I am looking for making or finding ammo for a WR. It uses I believe .333 bullets. I believe I read here that some are making it from swaged 338 bullet. Can anyone add information or re-direct me.
Thank you,
Frank

It's called the .318 WR but is a 330. Jeffries made a 333. Bertram Brass makes virgin casings and both Woodleigh and Hawk make bullets. Midway arms had 3 boxes of cases. The classic load was a 250 grain softnose and 300 grain solid. Old Western Scrounger once had a full line of obsolescent cartridges so check with them. I got to shoot a WR in this chambering once.I would compare it to the .338-06 wildcat

Frank,



Fred Zeglin Z-Hat makes a ring sizer that you can buy different diameter sizing rings for. With the .333 ring(and possibly an intermediate size ring of about .335 or so) you could size down .338 bullets.



Other companies make similar type dies as well (CH4D, Corbin, RCE, and Lee come to mind).



Woodleigh makes .333 bullets, and they are excellent. Also, Hawk makes .333 bullets.



I have a 333 Jeffery, and it is one of my to-do projects to refine my handloads for it.



If you have a 333 Jeffery caliber, is it the rimmed or rimless version? If it is rimmed, Bertram makes brass. My rimless version requires brass to be formed from 404 (quite a task), or in the case of my rifle, from 330 Dakota (easier than from 404). I haven't checked, but Kynamco probably still sells 333 Jeffery ammo (if you don't mind the price ).



Some 333's were sighted or regulated with 300 grain bullets, and some with 250 grain bullets, so you will need to determine which you have if you are trying to find a load that shoots to the sights.



If you have a 318 Westley Richards, please disregard all the above info. It is .330 diameter. Bullets are available from the same sources plus Buffalo Arms, and the sizing dies would also be an option. The good news here is that brass can be made from 30-06, 35 Whelen, etc in most cases.



Jim



Edited: I see that ChrisKav beat me to the punch by posting while I was typing. He is correct, although I haven't seen a 300 grain factory loading for the 318 WR (not saying that it couldn't exist ).

Wow, great information. I don't have the rifle yet but am working on it. It is a .318 WR in a takedown and I believe there are 4 or 5 boxes of Kynoch coming with it. I may sell those or just pull everything and start over.
I need to do more reading with the information you have both sent.
Thank you,
Frank

Be sure to check out:



http://www.kynochammunition.co.uk/



http://www.westleyrichards.com/



-Bob F.

Frank



I have a 318 WR. It is also known as the 318 Accelerated Express. It uses a .330 bullet.



I got some dies from CH4D a few years ago and I have been collecting componants ever since and I now have 200 each softs and solids and 90 pieces total of WR and Kynoch brass.



Kynamco, Woodleigh, Hawk and Bertram will set you up with brass and bullets.



I am reloading as for 338-06.



Oldsarge, who posts on the African board, has a 318WR and I believe he is taking his hunting in Africa next month. Can't wait to see the results on some big critters.



I too would like very much to be able to swage down 338 bullets. If you have any luck doing this then please post the results. Thanks and good luck.

Phew! An original WR in take-down? The Holy Grail, IMO. All right, if it were my decision, I'd first take a good look at that Kynoch ammo. If is current, save a box of originals to display under the bushcoat and pith helmet on the coat rack in your gunroom and shoot the rest, preferably on game. If it is original '50's issue, save one box and sell the rest. That ought to pay for enough components to shoot for the rest of your life. I make all my ammunition out of Remington (for economy) brass and it does wonders. Right now I shoot 56.5 gr. of IMR 4350 behind the Woodleigh 250 gr. softnose. The exit hole they leave has to be seen to be appreciated. When I get back, I'll work up something behind the 200 gr. Hawk for North American deer/bear class game, probably trying for 2700 fps. I'll likely have to use RL-15 to do it. It's a wonderful cartridge. Not only is it stunningly lethal, it has panache, style and history behind it that simply isn't available from many other choices . . . and it's easy to load for, unlike the .333 Jeff.

I leave Thursday . . .

Thanks for the added information.
The gentleman has two but wants to keep one. I have been working on the purchase for nearly a year now.
He has 5 boxes of the 1950's loads along with several boxes of the Kynoch. I think they are in ten shot boxes. Truthfully I didn't pay much attention as I was focused on the rifle.
Sarge, good luck on your hunt. I look forward to hearing more about your load development.
Frank

Bob, thaks for the link. I think I will get the dies ordered this next week and start playing with making a few loads.
Frank

I also used to have a couple of WR .318's, built by WR on Mauser actions...the classic load is indeed the 250 gr. bullet with large,"blue, round soft lead nose.

If twere me, i would not size down .338 bullets, but would talk to Richard Corbin, get the correct die from him, and bump up 8 m/m bullets. Would be very easy to do in a standard RCBS Rockchucker or A-series press, as a .007" bump is not much re-working of the bullet.... That way you can also get the exact nose shape you want, too.

RC's web-site will, BTW, explain why it is preferable to bump up rather than size down....

AC

Honestly, I think the discussion about ringing down or bumping up is a red herring. At the velocities the .318 was designed for, conventional bullets work just fine as is proved by the sterling history of the cartridge. Why go through the trouble to change something else into what you think you want when what you need is readily available on the open market? Just buy the Woodleighs, Hawks (both of which I use) or Buffalos and go huntin'. Save the fiddlin' around for those who are underemployed and live where the huntin' seasons are too short to fully enjoy.

Even with out a picture, I'm envious of the gun.

As far as drawing down bullets, or swadging them up, this is the downside I've heard about drawing them down. The sizer is actually a bit smaller than the finished dia, don't know how much, but lets say .001". The core of the bullet will hold the drawn dia, but the jacket will spring back. Thus the newly sized bullet will have a "loose" core. That said I haven't heard of hunting accuracy losses with said bullets. I'm sure for BR use, they would be unacceptable.

A buddy who sizes 270 gr 9.3mm bullets down to .358" for his 35 whelen AI doesn't have complaints about accuracy. He wanted something heavier then 250 gr, but didn't want to pay premium bullet prices. He did say that when he tried to size some Nosler Partitions that he broke the handle on his press Therefore I would suggest stearing clear of partitioned bullets.

I agree that with proper sized bullets available, the effort of drawing down .338 bullets doesn't seem worth it. That said, the specialty bullet makers don't always have the oddball calibers in stock, and you should have no problem getting a 338 bullet, so a draw die might be a nice thing to have on hand.

Some of us fall into the, rather by another gun then lay in a lifetime supply of brass, bullets and powder for a given caliber.

Thanks all. I have been drooling since seeing it and am super stressed just waiting to get it in my hands.

My question re: sizing up and down was made before finding that many good quality bullets are already available and that others have also found the keys to making and shooting quality hunting loads. I believe I will follow their lead and do what is already being done successfully.

Frank



The only downside to this is that I will be having to sell off a few different rifles and some other stuff to afford to get set up for shooting this beauty.

I don't mind so much trading up but I really hate it when I trade a great one away and then suck eggs with the next purchase.
I have sent you a few snapshots by E-mail. I will post good ones when I get them made.
Frank