Reloader 33

[alaska]

The military landed a big contract for RL 33 for their lapua

Alliant has load data for the Laupa on their website.

I currently use Retumbo in my Lapua.

 

[Korhil78]

I just finished loading 9 shots with H-1000 at 89.7 .8 and .9
I 2 holed a few but number 3 was off....

I am using 300 Bergers. they are .001 off the lands. I want to chalk it up to the 30 mile and hour wind I had on sunday as to the spread.
I had the 185 and 265 LRX barnes shooting better than that....
Also tried 250 Gr SMK....

I am WIDE open to any advice you might have... I was going to try Retumbo again but cant find the stuff... RL 33 is plentiful so that is why I was asking!!!

Thanks,

Mario

Try backing it off the lands a bit more. .005, .010 and .015 and see if that doesn't dial any in for you. I would take the most accurate of the ones you have tried and try those different seating depths.

 

[kaseyfied]

Well i shot the bergers at 2.970 thats an ogive measurment.. those dont need to be in the lands they r hybrid bullets.. 89.8 h1000.. 1.2 inches at 500.. 26inch barrel 2750 average

 

[alaska]

3.680" with 265 TTSX

Now i am using the new 300gr Berger hunting bullet and Retumbo @ 91.9 in Hornady brass @ 3.680"

 

[Korhil78]

Well i shot the bergers at 2.970 thats an ogive measurment.. those dont need to be in the lands they r hybrid bullets.. 89.8 h1000.. 1.2 inches at 500.. 26inch barrel 2750 average

You are corerect sir! The guns that I have shot Berger bullets in have never been touching or jammed and they have definitely shot well.

My 338 Lapua is now done being built and will be in my hands soon! I will be loading the 300 gr Bergers with H1000 and the bullets will be back off the lands for sure.

 

[marioq]

OK... well I will try that next week.. I will back them off the lands. ALso, maybe back down the powder... Not sure what the Max load is... I didn't have any pressure signs so I think I am ok.... It is not listed in my book or on Hodgon's website so I will keep trying and work it... I do not want to go with more powder as I am afraid that backing it off the lands will increase pressure. Anyone know the max load with H-1000 and 300 gr bergers?

 

[Swamplord]

Well, I went and shook a few places up today with the same results...zilch !

most popular answer : never heard of Reloder 33 !!!

Chimo Guns in Wasilla never heard of the crap and want $32 per lb of RL25, IMR7828 and everything else with not much to choose from..

Mat-Su Tactical boys have some on order but not happening till who knows when.....
powder is at $28 per 1 lb can... had plenty of RL25 .....
guy tells me he can get Norma 500 Jeffery brass but it will take 4 weeks, the supplier has it in stock but too busy filling orders and has to put my order on a wait list... $139.99 for a box of 25 pcs. ,,,, ouch !!

3 Bears never heard of RL33 and their supplier doesn't have it listed.....
although I did score 3 1lb cans of IMR7828 ssc for $23.79 each, all in the same Lot, yesss !!

called the camera hams at Wild West Guns and they have no clue as to when either ....

the reason I want RL 33 is it will be THE powder for my 6.5 wildcat.... I can feel it, I need to fill up a case with a water capacity of 105 gr

 

[AZShooter]

Tucson hasn't heard of RL-33 either. I got my 8 lbs from Powder Valley months ago. Turns out even with hazmat fee the powder cost less than if purchased at local Sportsman's warehouse.

As for the useage of this very slow powder, I have determined that it works well in a few varied cartridges. It made a huge difference with my 28" barreled 6mm-284 with 105 berger hybrids. Max load with Retumbo was 3307 fps which was the highest charge of powder without pressure issues. RL-33 yielded a 178 fps increase which is 3485 fps.

As an experiment to shoot the 230 gr target hybrid I rechambered a 24" 300

 

[AZShooter]

Tucson hasn't heard of RL-33 either. I got my 8 lbs from Powder Valley months ago. Turns out even with hazmat fee the powder cost less than if purchased at local Sportsman's warehouse.

As for the useage of this very slow powder, I have determined that it works well in a few varied cartridges. It would appear to perform in a similar manner to RL-17's longer burning curve and subsequent higher velocities. It is slower than retumbo. A mid to high suggested charge for Retumbo is a good starting point for RL-33 if no data is available. I tried RL-33 with four cartridges to date:

It made a huge difference with my 28" barreled 6mm-284 with 105 berger hybrids. Max load with Retumbo was 3307 fps, RL-33 yielded a 178 fps increase for a velocity of 3485 fps.

As an experiment to shoot the 230 gr target hybrid I rechambered a 24" 300 Win Mag to 300 RUM. Using RL-33 maxed out at 102 grs with slight bolt lift resistance. Backed down to 100 gr for vel of 2975 fps. Imagine what a 26" or longer barrel could do.

A 28" 3 groove 257 weatherby with moly coated 110 accubond gained 91 fps over a max load of RL-25.

Also tried RL-33 in a 24" 7 Rem Mag comparing it to its original load with retumbo and 162 A-max. Couldn't gain any velocity performance over retumbo.

If there is a trend I noticed, which is supported in the limited load data Alliant has published, RL-33 seems to work best with heavy for caliber bullets.

 

[Swamplord]

the problem we face in Alaska is someone decided that a can of powder is so destructive that they should protect us from certain annihilation, we are prohibited from having powder sent to us by air, the only way to get powder here is to wait for the general suppliers (2) to barge it in from the conus

 

[kaseyfied]

U r fine.. mine was backed off and had.no problems.. some are shooting 91-93 grains of h1000.. u should do the berger seating test it.works!! U will get a seating depth that shoots much better then u.can tweek the charge!!

 

[alaska]

Reloader 33 Arrived

Got my Reloader 33 two pounds of it today

Has anyone used it in the 338 Lapua?

Rem 700 with 26"

 

[marioq]

I have. Not sure my barrel is long enough to really take advantage of it. My chrony was off so I am gonna try it again and see how she shoots

 

[AZShooter]

Marioq,,

I just realized that my first post wasn't finished.

I did try RL-33 with a 24" barrel I rechambered to 300 RUM. It was an experiment.
Worked up to a max load with the 230 gr Berger hybrid. Got 2975 fps from that short barrel!

The trend for RL-33 seems to be it will work well with the heaviest bullets for any given caliber.

So your using the 300 gr bullet in the 338 Lapua should be a great combination. Bet it would work well with 215 and 230 gr Bergers in your 300 win mag too.