'Palma' is an international shooting discipline that is controlled by the Palma Federation which in turn shoots under rules set by ICFRA (the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations).
See:
http://icfra.com/
Its rules state that it is shot prone with sling-supported iron-sighted single-shot target rifles using either the .308 Win or .223 Rem cartridges. If .308 Win, bullets of 'less than 156gn' must be used. The Palma course of fire requires 15 score rounds shot at each of three distances in one match - 800, 900 and 1,000yd. This what the (US) NRA says of Palma:
Palma
A Palma Match, known as the " America's Cup " of rifle shooting, is a special type of international High Power long range match. There are currently very few Palma ranges in the United States. Minnesota is proud to be the home to one of these few. Gopher Rifle and Revolver in Harris, MN is in the home of a Palma range and will be hosting several matches in the summer of 2007.
A Palma match course of fire consist of a total of 45 shots fired for record. The match starts at 800 yards. An unlimited amount of sighters and 15 shots for record are fired in 22 minutes. After shooting has completed, all shooters then move back to the 900 yard firing line. At this point, the shooters are allowed 2 sighter shots and 15 shots for record in 22 minutes. The final stage is then fired at 1000 yards, again 2 sighter shots and 15 shots for record are fired in 22 minutes.
International Palma rules limit matches to a Palma rifle. A Palma rifle consists of a single shot bolt action rifle weighing less than 6 kg (13.2lbs) in 7.62mm NATO caliber (.308 Winchester) firing a 155 grain palma bullet. US Palma rules allow any weight bullets, NRA Match and Service Rifles.
The above advice is now out of date as the .223 Rem cartridge has since been added, and under ICFRA regulations that control all 'Fullbore' rifle shooting, the cartridge is no longer referred to as 7.62mm NATO, otherwise it risks being subjected to UN Arms Control regulations and IATA airline members will not carry any 'military' weapons or ammunition including 7.62mm or 5.56mm NATO. So, .308 Winchester it is, now!
For full details on the discipline have a look at:
http://www.usrifleteams.com/
and you might find it worthwhile clicking onto the 'Forum' link which has lots of information on all long-range (greater than 600yd distance) competitive shooting matters, handloading, ballistics etc.
Sierra developed its 155gn Palma MatchKing bullet for this discipline, now available as two designs, the original (#2155), and recently introduced higher BC model (#2156). There are other suitable bullets primarily from Berger and especially its 155.5gn Target FULLBORE and new 155gn Hybrid models that can be used in the discipline. The 155gn Lapua Scenar is another very strong contender. None of these can be called 'Palma' bullets as that is a registered copyright or trademark name that can only be used by Sierra.
An international Palma tournament is shot every four years for the Palma Cup involving the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and maybe more, the venue moving around these countries. The next Palma Cup match is in October at Brisbane in Australia.
Finally, Lapua now makes .308 Win 'Palma' brass that uses a smaller primer and 1.5mm flash-hole. It was developed at the US Palma Team's request and has proven successful. Again, use of the 'Palma' name has been specially licensed by the US Palma team. This brass can be used for any .308W handloads, although it is not suitable for use in very low temperatures thanks to the small primer's reduced heat output and flame size. As a result, Nammo Lapua Oy and Lapua USA don't advise it be used for hunting ammunition. In match use in reasonable temperatures, it provides slightly lower MVs than the same load is standard large primer cases, but reduced MV extreme spreads which reduces elevation variability in the point of impact on the target at long ranges. It has also been adopted by F Class (F/TR division) shooters for use with heavy loads under heavy (210gn) bullets.
So, in summary .308 Win and .308 Palma are the same things except only certain ammunition component combinations can be shot under international Palma rules. A match director can however organise an 800, 900, and 1,000yd 'Palma Match' shot under local rules that would still require use of the .308W or .223R cartridges, but would permit handloads with any weight of bullet to be used.
Laurie,
York, England
