Today we present in our cartridge portrait series a special cartridge for driven hunting: Norma Tipstrike hunting ammunition was designed by the manufacturer to combine maximum stopping power with a penetration deep enough to reach the vital organs of the game. The cartridge is recognizable by its orange polymer tip. It ensures mushrooming and provides effective penetrating power thanks to the design of the bullet jacket. To keep the residual weight as high as possible, the jacket is reinforced with a mechanical lock to prevent lead core separation. This makes the Norma Tipstrike an ideal bullet for driven hunts and other forms of hunting where high stopping power is important.
The fast mushrooming bullet is thus ideally suited for medium and large game. The excellent penetration thanks to controlled expansion helps to kill the game quickly, in line with hunting requirements and effectively with well-placed shots. Norma offers the Tipstrike bullets in 24 different calibers, so that all conceivable hunting situations can be covered. For reloaders, the Tipstrike bullets are supplied as components in seven calibers, from 5.7 mm (.224) through, of course, .30 up to 9.3 mm (.366, 255 grains).
In addition, for the two common.308 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield calibers, Norma offers two special Tipstrike loads for guns with silencers. Norma calls this variant the Silencer Series.
The properties of the Tipstrike bullet are the same as standard ammunition, but the special Silencer load is optimized for shorter barrels, 50 cm instead of the CIP standard of 61 cm. If you have a barrel shorter than 61 cm, you will benefit from shooting with the Norma Silencer Series even without a silencer. With an optimized load, you get more velocity and more impact, close to that of standard ammunition from a 61 cm barrel.
Construction of the Norma Tipstrike bullet
How does the bullet actually work? The entire bullet construction of the Norma Tipstrike is designed to transfer as much energy as possible in a short time. The colored polymer tip starts the mushrooming process, which expands the thin front jacket. The rear jacket section, on the other hand, holds the bullet core together for deep penetration. The cartridge has very very good accuracy and a top BC value. In our view, the balance between stopping power and game protection is indeed quite well struck
We wanted to know more and take a look at the firing effect in the model test: the gelatine block (35 cm) shows the impact of a Tipstrike bullet entering from the left at 800 m/s. The bullet is indeed designed to release its energy completely on impact. This can be seen very well in the gelatine block. Thus it gives the game a massive shock and the bullet velocity drops quickly due to the high energy release. This is because the mechanical lock of the jacket and lead core already mentioned above ensures the highest residual weight possible and thus delivers excellent penetrating power.
Norma Tipstrike: links to ballistic data of selected calibers
Manufacturer video: Norma Tipstrike, the ammunition for driven hunting
Click here for the Norma website with lots more info on ammunition, ballistics and hunting.
If you are now concerned about lead in ammunition and the effect on your venison, be sure to read this article on the ingestion of lead through venison. As you can see, it's not a relevant problem. And if it should be lead-free ammunition, you'll find it at Norma, too. The bullet is called Ecostrike – a lead-free deformation bullet made of copper/nickel. It also works very well at medium ranges. It is easily recognizable by its green polymer tip.
