Ulfberht rifle with Bill Alexander and Kevin Collins.

[Tony Williams]

Tony, the picture is in the following post, which may or may not have that info. (Can you read Chinese? )

Not so's you'd notice....:roll eyes:

[stanc]

The shorter Lapua Magnum bullets in the photo look like they have a very small opening at the bottom, sort of like a little crater, which makes me think they're Lapua's "Lock-Base" design, which would make them 250gr FMJs.

Very observant, John. I didn't even notice that.

http://www.uslapua.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=4PL8012

[Adam Lilja]

I think the name Ulfberht was taken from a Scandinavian sword maker (15th Century?) who's sword alloys and craftsmanship were superior to any other metal that civilization was capable of making in that era. Hope it lives up to the name!

[NugginFutz]

I think the name Ulfberht was taken from a Scandinavian sword maker (15th Century?) who's sword alloys and craftsmanship were superior to any other metal that civilization was capable of making in that era. Hope it lives up to the name!

According to Wikipedia:

"Ulfberht is a name given to unique Viking swords used in Scandinavia in the 1000s. The unique, high-quality steel they incorporated remained unparalleled until the Industrial Revolution. 171 such swords have been found so far, but only a few of these have been proven to be authentic Ulfberht swords. The earliest Ulfberhts date from circa 850."

[nincomp]

Both are CIP, but evidently the actual chamber dimensions have floated around a little, even while the cartridge has been fixed. Interestingly, both .338 Lapua and .338 NM have the same OAL according to CIP guidelines, completely negating the whole intended purpose of the Norma, which was to allow a shorter action.

I can understand why Bill Alexander is wary of the .338 Norma Magnum. There are effectively two chamberings with which I am familiar.
When the .338 NM is loaded with the same bullet as the .338 Lapua Mag, the OAL of the NM can be less. When both cartridges are loaded with the popular 300 gr Sierra Matchking, in particular, the action for the .338 NM could be shorter. This was a bigger deal several years ago when there were fewer rifle actions that could accomodate the longer .338 Lapua.

The last time I looked, I did not see any common .338 bullets with a longer ogive than the 300gr Sierra Matchking used by the .338 Lapua, so the NM and the LM were evenly matched despite the OAL difference.

The "long" version of the .338 Norma Magnum, however, is a different animal. This time, it is loaded to the same OAL as the .338 Lapua Mag. The longer chamber can be used with a longer-ogive, higher BC bullet or a bullet with a greater volume for increased payload (tracer material, incendiary chemicals, or high explosives, etc). This is largely why General Dynamics chose the NM for its machine gun. The potential payload increase can be seen in the photo on the second post in this thread.

[Guardsman26]

I am really impressed with this weapon. I haven't fired it yet, but if it is as good as initial reports suggest, Bill Alexander will sell a boat load.

As for .338 LM versus .338 NM, I would be very surprised if .338 LM didn't become the future sniper caliber of the US Army.

[cornholio1]

When the heck will these be released? Its the beginning of the 3rd quarter already

[biodsl]

For the Ulfberht fans, Bill A. talks to Jeff Quinn after winning the Golden Bullseye Rife of the Year for 2015. Starts at around the 7:30 minute mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt48o87fggI

[LRRPF52]

That CA compliant model is a smart move. Major congrats!

That new Beowulf projectile looks brutal as well.