Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Looking for 33w.c.f. Stuff

I just picked up a 1886 in 33wcf and I am looking for the flat nose hornady 200gr bullets and a set of dies. If you have some you'd be willing to part with drop me a PM. Thanks

I found a Lee loader, the older hammer-on-a-block- of -firewood type of loader for 33 Winchester. My buddy has an 86 that hadn't been shot since 1955 when they ran out of shells for it. Midway has an occasional run of brass, and we bought a 20 box, some Hornady 200 gr flex tips, new production for one of the flavor of the week botique cartridges (338 something or other in a tube feed Marlin). So we built a few rounds and the old girl hit great at 50 yds, moved to 100 yds and put some in the bull. Felt great to shoot her.

Thans for the story, now I just have to get motivated and buy my reloading stuff

Lee has dies for not bad money. Hornady discontinued most of the flat nose bullets. Hawk makes some but be careful. They're soggy and can spike pressures

Most .33 Win brass is formed from .45-70 brass.
The .33 Win chamber and ammo is usually a bit smaller than .45-70 brass is at the head.
If you can - measure the diameter of the big end of your chamber.
W-W brass is about .501 to .502 and will be too large.

R-P brass is about .4998 to .499 and may fit as is after forming.
I think I have a set of CH FL dies. I can form you some brass. I have a set of RCBS form dies.

Hornady makes 200 gr FTX in this calber, and Hendershots has
benchrest quality ammo in the same caliber using the 200 FTX for $79 a box.

You can cut off regular 338 bullets and make them flat nose bullets .I do the same thing.for my 375 Winchester.There is a little cut off saw harbor freight makes that I use kill a like a miniature chop saw .I am about to make a bunch of bullets I use hornady they are pretty soft and cheap enough you don't cry if you mess up a $2 bullet .You have to be creative in Alaska how well I.know !

Some 1886 .33's will not feed ammo loaded with the 200 Hornady FTX bullet, because the cartridge is so tapered the tip can end up wedged between the rim and the magazine tube of the round in front. This can be easily solved by filing off the plastic tip down to the beginning of the jacket.

The same thing can be done with the soft-point of 210 Nosler Partitions, which results in just about a 200-grain bullet. The front core of Partitions is softer than in most cup-and-core bullets, so expands fine.

Woodleigh makes a bonded, flat-nose 200-grain specifically for the .33. It's pricey but really shoots well.

I've found it a far easier to neck down Starline .40-65 cases than any brand of .45-70's.

Have a 1905 and a 1908 1886 in 33 WCF. Lyman used to make a 45-70 case reform die to 33 WCF. Required a lot of torque to re-form but they work.
One of the 1886 rifles is a Special Order with pistol grip and 2/3 magazine . Checking at forend and pistol grip.
This was the fore runner to the Model 71. I still have 3 or 4 boxes of the original 200 gr Hornadys. Hawk bullets now work well in the 200 gr weight
at 33 original pressure and velocity. IMR 4198 works well. Best velocity loadings stay around 2000 FPS-which work just fine.

Ben Lilly, the famous lion-bear hunter in AZ-NM carried a Winchester 86 in 33 WCF after bear, and killed large grizzlies with his rifle.
Marlin offered their 1895 in 33 WCF in the early 1900s. It was a popular cartridge .

The rapid taper 1886 extra light weight rifles weighed about the same as a 94 carbine, and were a lot more rifle chambered in 33 or 45-70.