Norma Reloading Information from 1963

Many of the loads listed on this one-page technical information flyer produced by Norma for the 7 x 61 Sharpe and Hart use IMR 4350. Just click on the images to see the full page at a readable and printable size.

It's interesting to me that they list the approximate pressures of the different loads. From other literature I got with the gun, one of the complaints about some of the early (i.e. late 1940's) writing about the cartridge was that most early published performance information came from very high pressure loads in a gun with a 30" barrel. While some of the pressures Norma publishes here climb close to 58,000, there are a lot of 3,000 plus FPS loads here with pressures right around 50,000.

Reloading for the Sharpe and Hart

I got a couple of 50-year-old reloading manuals with the gun. They make for interesting reading in their own right. The one thing that seems abundantly clear already is that reloading for this particular cartridge, even without current data, shouldn't be too hard. The bottom line is that the 7 x 61 Sharpe and Hart is a 7mm magnum that is quite similar (though a bit smaller) than a 7mm Weatherby Magnum. It can move a 160 grain hunting bullet downrange at around 3,000 FPS, or chuck out a 130 grain soft-point at more than 3,300 FPS.

Some general information:

Case length 2.402
Case width at belt .532
Case width at shoulder .476
Case powder capacity: around 70 grains of 4831

My 7 x 61 Sharpe and Hart

Well, here it is. I don't know a whole lot about it except that it is a custom built rifle with a Mauser action, three round box magazine, and a 20 inch barrel. I bought it from the original owner who had it made about 50 years ago. I forget what he said he paid for it.

So far, I have only run about 40 rounds through the rifle. It was a cold windy day, but I still managed to shoot a couple of groups with bullet holes touching (truth be told, I also managed to shoot a couple of groups bigger than my hand at 100 yards, but I prefer to blame those on my cold fingers).