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Has anyone tried the Hornady .338 Flex Tip for the Marlin Express in their .33WCF '86s?
I saw a couple of boxes on Gunbroker this morning and wondered if they would shoot/ expand well from a .33 Winchester. I thought I would buy a box and do a little experimenting. The .338 ME is supposed to be about 400 fps faster than the .33 Winchester. Curious if the Flex tip would expand reliably.
Any thoughts or ideas, guys?
jb
jasonB " Another Dirty Yankee"
" Tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
Jason,
No expert on expansion with this bullet and the only comment I can make is the experience I've had with the Hornady 200 gr. f.p.
From several dozen deer and one elk I've used these bullets on the Hornady's never seemed to expand much. I've never recovered one, even from the elk...right on through........so.......common sense tells me that the Flex-Tip is just as heavily constructed or more so........but.....I could be wrong.........only experimentation will tell the story.
I'm sure they will shoot as good as anything you can stuff in the 33 case and because the 86 action was designed for even longer cartridges you may be able to seat the bullet out further and add a few grains of powder. ALL 1886 Winchesters in 33 WCF had nickel steel barrels and are more than strong enough to handle a bit more pressures than factory specs. You have to be extra careful on resizing the 33 case ...in regards to headspace as in my uniformed years I regularly had case head separations after several reloadings so......after the initial firing, back off the sizing die or just neck size them.
With the knowledge I've gained with cast bullets over the years, I'd be more than confident using cast bullets in the .33 but as I'm known as a hoarder of fine objects....especially in the gun department.......well, let the picture speak for itself.
Thanks Jack, kinda what I was expecting. I did find some Hornady load data, using the same powders and charges as the older FP bullets. I'll try it out eventually.
I've managed to scrounge up about ten boxes of the Flat points and along with a Lyman mould so it's not a necessity, just something to do.
jb
jasonB " Another Dirty Yankee"
" Tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
Hey Jason, my 33wcf is a little on the worn bore side of life so I had a mold made at .340. I believe they are 220 grain and are of course flat points. If you would like to try some pm me. TOM
a Pennsylvanian who has been accused of clinging to my religion and my guns......Good assessment skills.
Have you checked Hawk bullets? From what I remember they make different jacket thicknesses so you can use the thinner stuff for lower vels... Not sure about .33 dia though.
Supposed to be very good bullets.
fordwannabe wrote: ↑Sat Mar 10, 2018 6:43 am
Hey Jason, my 33wcf is a little on the worn bore side of life so I had a mold made at .340. I believe they are 220 grain and are of course flat points. If you would like to try some pm me. TOM
Thanks, Tom. Appreciate the offer, it would be interesting to try.
Will, I have a box hawk bullets. I've read the same thing about the differences in jacket thickness. I haven't shot anything with them other than paper, they seem to shoot a bit wider group than the Hornady's.
jb
jasonB " Another Dirty Yankee"
" Tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
