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.338 Norma Magnum
Side by side comparison of the.338 Lapua Magnum cartridge to the .338 Norma Magnum cartridge.
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	Sweden United States
Production history
Designer	Jimmy Sloan,Norma
Manufacturer	Norma
Produced	2009
Specifications
Parent case	.416 Rigby
Case type	Rimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter	8.60 mm (0.339 in)
Neck diameter	9.40 mm (0.370 in)
Shoulder diameter	14.50 mm (0.571 in)
Base diameter	14.87 mm (0.585 in)
Rim diameter	14.93 mm (0.588 in)
Rim thickness	1.52 mm (0.060 in)
Case length	63.30 mm (2.492 in)
Overall length	93.50 mm (3.681 in)
Case capacity	6.95 cm3 (107.3 gr H2O)
Rifling twist	235 mm (1 in 9.25 in)
Primer type	Large rifle magnum
Maximum pressure	440.00 MPa (63,817 psi)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 19.44 g (300 gr) Sierra MatchKing 823 m/s (2,700 ft/s) 6,585 J (4,857 ft⋅lbf)
Test barrel length: 610 mm (24 inches)

The.338 Norma Magnum is acartridge first introduced in 2008 and came into production in 2009, designed byNorma of Sweden.

The .338 Norma Magnum was originally developed as a long-range sport shootingwildcat cartridge by the American sport shooter Jimmie Sloan with the help of Dave Kiff, owner of Pacific Tool and Gauge, who made the reamers and headspace gauges. Barrels were supplied by Rock Creek Barrel Inc.Various twist rates were tried with 5R rifling. It was designed as a way to optimize shooting the 19.44 grams (300.0 grains) 8.59 millimetres (0.338 in) caliber Sierra HPBT MatchKing projectile from actions and magazines that lack the length to handle cartridges exceeding 91.44 mm (3.600 in) in overall length. The 19.44 grams (300.0 gr) 8.59 mm (0.338 in) caliber Sierra HPBT MatchKing projectile was not available when the.338 Lapua Magnum was originally designed (it was optimized for shooting 16.2 g (250 gr) projectiles) and .338 Lapua Magnum cartridges intended for military use are generally loaded with shorter 16.2 g (250 gr) to 18.47 g (285 gr) projectiles.Later the design was purchased by the Swedish ammunition manufacturer Norma.The .338 Norma Magnum cartridge wasC.I.P. certified on 26 May 2010 and thus became an officially registered and sanctioned rifle cartridge.^[1]

The .338 Norma Magnum exhibits slightly reduced ballistic performance compared to the .338 Lapua Magnum on average, due to the .338 Lapua Magnum offering a variety of cartridges that use lighter bullets, and also due to the reduced case capacity of the .338 Norma Magnum. However, the performance of both cartridges are very close, making the .338 Norma Magnum more efficient^[how?].

The .338 Norma Magnum prior to C.I.P. certification had a shorter cartridge overall length (91.44 mm (3.60 in) compared to the cartridge overall length of the.338 Lapua Magnum (93.50 mm (3.681 in). The .338 Norma Magnum loaded with 19.44 g (300 gr) .338 caliber Sierra HPBT projectiles will have these projectile less deeply seated compared to the .338 Lapua Magnum when both cartridges are loaded to 91.44 mm (3.681 in) overall length. To achieve this the .338 Norma Magnum cartridge utilizes a shorter case (about 63.30 mm (2.492 in) with less taper and a slightly sharper shoulder angle with a slightly longer neck, resulting in about 6.5% less case capacity. However the cartridge overall lengths of the .338 Norma Magnum and .338 Lapua Magnum were, as of 2013, determined at 93.50 mm (3.681 in) by the C.I.P. rulings for these cartridges.

On June 17, 2008, the U.S. government issued a market survey to support a requirement for aPrecision Sniper Rifle (PSR) to possibly replace the currently fielded Bolt Action SOF Sniper Systems MK 13 (.300 Winchester Magnum) and theM40 andM24 (7.62×51mm NATO) chambered to safely fire factory produced"non-wildcat" .338 caliber ammunition.^[2]

The .338 Norma Magnum was designed to improve upon the .338 Lapua Magnum when loaded with 19.44 g (300 gr) Sierravery-low-drag bullets in magazines and actions that restrict the .338 Lapua Magnum's maximum cartridge overall length.

In long range precision sport shooting rifles, which the .338 Norma Magnum cartridges were designed for, the chamber and throat area of the barrel are often custom made by a gunsmith for a particular cartridge, meaning the rifle (system) is consciously constructed for optimal use with a particular cartridge case and projectile combination. If projectiles with differing dimensions are to be used this will generally erode such a custom made system's accuracy potential. This makes objective comparisons between cartridges hard, since cartridges are essential parts of a larger rifle system.

Since the .338 Lapua Magnum can be loaded to itsC.I.P. overall length or even somewhat longer, the practical difference between the two cartridges gradually becomes negligible. Some manufacturers of .338 Lapua Magnum actions, magazines and rifles have indicated that they intend to offer products that will allow the use of .338 Lapua Magnum cartridges that can handle overall lengths that exceed the current C.I.P. .338 Lapua Magnum maximal overall length standard of 93.50 mm (3.681 in).

In May 2017 theUnited States Special Operations Command, in conjunction with theUnited States Marine Corps issued a sources sought notice for 5,000 Lightweight Medium Machine Guns (LWMMG) chambered for .338 Norma Magnumpolymer-cased ammunition. The aim is to identify a machine gun with a 24 inches (610 mm) long barrel weighing 24 pounds (10.9 kg) or less, which offers sufficient accuracy out to 2,000 metres (2,187 yd) to engage area targets and vehicles.^[3]

In 2019 the U.S. Special Operations Command awardedBarrett Firearms Manufacturing a $50,000,000 contract, ordering theBarrett MRAD, designatedMK22 Advanced Sniper Rifle (ASR), chambered in .338 Norma Magnum (designatedXM1162) as well as7.62×51mm NATO and.300 Norma Magnum.^[4][5][6]

In 2020 the U.S. Special Operations Command awarded SIG Sauer a contract, ordering theMG 338 machine gun chambered in .338 Norma Magnum.^[7]

The .338 Norma Magnum chambering is offered for these factory rifles:

• Accuracy International ASR
• Barrett MRAD (Mk 22 ASR)^[a][8][9]
• Cadex Defence CDX-33
• Desert Tech SRS-A2
• FORTMEIER M 2002
• Remington Modular Sniper Rifle (MSR)^[10]
• Sako TRG M10 - Multi-caliber rifle^[11]

• General DynamicsLightweight Medium Machine Gun (LWMMG)
• Sig MG 338 SLMAG - belt-fed medium machine gun which is highly analogous to the LWMMG^[12]
• Ohio Ordnance Works Recoil Enhanced Automatic Precision Rifle (REAPR)^[13]

• Albert Arms ALR
• S.W.O.R.D. International Mk-18 Mod 1 Mjölnir

• Norma
• .300 Norma Magnum
• .338 Lapua Magnum
• .338 Remington Ultra Magnum
• .338-378 Weatherby Magnum
• .338 Edge
• .338 Xtreme
• .338 Winchester Magnum
• List of rifle cartridges
• 8 mm caliber

• Norma Ammunition Homepage
• C.I.P. TDCC datasheet 338 Norma Mag.
• Lightweight Medium Machine Gun (LWMMG)

• Pistol and rifle cartridges
• Magnum rifle cartridges
• Military cartridges

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• Short description is different from Wikidata
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