Norma Oryx on thick skinned game

[Pirkan]

I have used the 180 gr Norma Oryx extensively in my 308 including on my so far only hunting safari in Africa and am extremely happy with their performance on a wide variety of game up to tiny european moose and wildebeest and zebra. They make the same bullet in 286 and 325 gr for the 9.3 and 300 gr for 375 so I was just curious if anyone has used these on something more substantial like a buffalo or similar and how the results were.

 

[C.W. Richter]

I believe they're widely regarded hunting bullets. Very similar to Woodleighs and even the old core-lokt or game kings. While I personally would "use more gun" than .308 in Africa, they will all perform! I believe Kevin Robertson talks about them in his books and it was he that wound up partnering with Norma to make the PH series DG ammo. I'd scan/paste some info here but I believe my copy of "Africa's Most Dangerous" is either packed up or on a bookshelf far, far away at the moment. I forget if he gave them the stamp of approval for PG-only or additionally for softs in some (not ele, hippo, rhino) DG applications. Oryx would come in some old Wby (Norma) ammo which worked perfectly fine for me (in the US) when I had those guns.

 

[fourfive8]

Two things can be done to answer these type questions. Search the net for pictures of sectioned bullets. Compare to known performers. I know from experience that for heavy game, bonded bullets with thin, non-tapered jackets tend to not perform well- no matter how popular, slick sounding the name or the fond and glowing reviews from the past. In addition to a bonded core, the jacket needs to be thick and tapered to support the forward mushroom during expansion. Bullets such as the TBBC are built that way. For comparison, bullets like the Remington Ultra Bonded are not! Also, the higher the impact velocity the more important these design elements become. A conventional cup and core bullet might perform consistently well at 30-30 velocities but fail consistently at 300 Mag velocities. The Swift A Frame is another expanding bullet design against which any heavy game bullet can be judged. Terms like Core Lokt or Inter-lock, etc. are fabrications of marketing imagination with little meaning when put to a real world, heavy game test.

Secondly, since all hunts, especially DG hunts are so expensive, what prevents anyone from media testing and comparing bullets? If for no other reason, the game deserves the best prep and effort. Why more hunters don’t do their own testing, I’ll never know…

 

[mark-hunter]

I have used the 180 gr Norma Oryx extensively in my 308 including on my so far only hunting safari in Africa and am extremely happy with their performance on a wide variety of game up to tiny european moose and wildebeest and zebra. They make the same bullet in 286 and 325 gr for the 9.3 and 300 gr for 375 so I was just curious if anyone has used these on something more substantial like a buffalo or similar and how the results were.

I hunted few seasons in Europe with 308 win, norma oryx, 180 grains. ANd I am happy withe performance, would recommend them any time. For this purpose

Next I bought 300 grain oryx (due to availability and lack of other options, then) for my 375 HH.
I will reload them, but plan is to use them either for European hunting or plains game in Africa.

 

[dchum]

So a 300gr Norma oryx is to weak for buff????

I give up lol.
Ya, you would be fine and the buffalo would be dead. Good bullet.

Does it mushroom more than a swift a frame? You bet! I’m sure you would find it on off side skin just like anything else…

Best

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I would be quite content using a 300Gr Norma Oryx out of a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum for broadside shots on Cape buffalo (but not frontal) and also for hippopotamus in the water (but not on land).

 

[375Fox]

So a 300gr Norma oryx is to weak for buff????

I give up lol.
Ya, you would be fine and the buffalo would be dead. Good bullet.

Does it mushroom more than a swift a frame? You bet! I’m sure you would find it on off side skin just like anything else…

Best

I had 100 loaded in 375 H&H because I had the brass and the bullets were available, but I’ve had two experienced DG PHs tell me the oryx are very soft (both have the same opinion on woodleigh). I only had them loaded to 2400 FPS to hopefully stay inside their performance range better. If you look at the design the oryx isn’t a heavily constructed bullet compared to other options. I was advised to save them for PG when I asked but I’d rather have an extra 100 375 bullets in case another ammo shortage were to happen. I’d use them on buffalo if I couldn’t find swift or trophy bonded bear claws.

Oryx

Swift A Frame

Hornady DGX

 

[mark-hunter]

So a 300gr Norma oryx is to weak for buff????

I dont know.
But I know also, that nobody recommended them for buffalo. (on this forum)

 

[CamoManJ]

I’m curious on the comparison between a 180 gr version of an A-Frame vs Oryx with a 300 WSM on the larger PG. The side cut view of the bullets above really show a big difference in design, with the A-Frame’s partition looking like a significant advantage.

 

[375Fox]

I’m curious on the comparison between a 180 gr version of an A-Frame vs Oryx with a 300 WSM on the larger PG. The side cut view of the bullets above really show a big difference in design, with the A-Frame’s partition looking like a significant advantage.

I have not shot the oryx on game, but I’ve used the Swift A Frame in my 300 H&H on 3 safaris. The swifts performed picture perfect and always straight line penetration but you won’t get the big reaction on a hit from the animal you’d get with more rapidly expanding bullets. I recently stocked up on Norma oryx factory loads 300 win because the price was very good, but they appear designed to rapidly expand including some cuts near tip to help facilitate expansion. I thought they’d be good for kudu and under but wouldn’t be my first choice on an eland. The one Namibian PH I’ve hunted with told me he’s seen the bullet break up and not penetrate on zebra shoulder shots. He wasn’t a fan of the oryx.

 

[shark_za]

Thats almost quite hard to believe.
That goes against everything I have seen in the field with people using Oryx bullets.
Yes they are soft and open up all the time, but always penetrate well.
Heck it even turns my 6.5 into an Eland worthy caliber (156gr Oryx is AMAZING)

 

[SFRanger7GP]

We use the Norma Oryx bullets in 9.3x74R, 9.3x62 and 275 Rigby. We have killed warthog, gemsbok, zebra, impala, whitetail deer, blue and black wildebeest, springbok, kudu, bushpig, nyala and Texas pigs. I will look for pics of the 3 bullets we have recovered (2 in 7mm and 1 in 9.3) but they were perfect mushrooms found in the offside skin. Mama shot a big warthog in the head with her 275 and we found the beautiful, mushroomed bullet under the skin on the hip and it had just lost a couple grains of weight. It is not a bullet to hotrod, and I would compare it to an "improved" stronger version of a core lokt. I have never seen one come apart or explode like Hornady interlocks or Noslers.

Would I use one on an eland? Yes, unless the PH didn't like the idea, then I would respect his opinion/experience and use a Barnes/Swift/North Fork. Would I use it in my 416 Rigby for buffalo? No, unless I didn't have any other choice.

Safe hunting

 

[Longwalker]

I'v used norma Oryx bullets in factory loads in .243 100 grain ( mule deer) .30-06 180 gr. ( Black bear, Whitetail deer, Elk ) 9.3x62 285 gr. ( Oryx, Kudu, Giraffe ) and 9.3x74R ( black bear ) In every hunting application, at every range ( 50-150M ) the Norma Oryx bullets shot accurately, expanded quickly, drove deep, broke bones when necessary, and usually exited. Those recovered showed wide expansion of 2x or more and excellent weight retention >90%. I like Norma Oryx bullets more than most of the other hunting bullets on the market. They are very, very good. Certain situations may call for a bullet of stronger construction, but I can hardly think of a better general use "come what may" large game bullet.
You can look up my bullet performance report from the giraffe / 9.3x62. Worked perfectly.

 

[FlyGuy]

Thats almost quite hard to believe.
That goes against everything I have seen in the field with people using Oryx bullets.
Yes they are soft and open up all the time, but always penetrate well.
Heck it even turns my 6.5 into an Eland worthy caliber (156gr Oryx is AMAZING)

I’ll second that!
A few years ago I came across an eland bull that someone in our group had wounded the day before with his 375H&H (Shot was too high)
Had my 6.5 Swedemoor in hand with 156gr Norma ammo in the magazine.
Hit him low in the chest and it was over in seconds.

 

[roverandbrew]

170 Grain Oryx in 7x57 is my primary plains game round. To date I have seen nothing but great results. Deep penetration and full expansion while retaining 90+% of its weight. Zero issues so far this year taking Sable, Wildebeest, Impala, Blesbok, Waterbuck, Warthog, Bushbuck, Lechwe, Puku, warthog, whitetail and hogs. No failures. While the Oryx would not be first choice on a buffalo, I would not be afraid to use it.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I'v used norma Oryx bullets in factory loads in .243 100 grain ( mule deer) .30-06 180 gr. ( Black bear, Whitetail deer, Elk ) 9.3x62 285 gr. ( Oryx, Kudu, Giraffe ) and 9.3x74R ( black bear ) In every hunting application, at every range ( 50-150M ) the Norma Oryx bullets shot accurately, expanded quickly, drove deep, broke bones when necessary, and usually exited. Those recovered showed wide expansion of 2x or more and excellent weight retention >90%. I like Norma Oryx bullets more than most of the other hunting bullets on the market. They are very, very good. Certain situations may call for a bullet of stronger construction, but I can hardly think of a better general use "come what may" large game bullet.
You can look up my bullet performance report from the giraffe / 9.3x62. Worked perfectly.

@Longwalker
I would definitely NOT describe giraffe as thin skinned after seeing the hide come off one.
Bob

 

[FlyGuy]

@Longwalker
I would definitely NOT describe giraffe as thin skinned after seeing the hide come off one.
Bob

Definitly not!