Seems to me the old .33 WCF could be loaded to push a 250 gn bullet about 1950 fps while staying within pressure limits.



Anyone care to speculate on how big an animal one could reliably take with such a load? I'd propose a maximum range of 100 yd. You pick the bullet construction. How about elk and kudu sized game? My guess is the cartridge is marginal for those.



Just contemplating what cartridge to chamber an old single shot for...



Karl

Inside 100 yards, I see no reason that at a MV of 1950 a 250 Nosler Partition, for example, wouldn't be just about as effective as the same bullet from a .338 Winchester at 2700 MV -- at 400+ yards. IE: If you regard the .338 as a 400 yard rifle on elk, then the .33 Winchester is a 100 yard rifle on the same animal. By the way, I chose the Nosler Partition as an example bullet because its front portion is about as expansive as anything on the market at lower speeds, and you're not going to expand beyond about the partition location on this or any other 250 grain .338 bullet at .33 Winchester speeds.

Ditto all that. My 338-06 does about 2400 comfortably with a 250 gr bullet and I feel it is fine at 0-300 yds; 1950 to 100 with that much sectional density is plenty. Stonecreek's point about the Partition is good too, stay away from thicker jackets or pure copper bullets or shoot a heavy cast bullet in the LBT style. Partition Golds may be too tough, too. Unless you are stuck with a 338 barrel, you could look at the 9.3 x 74.

Sounds like a good project. I also shoot a .338-06 & push the 250gr bullets @ 2400fps+. Expansion is good out to 250yds or so w/ "standar" bullets. A Hawk, Sierra or Speer would be a good choice @ the lower vel. I agree w/ the others about using the NPs, too stout & costly.

I would not choose a 33 Win. for elk if I had my druthers, they never showed me much...work fine on deer at reasonalbe ranges..say up to 200 yards...I had a friend who used one on deer and several elk, but he soon traded it off for a 348 Win. and said he liked the 348 much better.

I've wondered about the reputation the .33 WCF earned in the older books on hunting. With the 200 gn / 2200 fps load which was more or less standard, elk is usually considered it's upper limit.

I note, though, that the SD and fps are the same as the 170 gn .30-30 of today, and the .30 WCF is certainly considered a very marginal gun for elk. (However, my notes do record a once young hunter of the name Atkinson having stated in these forums he took some elk with a .25 WCF -- but that he doesn't recommend it.) The .33 WCF is basically a fat .30 WCF, providing a useful 20% more frontal area, and mass.

My thoughts regarding the 250 gn RN for the .33 WCF were prompted by 1) the loss of the 200 gn Hornday FP, and 2) the reputation among the old hunters (eg. Whelen) of the .303 Savage. It's 195 gn / 1950 fps load was universally considered a better deer gun than the standard .30-30 load.

Were I to go this route, I think some Hawk bullets might be in order. I could then pick the jacket thickness needed to get the expansion which would allow the extra SD to carry the bullet deep.

tiggertate: the 9.3x74R is on my list, along with the .33 WCF. It's pressure (CIP standards) is a bit on the high side for the action I'm considering, though. In a recent series of posts over in the Medium Bore forum, a fellow pointed out the 400/350 is easily formed from 9.3x74R brass. It's standard pressure is enough below the 9.3's that I'm more comfortable with it. It's the cartridge I'm leaning towards, actually. The .45-70 brass is soooooo easy to find, that I'm still drawn to its necked down cousin.

Karl