Howdy all- I picked up 55 pieces of 30-06 Norma brass at a gun show this weekend. 25 of the cases were marked "norma", while the other 30 were marked "NORMA Re". Anyone know the difference?

Yes ! That caused them lots of trouble though it was an excellent idea. The problem is that reloaders have no way of measuring pressure .Norma then came out with the idea to very carefully manufacture cases so they would give pressure signs at the max pressure of the cartridge.Problem was that many reloaders loaded well above max pressures and when the looked at those special cases they thought they were no good , too soft !!
So they gave up on their good idea. Those cases are marked NORMA Re while harder cases are marked norma. IIRC the Re cases were made in the 60s and 70s.
Welcome to the forum !

So, the cases stamped "NORMA Re" are the cases that were made softer than the normal "norma" stamped cases- in order for reloaders to be able to tell when high pressures were occuring in their firearms/brass?

Thanks for the response by the way

Well, maybe, but I sure never heard that explanation before.

The U.S. NRA response to that question when asked back in the early 60's when Norma stuff was first really being imported here, was roughly this (my paraphrasing):

The "Re" indicates reloadable brass. Norma brass sold as components is marked that way, and so is the brass of Norma loaded, BOXER PRIMED ammo imported and distributed in North America. Norma does make Berdan primer-style brass too, which is generally not reloadable using North American components (such as primers).

Eventually Norma quit marking their brass that way, so generally Norma brass with the Re in the headstamp is older stock, even if still brand new.

I'm not saying which answer is accurate, as I don't know for sure. I only know that the NRA explanation was different back in the day. Now, Norma "Super" brass, such as for the 7x61 S&H Super WAS harder....

What Alberta Canuck said.
Regards, Joe

Ok- thanks for the response. I suppose my main concern with the "Re" stamp was whether it was authentic norma brass or not, so that answered my question

The Re stands for "reloadable". It is older brass since more recent Norma brass does not use the "Re" mark.

There have been complaints of Norma being "soft in the head" for many years. My understanding is that Norma attempted to temper their cases to approximately the SAAMI pressure standards of a particular cartridge. Some Norma .257 Roberts I picked up a long time ago (over 40 years) was so soft as to be good for only one firing, though admittedly that was with a relatively strong charge of 4831 that a teenage reloader felt to be worthy of his time.

I can't say for certain that the .257 brass was made significantly softer due to its SAAMI low pressure specs than, say, Norma .270 brass, but I do know that the experience soured me on Norma brass. A bad experience coupled with extraordinarily high price has kept me from using any more Norma in the last 40 years.

Now, I know that ALL Norma brass can't be soft-headed since Norma has loaded Weatherby's factory ammunition for years, and that ammunition is loaded to the upper limit of workable pressures.

It's a good question whether the older "Re" brass is softer than the non-Re brass. Be sure to report if you find a difference.

Thanks for the info

quote:

Be sure to report if you find a difference

I certainly will