.33 Winchester

Slooshark1

Slooshark1

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Who reloads for this? I just picked up a rifle in this calibre and the rifling is mint. Any advice? Should I shoot cast bullets only out of it? Any recipes? What types of bullets are available for it? This calibre is a whole new adventure for me so fill me in with whatever you know.
 
You prolly won't have much choice unless you invest in some expensive swaging equip, to swage .338" down to .333" for use in the .33 Win...I'd call Ch4d and see if they make a die to do this. The old load of a 200gr. bullet at 2200fps, could easily be duplicated with a cast bullet.
 
Hornady started making a 200 gr. flat point .338 caliber bullet for the 33 Win. in 1973 and included loading info in their manual for same, now whether it is still manufactured I do not know. My uncle in Sask. loaded that bullet in his 33 with good results, I do believe over 38.0 gr. 3031.
Took a few Moose with it north of P.A. over the years.
I can look around, might still have a few....
 
ben hunchak said:
Kevan: I believe that the bullet you are referring to was a Hornady 200gr. .333" or some such......Ben
Click to expand...

The bullets are .338. I have a few boxes downstairs, and just looked at them. Hornady doesnot make them any more, but Buffalo Arms is making them, and saying that they are the same bullet. Unfortunatly, they will not ship them to Canada. Hawk Bullets also makes a bullet for the 33 Win, and I beleive that they are still shipping here, so you can try that route. And, of course, there is always cast bullets. Ben can tell you More about them.
 
What you want to do if you want to use jacketed (or cast for that matter), is buy a Custom Lee push-through 0.333" sizer. The Speer "Hot-Cor" 200 gr 0.338" bullet is a good candidate for sizing down and the new "DeepCurl" 225 gr might be even better. I have done exactly that with the 0.338" Hot-Cor bullet, but for the Mannlicher M95. The jacket is bonded to the core, and if you lube it well, it will size down nicely. It will spring back to about 0.334", but I suspect that will be closer to actual groove diameter and 1/2-1 thou over is a non-issue anyways.

Check this out: http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=374843&highlight=0.316%26quot%3B%26quot%3B
 
"...picked up a rifle..." Which one? A lever action?
"...a whole new adventure..." It'd be an adventure for anybody. Long 'obsolete' cartridges are like that. Where you are matters.
"...Unfortunately, they will not ship them to Canada..." They can't due to U.S. Federal law. No ammo or components.
"...swage .338" down to .333"..." Uses .338" bullets. Winchester couldn't afford the '8' in1902. snicker.
"...Any recipes?..." There's some data on Reloader's Nest using 200 and 250 grain Hornady bullets and common IMR powders. Hornady only makes the 250RN now though.
http://www.reloadersnest.com/frontpage.asp?CaliberID=315
Shooter's Choice, in Waterloo, Ontario, lists Bertram brass at $68.95 per 20. Be a special order thing though.
Hornady, Redding, Lee and RCBS(Very expensive special order dies.) all make dies. Redding and Hornady dies aren't terribly ugly price wise, but still very likely to be special order stuff. RCBS makes case forming dies (that aren't cheap either and you still need regular dies). The case is formed out of .45-70 brass. Rim is 2 thou bigger. Not enough to worry about. Means it uses the same shell holder.
"...using the Hornady .338 Flextip bullets..." Likely be just fine. Bullets are the easy and least expensive part though.
 
Andy said:
What you want to do if you want to use jacketed (or cast for that matter), is buy a Custom Lee push-through 0.333" sizer. The Speer "Hot-Cor" 200 gr 0.338" bullet is a good candidate for sizing down and the new "DeepCurl" 225 gr might be even better. I have done exactly that with the 0.338" Hot-Cor bullet, but for the Mannlicher M95. The jacket is bonded to the core, and if you lube it well, it will size down nicely. It will spring back to about 0.334", but I suspect that will be closer to actual groove diameter and 1/2-1 thou over is a non-issue anyways.

Check this out: http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=374843&highlight=0.316%26quot%3B%26quot%3B
Click to expand...

Andy, the 33 wcf doesn't use .333 bullets! They use .338 bullets, just like a 338 win mag does.

One of the problems with the bullets meant for the 338win mag, of course, is the pointed bullet. The other problem is that the tough construction of those bullets means they will probably not expand reliably at 33wcf velocities. I suspect that the flex tip bullets for the 338 Federal will probably not expand well at 33wcf velocities either, but, it's possible that they might. Worth a try, I suppose.
 
IMG_0647.jpg
 
I stand corrected, I always thought that was the reason Elmer Keith used .333" bullets in his .333 OKH, I thought that .338" bullets didn't come along until the .338 Mag. in the '50s. Live and learn!!
 
"...it's possible that they might..." Hi. More about availabilty and suitablity for a lever action. You're likely very correct though. (Didn't even think about that. DOH!) The old, very old, Winchester 200 grain SP had an MV of 2200fps. 2630fps for a 210 Nosler in a .338 Federal.
Kevan, that an old Hornady manual? Hornady doesn't make a .338" 200 grain FP any more. One RN, the rest are spitzers.
"...333 Jeffrey..." English. A more literal bunch. Except for military cartridges, of course.
"...333 OKH..." Necked up .30-06 case to use the .333 Jeffery bullets. A .334 OKH, a necked up .300 H&H,(eventually became the .338 Win Mag), developed by Charles O'Neil, Elmer Keith, and Don Hopkins, in the late '40's, used .338" bullets made by Fred Barnes.
 
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sunray said:
"...it's possible that they might..." Hi. More about availabilty and suitablity for a lever action. You're likely very correct though. (Didn't even think about that. DOH!) The old, very old, Winchester 200 grain SP had an MV of 2200fps. 2630fps for a 210 Nosler in a .338 Federal.
Click to expand...

Flex tips are made for lever actions
 
Sloosharc1
A quick look at the loading data on the Hornady web site for the 200gr flextip in a 338 Federal shows velocities ranging from 2200 to 2400 fps for maximum loads, so they probably will work out of a 33wcf.
 
tjsudbury said:
Andy, the 33 wcf doesn't use .333 bullets! They use .338 bullets, just like a 338 win mag does.

One of the problems with the bullets meant for the 338win mag, of course, is the pointed bullet. The other problem is that the tough construction of those bullets means they will probably not expand reliably at 33wcf velocities. I suspect that the flex tip bullets for the 338 Federal will probably not expand well at 33wcf velocities either, but, it's possible that they might. Worth a try, I suppose.
Click to expand...

Oh - all the better.

The Speer Hot-Cor can still be used if the nose is filed flat. Make a simple jig from a piece of 2X4 - drill a 11/32" hole deep enough that when you drop the bullet into it, enough of the nose is exposed so that when you file it flat to the board, the nose diameter approaches the primer diameter.
 
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