33 Nosler with 22" barrel and lightweight TTSX

SSG Graybush

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
492
Location
Martinsville VA
So I'll probably get beat up for this post. For going against the norm. But I am going to build a 33 Nosler on a 700 mag LA with a 22" barrel. For black bear mostly, and brown bear, and elk in brown bear country. I will eventually put a can on it, and keep it as short and lightweight as possible. I want to shoot 160 or 185 gr TTSX with a fast powder to get a complete burn and decent speed. Thinking H4350, RL16 or H4831SC at the slowest.
Anybody shooting lightweight bullets? And with what powders and freebore?
Also what Redding S bushing would be correct for 4 or 5 thou neck tension? Since only Nosler is making brass I figure it should be fairly universal.
MidwayUSA has 33XC brass for $1.62 a PC at the moment. I got 200 PC's
Thanks for any info.
 
Man I like it and think you'll get more than adequate velocity from that setup and like more then enough for a 250 berger for reasonable ranges if you ever wanted to go that route.

I'd put enough twist in the barrel to run heavy vlds, won't hurt for the solids one bit.

If you're not worried about the head stamp, ADG makes great 30 nos brass which would only require running it through a 33 button or mandrel.

No way to know exactly which bushing you'll need until you get a bullet stuffed into your brass.
 
Mine had a tapered throat, I only shot 225s, 230s and 250 bergers...if I built another I'd build with a 20 in barrel and run my 36 omega on it short. I shot almost exclusively 7828 ssc in mine and it was deadly with 250 bergers or 225 laserheads
 
Grafs has 33 Nosler Peterson brass if you didn't want to go the ADG route mentioned above. I am also building a 33 Nosler so I will be interested in how your build progresses.

 
Man I like it and think you'll get more than adequate velocity from that setup and like more then enough for a 250 berger for reasonable ranges if you ever wanted to go that route.

I'd put enough twist in the barrel to run heavy vlds, won't hurt for the solids one bit.

If you're not worried about the head stamp, ADG makes great 30 nos brass which would only require running it through a 33 button or mandrel.

No way to know exactly which bushing you'll need until you get a bullet stuffed into your brass.
I planned on a 10T. That will do if I wanted to go with a hvy like a 265 gr LRX or LRAB, that should do nicely. I wont box myself into just lightweight bullets with twist or freebore. I was just wondering if anybody was pushing a 160 gr TTSX at about 3300-3350 fps. The pbz is about 300 yards at elk attitudes zeroed 1" high at 100. I like that. Screenshot_20210716-112505_Applied Ballistics.jpg
 
Grafs has 33 Nosler Peterson brass if you didn't want to go the ADG route mentioned above. I am also building a 33 Nosler so I will be interested in how your build progresses.

I like Peterson brass better then Nosler. But I got the Nosler pretty cheap and on the way. But I'll keep that in mind. Thx
 
Mine had a tapered throat, I only shot 225s, 230s and 250 bergers...if I built another I'd build with a 20 in barrel and run my 36 omega on it short. I shot almost exclusively 7828 ssc in mine and it was deadly with 250 bergers or 225 laserheads
Am sure 7828ssc would work good since its a good wby cartridge powder. I tend to go with H powders to have better temp stability. Idk about 7828ssc and a 20" barrel?
 
Yes I'd have to adjust the powder selection if I went 20 inches-7828 is a little slow for a 20 in barrel..my old rifle had a 26 in tube. I loved the 33 it was like a 338 win +P..I actually went a different direction and use either a 338 Norma (I think the best of the bunch) or a 338 RCM my two RCMs have barrels less than 20 inches (17 inches and 19 inches) and my 2 Norma's have a 22 and a 24...here I s a few pics of my old 33 Nosler
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2531.JPG
    IMG_2531.JPG
    542 KB · Views: 192
  • IMG_2532.JPG
    IMG_2532.JPG
    366.9 KB · Views: 184
  • IMG_2540.JPG
    IMG_2540.JPG
    557.9 KB · Views: 195
Yes I'd have to adjust the powder selection if I went 20 inches-7828 is a little slow for a 20 in barrel..my old rifle had a 26 in tube. I loved the 33 it was like a 338 win +P..I actually went a different direction and use either a 338 Norma (I think the best of the bunch) or a 338 RCM my two RCMs have barrels less than 20 inches (17 inches and 19 inches) and my 2 Norma's have a 22 and a 24...here I s a few pics of my old 33 Nosler
What kind of velocities are you getting with your Normas and using what projectiles? I've got a Sako 338 Lapua that I plan to rebarrel before next season and I'm most interested in a 338NM with a 24" or shorter barrel.
 
I'm building a .338 Sherman Max with a 20" barrel for the same purposes as you. Also leaning heavy toward the solids.
I'm ordering some Hammers today, have some badlands and cutting edge en route.
tagging in
Whats the case capacity of the 338 Sherman Max? Is it the 300 Sherman Max necked up? Cuz thats a 300 prc improved basically. Seen a guy fireforming brass for the 300 S Max. I kinda wanted to kept my recoil down as much as possible and being the 33 Nosler in kinda in the middle and shortened, like the Sherman/prc, thought it was a good choice. In case I wanted to load up some heavy's in a LA.
 
If you haven't ordered the barrel yet, get a 1-9" twist. There's no reason not to and it will give you more options if you decide to shoot heavier bullets.

I've been shooting an 18" 338/375 Ruger which has the same case capacity as a 33 Nosler. Don't worry about burning a faster powder because of the shorter barrel, it really doesn't make a difference. H4350 would work great with those bullets. I get 2820fps with the 230gr ELDx from an 18" barrel, so dropping 60gr of bullet weight and adding 4" of barrel should get you into that 3200fps + range pretty easy.
 
Top