I know this is an older thread but wanted to provide some very positive feedback on Norma whitetail ammunition.
Between my hunting partner and I, we tagged 10 deer this season in Kansas.
We shot the following ammunition with their appropriate calibers;
150 gr Norma whitetail SP - 308
150 gr Norma whitetail SP - 300 Win Mag
150 gr Norma SP Oryx - 308 (accidentally purchased 100 rounds as the boxes are very similar)
Let me be the first one to say I’m VERY impressed with the killing and accuracy performance of all of the ammo. I was able to shoot all of them sub moa. With the oryx almost at .5 moa.
As for penetration, only one round from the whitetail line had a complete pass through. We had some notable pass throughs with the Oryx bonded bullets.
I’ll go into detail of some the shots from the trip below;
300 Win Mag 150 gr Whitetail -
Doe #1 of the season was taken at 80 yards. Went straight through the left shoulder, liquified the lungs and left a nice gash on the heart. Girl had some fight in her and jumped about 15 yards before dropping. No pass through on this shot.
Doe #2 at 120 yards. Right above the shoulder at about a 30 degree angle. Thought forsure it would exit the spine area due to the angle, but I’m thinking it bounced down and shredded her lungs. Dropped where I shot her and she rolled down the hill towards me.
Buck #1 at 140 yards. perfect heart shot from behind the lower shoulder while he was trotting away from me. He continued trotting for 10 feet before falling over. No pass through
308 150 gr Whitetail-
Doe #3 at 200 yards while she was sprinting away. Was aiming for her head/neck. but shot a little low, with not enough lead. Ended up shooting her spine right above her shoulders. Complete pass through, and she was dead before she hit the ground.
Doe #4 at 40 yards. Shot on the inside of her right shoulder. The bullet jacket seperated, and made it through left side diaphragm. Recovered the jacket resting on the stomach (luckily it did not pierce any guts). She dropped where she was shot, but was still alive 10 seconds after. Ended up putting another round in her, though it wasn’t needed.
Buck #2 at ~ 80 yards. This was a bad shot, Buck turned on my buddy while he was pulling trigger. Ended up spineing him in the rear. Buck lost use in his back legs. Crawled about 40 yards down a draw before we could get to him. (We were separated by a creek). When we got to him, he put one in his neck at 15 yards. And that was that.
Honorable mention 150 gr Oryx bonded 308 -
Doe #5 at ~300 yards. Inner shoulder, bullet exited in between the rib cage. She dropped where she stood. I have a feeling that it didn’t expand as much as it should have, as there was a small wound channel and the round passed through. I fully expected to find the bullet in the cavity at that range.
Conclusion: I would 100000% recommend. I want to play a little more with the oryx bullets at closer distances (<100 yards). And the whitetail at further distances (300+) But I can safely say they both do the job!