooter is careful enough to avoid heavy bone). And I would not touch it for hippopotamus.

Even though Norma officially still lists their African PH line of big bore rifle ammunition (loaded with Woodleigh soft points & Barnes Banded Solids) on their website, I haven’t actually seen any new Norma African PH ammunition on gun store shelves since 2022. Except the odd box from old stock. They had already formally discontinued their ammunition loaded with Woodleigh round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids in 2022 (when the fire at Woodleigh broke out).

Add to this, on February 2025… the European Union just announced a complete ban on all lead hunting ammunition in all of it’s member states by 2027. It makes me wonder if the African PH line of ammunition is being produced at all, in practice.

 

[Sarg]

I used the Norma .458Win loaded with 500gr Swift A Frames to back up on wounded Buffalo .

Slammed them more like a .510 cartridge of some type compared to my old Winchester loads, embarrassing really as I don’t like to make it so obvious for the hunter that I’ve fired !

Well not if they aren’t headed towards us lol !

 

[Kynadog]

I’m a big fan of Norma Oryx bullets for plains game. A 300. gr. Oryx is perfect for everything up to, but excluding, Cape buffalo. The only downside is, like a lot of durable lead core bullets, the bc is pretty low. But then again, this is hunting not sniping and the whole point is to get as close as possible.

As far as DG, I’ve not run across any of their loaded ammo in years, so I wouldn’t hold my breath there.

 

[375Fox]

I think I should add even though I’m not overly impressed with the oryx bullet, I do think the Norma ammo itself is very good quality. I shoot the Norma PH rounds in 450 Rigby and the Norma Oryx ammo in 300 win. It’s been very reliable and in my Sako 85 the oryx factory ammo is one of the more accurate loads I’ve shot at 100 and 300 yards from the rifle.

 

[Rare Breed]

I have no dog in this hunt...just curious. I see they load 300gr solids, 300gr Oryx and 350gr woodleigh soft nose bullets.

Love their brass for reloading

 

[pilar]

I’m a fan of Norma bullets , everyone is obsessed with 375 caliber, but I have never tried that size or bigger , the oryx is imo one of the better bonded bullet in my wheelhouse of 6.5 - 30cal , 150gr in 270 , 180gr in .308 cal

 

[TokkieM]

The Oryx is equal to a Swift A frame. I use to use it a lot, only ever recovered two of them out of around 150 PG shot with Oryx 300gr. One full leght penetration on a good Blue Wildebeest, frontal chest shot and cut it out under the skin on a back leg, 85% weight retention. The other one I broke the shoulders on a huge Zebra stallion and ( unbeknown to me) it hit a blesbuck around 100 meter behind the stallion, entered centre chest and we cut it out under the skin beside the tail, 89% weight retention. Used Swift A frames loaded by Norma for a while too, no diffrence in penetration between those two.

 

[375Fox]

The Oryx is equal to a Swift A frame. I use to use it a lot, only ever recovered two of them out of around 150 PG shot with Oryx 300gr. One full leght penetration on a good Blue Wildebeest, frontal chest shot and cut it out under the skin on a back leg, 85% weight retention. The other one I broke the shoulders on a huge Zebra stallion and ( unbeknown to me) it hit a blesbuck around 100 meter behind the stallion, entered centre chest and we cut it out under the skin beside the tail, 89% weight retention. Used Swift A frames loaded by Norma for a while too, no diffrence in penetration between those two.

I highly disagree. The oryx is a very soft bullet.

 

[MontanaPat]

I’m not a reloader myself, but have used their factory ammo and really like it. I can’t speak to their DG ammo but have some Norma ammo in .308 loaded with 180 gr A Frames that are superb in my M70 featherweight. They are very accurate and just hammer all of the PG I have shot with them from Kudu and Zebra to Blue Wildebeest, Impala and Warthogs

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

The Oryx is equal to a Swift A frame. I use to use it a lot, only ever recovered two of them out of around 150 PG shot with Oryx 300gr. One full leght penetration on a good Blue Wildebeest, frontal chest shot and cut it out under the skin on a back leg, 85% weight retention. The other one I broke the shoulders on a huge Zebra stallion and ( unbeknown to me) it hit a blesbuck around 100 meter behind the stallion, entered centre chest and we cut it out under the skin beside the tail, 89% weight retention. Used Swift A frames loaded by Norma for a while too, no diffrence in penetration between those two.

The Norma Oryx is very different to the Swift A Frame. I handload my 338 with SAF and was looking for a softer bullet to use on a recent leopard hunt. I went looking for some Remington Core-Lokt and stumbled across a great price on Norma Oryx. Bought 5 boxes and they were accurate enough.

 

[Sika98k]

There’s a number of 6.5 Norma Oryx bullets I recovered from deer I shot some years ago using a 6.5x55. Excellent deformation and weight retention. I’ve used them in several calibers and have never had any problems with performance.

 

[MikeCLT]

My Bergara rifle shoots 180 gr 300 Win Mag Norma Oryx bullets very well. 3/4 MOA with two of the holes touching in 3 shot groups. I could not get any of the 8 other ammo types to shoot sub MOA. It seems the consensus is that the Oryx is good for PG but not for DG.

Do you think Oryx are good for large PG like Eland and Wildebeest? Thanks.

 

[Sika98k]

My Bergara rifle shoots 180 gr 300 Win Mag Norma Oryx bullets very well. 3/4 MOA with two of the holes touching in 3 shot groups. I could not get any of the 8 other ammo types to shoot sub MOA. It seems the consensus is that the Oryx is good for PG but not for DG.

Do you think Oryx are good for large PG like Eland and Wildebeest? Thanks.

I’ve shot a few blue wildebeest and eland with my 7x57/275. The eland was injured and it was a mercy killing. It would not be my caliber of choice for eland. However the wildebeest folded up without too much drama. 175 grain Nosler Partitions are my African bullet.

 

[PARA45]

I believe their brass is one of the best on the market and have used them on several cartridges. Weatherby brass at one time was made by Norma. I have never used their bullets, but if the quality of their bullets is the same as their brass, I would use them without hesitation.

 

[375Fox]

My Bergara rifle shoots 180 gr 300 Win Mag Norma Oryx bullets very well. 3/4 MOA with two of the holes touching in 3 shot groups. I could not get any of the 8 other ammo types to shoot sub MOA. It seems the consensus is that the Oryx is good for PG but not for DG.

Do you think Oryx are good for large PG like Eland and Wildebeest? Thanks.

I think there are considerably better options available. I used the same load in Tanzania this year. I shot a wildebeest 3 times and had zero exits and the skinners didn’t recover the bullets. The bullet I posted above is from an impala at maybe 100 yards. I think the oryx is likely a good bullet at lower velocity than 300 win and with heavy bullets but it’s very soft compared to others.