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.33 WCF and bullets

9K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  44-40 Willy 
#1 ·
In my cabinet stands a 1886 Extra Light Rifle in .33WCF - I am considering to buy it, but still hesitate. Ammo is and bullets are crucial. And am I willing to sacrifice my dear Mod 88 or 870 to get a place in the cabinet? (We he have stupid limit of six guns here.)

Does the barrel twist stabilize Hornady 250 grs RN bullets? Are there other suitable bullets? Hawks 250 grs FN? I prefer heavy bullets, as the main non-paper target will be moose.

Thankful for your advice!

Pete
 
#2 ·
As long as your eyes can still make the unscoped M1886 work at the proper ranges, I'd go for it in a second! The ROT in that rifle should be 1:12 and I believe that will stabilize a 250gr bullet to ranges you'd likely shoot without a scope. Though I've never fired one, my late father-in-law owned one and discouraged my desire to buy it, saying ammo was way hard to find. By the time he passed, that rifle was long gone and I've always wished I'd been smart enough to simply insist on a price long ago and bought it. The 1886 is a great rifle and if I can ever afford it, I'd like to have one in .33 or 45-70 or it's slightly modified son, the M71 in .348.
 
#5 ·
My cabinet:
Merkel 200E o/u 12g shotgun
Remington 870 12g pumpgun
Raetzel drilling 16/8x57IR
Brno .22Hornet
Brno M21 8mm Mauser
Winchester M88 .308W

It is a hard choice to take one of these away.

Pete
 
#6 ·
I owned an '86 in 33 WCF for a number of years and found it to be a fine rifle and cartridge combo. I don't recall that brass or bullets were hard to find as I shot it frequently. I believe at that time, 20+ years ago, Hornady made a 200 gr. bullet for the 33. The rare times I fired jacketed bullets that's what I used. Mostly it saw cast bullets. I'd jump on it.
 
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#7 ·
+1 ! Absolutely. After all, you still have that very fine Merkel O/U too. :D
 
#9 ·
The OP lives in Scandinavia and probably will have export/import problems with US material or equipment for firearms or reloading.
 
#10 ·
Not necessarily. It depends on whether the dealer in the US has a exportation permit or not. I have ordered stocks and other gun parts from Brownells without problems,and many friends buy dies directlly from Lee.

Pete
 
#12 ·
You'd think that, but the U.S. export laws got funny in the last ten years regarding anything that might go on, around, through, or near a gun.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Today I made my decision: I will not buy the rifle. Instead I passed to a good friend. I don't need more rifles, and I like my Brno M21 and Winchester M88 better. The balance of both these is better, and the lever of the M88 is much smoother and slicker than the rather clunky M1886. I must admit, that the action of my previous M94 BigBore was gentler to handle.

Thanks for you comments - I'll share them with my friend.

Pete

P.S. I added some pictures today monday.
 

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#15 · (Edited)
I inherited a Lightweight Takedown in .33 WCF last Fall that belonged to my wife's Great Grandfather. I was just resizing some .45-70 cases for it about half an hour ago. They were quite easy to resize. I would have snapped up that rifle in two seconds. It's worth about about 3 or 4 870s.



Hopefully I will get to shoot something with it this Fall. I have some Hornady bullets but they have also been discontinued. I will be bringing some 225 Grain spire points to my gunsmith so that he can machine the points off them to make them into flat nose bullets. They should be pretty close to 200 grain when I'm done.
 
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