308 Norma mag

bigbadbob

I just purchased this Remington rifle that was made by C.W. Olson in a 308 Norma Mag. I was wondering if anyone knew anything about this gentleman and if there is a way to contact him. Thanks![:p]

284 Fan

C.W. Olson was a former employee at Rock Island Arsenal through WWll and retiring sometime after the war. He made a few rifles up to about 1970-72 or so. He made several on Winchester 1885 High Walls in 30/348 wildcat. If your rifle was made prior to 1970 or so the 308 Norma Mag would fit his style. The 308 Norma is considered by some to be a better handloader's cartridge based on a longer neck/shorter case body. The 300 Win and Weatherby mags were the only others in the market in 1970. The Weatherby was an expensive rifle and the factory ammo was hard to find and the Winchester was still new. The rifle should be easily reloaded for, so enjoy.

Based on my knowledge of Mr. Olsen's age he may be deceased.

Circle 3

snowtigger

I've been shooting a 308 Norma Mag for over 30 years. It's why I started reloading. In my humble opinion, it's the greatest of the 30 cal magnums. It achieves nearly the velocity of a 300 Win mag, with a lot less powder. The only drawback I see is the current lack of factory brass. There is still some Norma brass out there, but it is getting expensive. I currently solve this by opening up the neck on 7mm Rem mag brass. You can also "neck down" 338 Win Mag brass, but your case necks may be too thick, and require turning. Be sure to try chambering the cases before loading as some may chamber hard due to lack of headspace. The 308 Norma is .2189 inches from the head to the front of the belt, and the other American magnums are a nominal .220 inches. You get to exploit the inaccuracies of mass production. I have considered having a GOOD gunsmith ream just the belt area to .220, but as long as some of it works, why bother?

It ain't what you shoot, it's what you hit.