Norma 130 gr. Golden Target Bullets
- Thread starter Dead Eye Dick
- Start date
...these were the bullets used in the original PRIME AMMO that Lowlight gave high ratings. IIRC, the original PRIME 6.5CM was being loaded by NORMA to PRIME's specs.
...have come across articles from European competitions and it's a frequently mentioned bullet, highly regarded.
Great bullet, but a long bearing surface keeps it a bit slower than 130 berger.
has a friend that want's to melt down his ex wife's jewelry and make a few bullets for pistols out of them I think It's a waste for a blink of the eye in laughs . especially when it worth more in scrap as of today's price online
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And that has exactly what to do with the topic at hand?
Put the booze down dude. Your posts are incoherent ramblings at times.
Put the booze down dude. Your posts are incoherent ramblings at times.
Ok. So I got done doing a few seating depth tests. These Norma bullets seem jump sensitive in my 26" Criterion Remage barrel. It has just under 600 rounds fired at the time of this test, and it has been cleaned thoroughly. It's also suppressed with an Ultra7
Load data is Alpha LRP brass, 38.3gr SW Precision powder, Fed215 primers, and a velocity of 2860fps. I followed the Berger recommended initial setting depth test. Then moved on to a narrower range once I found a length that looked promising. My best groups were 2.210" CBTO and 2.206 CBTO. I'm going to load 25 of each and test them at range. Hopefully I won't have to chase the lands.
I'm also going to try it in my other 6.5 Creedmoor rifle (Rem700 action and 25" Criterion barrel) and see if it shoots in that one too.
Load data is Alpha LRP brass, 38.3gr SW Precision powder, Fed215 primers, and a velocity of 2860fps. I followed the Berger recommended initial setting depth test. Then moved on to a narrower range once I found a length that looked promising. My best groups were 2.210" CBTO and 2.206 CBTO. I'm going to load 25 of each and test them at range. Hopefully I won't have to chase the lands.
I'm also going to try it in my other 6.5 Creedmoor rifle (Rem700 action and 25" Criterion barrel) and see if it shoots in that one too.
Ordered 1000 to try, figured for the price worst case they can be a “play” bullet for shooting steel. Reviews seem like they’re similar to a Lapua scenar. Not a hot rod bullet by any means, but accurate and consistent.
I have used them in 3 different 6.5 Creedmoor and one 260 barrel and they shoot great in all three. Excellent penetration and expansion in Kansas deer. Currently using Peterson brass, 42gr of Rl16, CCI450s, and getting 2785 fps out of a 18" Bartlein suppressed. Took them out to 1400 yards on steel using Prime's BC that was on their boxes.
They fit in a CTR magazine with plenty of room to spare. I will have to check my notes at home and get back with you. My son loaded them at the same length as Prime as the factory ammo shot great in his RPR. They fit in the factory Ruger Magpul magazines with room to spare.
Understand this is not 6.5, but I've been shooting them in my .260R for several years and at about 2900fps. Excellent performance out to my max at 1035yds. I would assume they would be similar (albeit slower) in your 6.5.
In my experience they are Not jump sensitive, I start my load at 2.8 and find a powder charge and then adjust seating depth. The last time I shot these I think they ended up at 2.815 and would shoot little groups.
Checked my zero with these yesterday afternoon. I am loading these at 2.240" CBTO and I am jumping them .050". Five of them averaged 2797 fps over 42 gr of Rl16, Peterson brass, CCI 450, 18" Bartlein suppressed.
They do a number on deer. The last picture is where the first doe was standing when I shot her. 225 yards and she went thess than 20.
Either my barrel (Criterion Remage) hates these bullets, or I suck at load development. I've tried seating depth tests, OCW tests, and it's been too windy to do a ladder test (Wyoming winters). 8 just can't seem to get these nailed down. One minute it shows promise with decent groups, the next I get random fliers, the next it prints 2 separate groups. Should I try a different powder? I also have 6.5 StaBall and a pound of H4350. I also may try IMR4064.
Current load is 38.1gr SW Precision powder, Alpha Brass, Federal 215 primers, and I've tried jumping the bullets as much as .130"
Velocity is around 2850fps
Berger and Hornady 130's shoot great in this barrel, and there is less than 800 rounds fired through it.
Current load is 38.1gr SW Precision powder, Alpha Brass, Federal 215 primers, and I've tried jumping the bullets as much as .130"
Velocity is around 2850fps
Berger and Hornady 130's shoot great in this barrel, and there is less than 800 rounds fired through it.
Sounds like the barrel doesn’t agree with em, hold to the side for a new barrel that does. Or test forever but usually if you’re done a powder and a seating and it’s not consistent then it won’t ever be.
That's what I am thinking. I just didn't know if I was missing something. I'll probably try a Bartlein or Krieger with them.
From my experience with Norma 130's, the bullet is way more critical to seat depth than hornady;s, or a 130 Beger hybrid. Try .008" off and make minor adjustments.
When I first started using golden targets, they were a drop in replacement for a Berger 130gr VLD.
Prime are seated around 2.75. They seem to shoot universally well, or they did back in the day.
I've tried a box of the norma branded prime with the 130gr. They shot well enough to make me want to order 1k of these bullets. I'm just glad they are in stock but I don't love the idea of them disappearing again..
Pretty interesting results. When the charge isn’t right, the bullets land shotgun fashion. When the charge is jsut right, they are pretty much perfect. Picture of the ladder test, with Superformance. The heaviest load tested shot a miracle group. Using H4350, the results were quite the opposite, the starting load shot well, the middle loads scattered and the heaviest load tested shot “pretty“ good but not great. Best group, yes three shots went through that hole.
Best group, 45 grains of Superformance, BR4 primers and new Lapua brass.
Please note, only three shot groups, In these days of difficulty obtaining components, its tough to shoot the inarguably better five or ten shot groups. (Exception, starting load, shot five because of issues with getting the chrono going). Finally, I rarely shoot at paper, normally only when testing groups with a chronograph.
Best group, 45 grains of Superformance, BR4 primers and new Lapua brass.
Please note, only three shot groups, In these days of difficulty obtaining components, its tough to shoot the inarguably better five or ten shot groups. (Exception, starting load, shot five because of issues with getting the chrono going). Finally, I rarely shoot at paper, normally only when testing groups with a chronograph.
My son was using the Norma prime brass and 44gr of H4350 in his RPR and getting 2835 fps with these. I was surprised that the brass lasted as long as it did. He has 8 firings on some of it and the pockets are still tight. I use 42gr of Rl16 with Peterson srp brass and get 2785 fps out of an 18" Bartlein suppressed.
...I still have a case of the original PRIME ammo that was using these, I'll dig it out and get the average COAL/CBOT numbers and post them up if somebody doesn't beat me to it... Sierra & Hornady offerings in the same weight is real close price-wise, Bergers are twice the price per piece...all are relatively scarce..
I also own an RPR and really like it but Ruger 5r barrels must be the slowest barrels in all Christendom. My Ruger is consistently slower than published ballistics or other’s results (shooting 143 ELD-X’s and 144 Berger Hybrids.). Yesterday we were getting 2888FPS with just 42 grains of H4350 out of the MPA BMR Pro.
Interesting, the Ruger load I am using matches the speed of Hornady factory loaded 6.5 Creedmoor loads using the same 143 ELD-X.
The problem is finding lots, all the bullets I'm finding are 100ct. Red river reloading (seems legit) has 140 elds at the same price but again, 100ct. I think these 130 gold target are the same or better quality. I just don't know if my gun will like them.
I was loading Varget, and getting 2920 out of a 22” Bartlein in my 6.5 SLR suppressed. I tried H4350 and just wasn’t getting the speed or groups I wanted, switched to Varget and never looked back. By the way I was jumping them 50 thou
....took 1 random round out of each box and came up with the following numbers:
CBTO avg = 2.09405", HS avg= 1.556875" (majority were 1.557 with a few 1.5565)
...was kinda surprised at the CBOT numbers, more variation than the HS numbers
2.084
2.085
2.101
2.0925
2.083
2.0835
2.1035
2.0835
2.103
2.108
2.084
2.103
2.092
2.1005
2.0925
2.1035
2.0835
2.103
2.108
2.084
It may be because they are some of the cheapest match bullets around in Scandinavia.
And in good supply at that.
The factory loaded 6.5x55 Norma ammo is cheap and usually shoots really well in most rifles.
Velocity is a bit up and down on them though.
...Hodgdon's online load data website lists it for 130gn class, but max show only 2589 FPS, YMMV...
Thanks, I didn't realize it was that slow. I was curious as I have a few pounds kicking around. Hornady manual lists Win 760 as the fastest FPS at 2900 with their max load. I never see this powder mentioned for 6.5.
I have had great accuracy and velocity with Rl16 with this bullet out of bolt action rifles. Finally recovered part of one that my son shot a doe with at about 40-50 yards quarting to. Took out a rib on the way in, the heart, and then hit 6 ribs at an angle on the far side. Must have bounced back in after hitting the ribs. The lead piece weighed 15.08 grs, 41.16 with the jacket that we found. Not bad for 2750 fps impact velocity. I shot a smaller doe in the neck at 30 yards, tennis ball exit.
Try Varget if you have some, I use it in my Creed with Starline LRP brass and it is money. I am shooting the RDF's but found 10 of the GT bullets and loaded them with the same load and they shot just as good. I am loading 39.3 gr of Varget at 2.805 COAL in my rifle. Good luck.
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