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I am about to have myself a .333 jeffrey rifle made and I am looking for a way to make my own .333cal bullets! I know I can swage .338cal bullets down, but what I want is natually the 300grain Roundnose bullet it shall be regulated for! I my question is, is there anywhere where I can buy .333cal cuppertubing?.
Is there anybody besides Woodleigh and Hawk that makes .333cal bullets?.
I have been tolled that a company called "DKT" also should make .333cal bullets, but I can`t seem to find that company anywhere?

Thanks!

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Just order the jacket cups pre made from ButchHairfield, Harrell D (GE Energy)
harrell.hairfield@ps.ge.com

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Originally posted by Paul S.:
Jens,
No, I just make the bullets. The reduction is about at the limit of recommended maximum allowable (.006"), but if the bullets are core bonded you have an additional margin of "safety" where the jacket doesn't come loose from the core. How do you intend to make the solids? And, can you describe what a " split bullet" is?

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Originally posted by Paul S.:
jens, it sounds like you may be interested in Corbin's DDS-1 ( see http://www.corbins.com/drawdies.htm#sdd ) It's a bit expensive at $239-296 US.

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Originally posted by jens poulsen:
My plan are to make a copy of the original splitbullets, softnosed, hollowpoints and solids for the .333Jeffery!. I am willing to invest quite a few money in this project but first of all I need the rifle(actually still waiting for the barrel ). I think the .333 has a really good potentiel with the long bullets it`s carring!. With modern powders it will get close to the .338win if needed!.

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Originally posted by mbogo375:

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Originally posted by jens poulsen:
My plan are to make a copy of the original splitbullets, softnosed, hollowpoints and solids for the .333Jeffery!. I am willing to invest quite a few money in this project but first of all I need the rifle(actually still waiting for the barrel ). I think the .333 has a really good potentiel with the long bullets it`s carring!. With modern powders it will get close to the .338win if needed!.

Jens,

Welcome to the world of the 333 Jeffery. As you probably already know, many original 333's were regulated for the 250 grain bullets instead of the 300's, but if you are having a new rifle built this is not a factor.

The splits were not highly thought of in their day, as they opened much to quickly for reliable use on medium or large game (much to the surprise of several hunters that came to untimely ends while trying to use them on dangerous game).

As for solids, IF you want to actually use these bullets on dangerous game (which would not be allowed in most countries due to minimum caliber laws), and if you want to go with a traditional design, you really should consider a steel core solid. There are other methods used by swagers to strengthen the jacket (reversed smaller diameter jacket inside the full caliber jacket, etc), but in my non-scientific opinion, I would feel much better with a steel core or monolithic solid if I was eye-to-eye with an unhappy cape buffalo. I have even had .375 Hornady steel core solids bend and fish-tail on buffalo.

Incidentally, the case capacity of the 333 Jeffery in almost identical to the 338 Win Mag. In a newly built rifle with a good action you might expect nearly equal velocity at equal pressure, but with the 333 the limiting factor is the presently available brass. Most of it is pretty soft, and not the ideal for high pressure loads.

Another problem relates to chamber dimensions compared to brass dimensions. There is a lot of variation between the two, not to mention the sometimes poor match between chamber and die dimensions. I can actually reform and shorten 330 Dakota brass for my Jeffery, which makes for stronger and more durable brass, but this may not work with some chambers.

Most any of the 250 grain or heavier .338 bullets work well after being run through a reducing die. I have found that it is much easier to do this in two steps (first to .335, then to .333) than to try to go all the way down to .333 in one pass.

I have not tried it yet, but if you want to use 300 grain bullets you could try reducing the .338 diameter 300 grain Sierra Matchkings. You could even get a point forming die to produce a less "pointy" ogive after drawing down to .333. I am actually swaging 250 grain .375 Sierra boat tail soft points up to .379 in a round nose point forming die by RCE for use in a 375x2.5" Flanged Nitro Express double, and they come out as nicely formed round nose flat base bullets .

The most accurate factory .333 bullets that I have tried are the Woodleighs, and I would not hesitate to use these on large game AT ORIGINAL VELOCITY. The Hawks are also accurate, but a little softer than the Woodleighs (will work great on small to medium game if you stay with original velocities). If you want to up the velocity you might try drawing down the 300 grain .338 Woodleigh, as they should be designed to perform at higher velocity.

After saying all this, I am sure that I haven't deterred you from wanting to get a swage set and make your own, but I just wanted to share some of my experiences with the .333 Jeffery.


Good luck,
Jim