Florida Shooters Network

I have a custom .358 Norma Mag that’s just about totally useless in Florida. It’s basically a .338 Winchester Mag necked up to take .358 bullets. It’s just great for elk, moose and the large African plains game. Just a tad too much for Florida deer and hogs, though. With 310 gr solids, it might be perfect for houseboats.



My normal load is a 250 gr Speer at 2760 fps, which isn’t too far short of .375 H&H power. I loaded this thing down with a 180 gr Speer and 32 gr of SR4759 and got about 2000 fps. It groups right around 1” to 1 ¼” at 100 yds, which is probably close to max range where I hunt.

I’ll give it a try on a hog hunt in about a week and a half.

Pix on the way if I'm lucky.

I think I got a box of that ammo. It's crazy...something like $75 retail. Huge, too.

Yeah, Norma factory ammo is crazy expensive. Even their brass costs way too much.

I buy .338 Win brass and neck it up. I can get Remington brass for 1/3 of what Norma costs.

Back in the70's had afriend who hunted hogs with a cut down 460 WBY.,Over-kill?

Back in the70's had afriend who hunted hogs with a cut down 460 WBY.,Over-kill?

Loading the .460 with a 350 gr SP at 2,000 fps would make it a pretty nice hog gun out to 100 yds or so. It probably wouldn't damage much meat.

I used to hunt deer with a .44 AutoMag loaded with a 265 gr Hornady bullet at 1510 fps. That bullet would go all the way through a deer from any direction and meat damage was nil.

358 Norma Mag? Wow sounds interesting. I have a 375 H&H that I'm building to go along with my 458 Win Mag :)

What's important is that you enjoy shooting the round and take ethical shots (if hunting). I mean technically the 30-06 is overkill for Florida...but why let that stop you from owning one?

Creophus, I agree completely. When I lived in SD, I knew a guy who hunted moose and big bear in Alaska every couple of years with his .375 H&H. We went prairie dog hunting a few times and he took that cannon along just to keep in practice. The blast made my 25/06 sound like a .22 Short.

Funny thing; he was a really good shot with that .375!