Does anyone know of a source of load data for the 333 Jeffery? I am going through the import process for a rifle in this caliber, and would also appreciate any info on sources of brass and bullets (I already know that it can be formed from 404 brass which is fairly easy to come by, and that bullets are made by Woodleigh and Hawk, but any other info is appreciated). I also need dies if anyone has a set that they would be willing to sell.

Good shooting,
Jim

Can't say I've come accross load data for it, but, you might want to see about having Corbin make you a draw down die so you can use less exspensive .338 bullets drawn down to .333 for practice. I have a buddy thats been drawing down 9.3mm (.366") to .358" for some heavier less exspensive bullets in his whelen. He said the cup cores go through fine, but the partition broke the handle on his partner press, so he had to switch to the rockcrusher for partitions.

I found the dies on the Huntington's Custom Order Dies list. The price wasn't shown but probably around $150+.

Brass is another question I have no idea about.

Good Luke
Steve

You form the brass out of .404 Jeffery but the forming dies are a bit pricey. See Huntington's. Bertram makes brass and it is pricey, as well. Again, see Huntington's. I wouldn't bother squeezing down .338's. Woodleigh makes 300 gr. .333 in both soft and FMJ as does Hawk.

Sarge

Paul,
Thanks for the reply. I have a ring sizer die from Fred Zeglin for my 450/400 to go from .416 to .411, and it would only require new rings to do as you suggest. I also find that it takes fairly substantial pressure to size down this far, and I am hesitant to depend on these resized bullets for serious hunting but they should be fine for practice.

Jim

Sarge,
The cost of those form dies was the reason I was looking for preformed brass. I do, however, have a set of form dies for the 375/33 G&A which will get me close enough to cobble together some cases if I have the regular 333 Jeffery dies.

The bullets on the other hand are a bit pricey for practice at $1.10 to $1.50 a piece, particularly when I have a good supply of .338 bullets for sizing down and plinking with. The Woodleighs would be great for serious fun, however.

Jim

I am pretty sure Bertram makes preformed brass for both the rimmed and rimless versions. I thought that the 333 was based on the .280 Ross case but I must have been mistaken.

Proper bullets are a pain if you are not prepared to buy the Woodleigh or Hawk ones. I think DKT offers them, too.

There are a couple of loads for the .333 Jeffrey in Cartridges of the World, 7th Ed., using 275 and 300 gr. bullets with IMR 4350 powder. Good luck!!

David and eldeguello,

Thanks for your replys. All help is appreciated.

I have found out since my original post that my 333 Jeffery was sold in 1908, the first year of production of this cartridge. Who knows, it may have been one of the first 333's to be used in Africa!!! I am certainly looking forward to receiving it and finding out how it shoots (after a thorough inspection of course). It is too bad that there is no additional information available about a gun with it's obviously long history and association with African hunting. I do know that J. F. Burger and John Taylor, among others, used the 333 Jeffery extensively and spoke highly of it's ability on game.

Good shooting,
Jim

This might be a good excuse to contact Corbin in Washington state and have them build you a swaging die. One of their single caliber dies that can be used in a Rock Chucker equivelant press and would turn a box of copper tubing and lead wheel weights into a life-time's happy shooting for your trophy. They're about $110 last time I looked but I have heard that the delivery time can be veerrryyyy long.
Sarge

[This message has been edited by Oldsarge (edited 08-06-2001).]

Hawk Bullets sells .333 bullets for about $39 @50.

Albert,
Thanks. The Hawk and Woodleigh are probably the way to go for more serious fun, but I am looking for a cheaper practice bullet. I may wind up going with a hard cast bullet for this, as factory velocity with the 300 grain bullet was 2200 fps, and this was what the sights were regulated for. The only problem with this is the somewhat rough bore (many years of cordite use).

Sarge,
Things seem to have changed at Corbin. They seem to require a 3 or 4 die set at "mucho dinero" for most rifle calibers now, and that does not even count a core mold, or a core cutter and core forming die(if using lead wire for cores), etc, etc, etc,$$$$. I am sure that they would also suggest a custom jacket draw die as well,$$$$$.

I'll check bore and groove diameters as soon as I have an opportunity. Maybe I will get lucky and find that it is close to .338....... naw, I couldn't be THAT lucky . I will report back on what I find out.

Jim