Need .33 WCF Recommendation

[xtimberman]

I have the Ideal 338237 plain base mould for .33WCF. It casts at .339" and ~200gr. with wheelweight alloy. Does anyone shoot this bullet in their .33 WCF, and if so, what are your favorite loads?

I've loaded this bullet in .338-'06 before and it worked fine. I don't plan to seat it in the .33WCF care to where I can crimp it in the proper groove because the base of the bullet will extend well below the neck area of the case.

xtm

[fordwannabe]

I have a 1886 that needs a good load, so I hope everybody on here responds. Good luck Tom

[6pt-sika]

I load the Lyman 338320 in my Marlin 1895 thats in 33 WCF .

My mold is a 200 grain GC mold and I push it with XMP5744 !

[xtimberman]

6pt,

What is your cartridge O.A.L when loading with your 338320 bullet? Do you also mind giving your charge weight and approx. muzzle velocity?

Thanks,
xtm

[9.3X62AL]

I used the RCBS 200 grain flatnose gas check in a Win 1886 x 33 WCF with some success. The load was an unrecalled weight of IMR-3031 derived from Barnes' "Cartridges of the World", and it ran about 1700-1800 FPS and did 2.5"-3.0" at 100 yards. The rifle was some kind of rare variant (takedown Featherweight 2/3 magazine), and a collector guy basically ransomed it away from me. You'd think I had his first-born son and was hacking off fingers to prompt payment.

Collectors can be a strange lot.

It was a good caliber, but if the fine Hornady 200 grain flatnose goes out of print--the caliber loses a dimension of utility. The 45-70 in a Marlin lever rifle is a lot more cartridge, and a better all-around caliber for castings. Reloading tools are a DARN SIGHT cheaper, too.

[xtimberman]

....It was a good caliber, but if the fine Hornady 200 grain flatnose goes out of print--the caliber loses a dimension of utility. The 45-70 in a Marlin lever rifle is a lot more cartridge, and a better all-around caliber for castings. Reloading tools are a DARN SIGHT cheaper, too.

Thanks for the Barnes C.o.t.W. tip. I'll look at that again.

There is some talk that Hornady is going to begin producing the 200gr. FN again because of the intro of the new .338 Marlin Express. If not, the fabulous new .338 FTX rubber-tipped spitzer for this new cartridge will eventually become available and will add a lot of JuJu and range to the old .33WCF. Most of us have enough of the old bullets to tide us over until that time.

http://www.hornady.com/story.php?s=787

Are you suggesting that we ditch our old beloved, pleasant-shooting .33WCFs for a hard-kicking .45-70 lever gun? :roll: I believe that this is the first time I've seen the old .33 compared to a .45-70! :-D Winchester originally thought of it as a way to improve the trajectory of the other cartridge offerings for their M-1886, and I guess I do too... :???:

Some of us obsolete cartridge nuts are strange. We love odd cartridges - sometimes the odder, the better - and would never want to get caught shooting something as ordinary as a .45-70. :-D

Besides, a few custom rifle outfits are starting to offer .33WCF as an optional chambering. Even Lee makes inexpensive .33WCF reloading dies.

xtm

[6pt-sika]

I used the RCBS 200 grain flatnose gas check .

I'd very much like to have one of those molds !

And even though RCBS still makes the 33-200 they eliminated the GC . I prefer it WITH the GC !

[6pt-sika]

6pt,

What is your cartridge O.A.L when loading with your 338320 bullet? Do you also mind giving your charge weight and approx. muzzle velocity?

Thanks,
xtm


COL - 2.718"

22 grains of XMP5744

Approx MV - 1600-1650 FPS

[6pt-sika]

There is some talk that Hornady is going to begin producing the 200gr. FN again because of the intro of the new .338 Marlin Express.


Not so sure about that .

However I do know that Hornady is cataloging their 33 caliber gas checks again ! They had been out of production for a few years .

[xtimberman]

COL - 2.718"

22 grains of XMP5744

Approx MV - 1600-1650 FPS

Thank you very much!

I'm hoping to be able to shoot my plain base bullet at just under that velocity (1500-1550fps) and without leading, too I hope.:neutral:

I have some of that powder, but have never tried it in my .33 WCF.


xtm

[9.3X62AL]

XT--

I'd be the LAST ONE ON CAST BOOLITS to EVER try suggesting someone drop an obsolete or oddball chambering. My nom de plume suggests that I'm a bubble or two off of plumb to begin with caliber-wise, and a look into the gun safe would confirm it in spades.

I didn't consider the affordable Lee dies OR the newer levergun 33 caliber j-words. Those make the caliber choice a LOT more viable. 200 flatnosed grains running 2200 FPS likely duplicates a 30-30/150 grainer in trajectory, which is certainly deer-capable to 150 yards. The 33 WCF is certainly big deer-capable and maybe even elk to same distance--to a hunter that knows the rifle and load. The simple cup-and-core j-words do wonderful work when started c. 2200 FPS, one reason the 30-30 remains the king of the deer woods after 115 years. Maybe the best way to view the 33 WCF is as the Elk Hunter's 30-30.

[xtimberman]

Just funnin' with you!:kidding:

I lurk around here enough to know what you meant about the .45-70! :-D

We fans of the ol' .33WCF sometimes get touchy about our cartridge being given short shrift and off-handedly relegated as the "worst" cartridge chambered in the '86 Win. and '95 Marlin! Concerning your comments about the cartridge....I've read where old timers referred to the .33 WCF as "a .35 Remington that thinks it's a .30-30".

Seriously, I have plenty of good loads for cast 200gr. GC bullets in the .33 WCF. I posted the photo of a plain base bullet from my Ideal 338237 hoping to find someone who has had success loading and shooting this one in a .33 WCF at ~1500fps. I'm told that this was the original Ideal cast bullet design for .33 WCF from ~1903.

Even if Hornady is starting to stamp out .338 gas checks again, they're getting expensive enough to make me wince - not as much as if I was shooting real j-word bullets, but enough to make me ration 'em out! :( I have a fairly good supply of GCs, but was just hoping to climb up on the learning curve of someone who has had good results with this plain base mould.

xtm

[6pt-sika]

Ahhhhhh , 33 WCF or 45-70 !

I couldn't decide myself !

So I have Marlin's chambered for the 33 WCF , 38-56 , 40-65 and 45-70 !

The first three cartridges are all in original Marlin 1895 square bolt rifles and as to 45-70's lets just say I have a few Marlin's chambered for the round !

For those unaware the three cartridges mentioned above are nothing more then necked down 45-70's .

I also went a bit further and got myself and old Marlin 1895 in 40-82 which again is nothing more then a necked down 45-90 ! And no I don't have an original Marlin 1895 in 45-90 YET [smilie=1:

[JFE]

And even though RCBS still makes the 33-200 they eliminated the GC . I prefer it WITH the GC !

CBE makes several 338 moulds and is happy to make minor changes like add or delete GC shanks etc. I have one in 338 that looks like the one pictured.

Joe