33 Nosler testing

[Idaho Trecker]

After a year or so of looking at numbers I wanted out of a mid sized 338 caliber and compiling components for the chosen 33 Nosler I am now in the process of breaking in the barrel. I usually end up with wildcats but this time I wanted to do a factory cartridge that had access to quality aftermarket components. I realize the 33 Nosler is very limited on aftermarket but there is still enough support and when Peterson started making brass for it I picked up 300 rounds to last my lifetime of plinking and hunting I would imagine. On a side note this build is also going to be my first attempt at a switch barrel rig. My goal for this build was to not worry about a suppressor and do a "standard" length barrel instead of chopping it down for said suppressor. I ended up choosing a 25" finish length on the barrel plus brake. Hopes for pushing a 250 grain class bullet in the 2900 fps range whether it's a mono or cup and core. Here is a list of my components for the 33 Nosler.

Kelbly Nanook
TT Diamond
Manners LRH
Hawkins Hunter M5 DBM (Still have a UM BM and mag that may get switched in if I don't need it for another build)
Brux 1:9.5 Rem Varmint @ 25" and spiral fluted by Kampfeld Custom
Salmon River Solutions TiPro4 ST (for now but may go to a TiPro5 ST)
Swarovski X5
Nightforce UL Rings
Harrell's Anti Cant Level

All in with scope is 9 pounds 14 ounces. I still plan on having the barrels cerakoted at a later time.
I had Karl Feldcamp of Kampfeld Custom do all of the work. While he was at it I had him take measurements for headspace so I can just send him barrels from now on and I can swap them myself. This action will accept the Atlas Tactical prefits but I have a hard time trusting prefits and I have terrible luck with stuff like that. Thats why I had Karl take measurements so I can use him for "prefits" that I trust. It just takes out the worry of having all vendors on the same page and trusting every part involved is what it SHOULD be. I gave Karl a dummy round set for the 270 Hornady ELD-X at what I consider optimum length. Setting it for that bullet allowed all of the lighter/longer mono's I listed to be where I like them in the neck.
I also wanted to mention that the Kelbly Nanook is amazingly smooth especially for a long action. I havent played with every action out there by any means but have had my hands on enough that I am thoroughly impressed with it. I have ran 149 rounds through it with a "fire forming" barrel I had chambered for my 27 Sherman Mag before I took it to Karl for new 33 Nosler and 27 Sherman Mag barrels.

Over the last couple days I was able to finish my barrel cleaning break in process and as of now am 17 rounds in and am impressed how it is shooting with break in loads. As with the most good barrels the brux broke in nice and comes clean with no effort. After I made sure my first rounds were good to shoot I loaded up 100 rounds with a bottom book charge of 7828 and 225 grain Speer BT. Once I'm done with these 100 rounds I'll be testing the 250 grain Badlands Bulldozer 2, 252 grain Cutting Edge MTH, 265 Cutting Edge MTH, 265 Nosler Long Range Accubond, 270 Hornady ELD-X, 250 SMK, 285 Hornady ELD-M and possibly the 250 Berger EH.

Here are my break in loads with the 225 Speer.

I am going to start with the 250 Badlands and Cutting Edge bullets with RL 23 and RL 26. Hopefully that can start in the next couple weeks and I'll update as I go.

 

[SSG Graybush]

Good luck. I am curious to hear your results. I'd use H4831sc or H1000 or Retumbo, temp stable powders. Never got great results from RL23 or RL26, but in a 7mag and 300 wm. RL26 was faster, but dropped like 40 fps from 80° to 40°, so I went to H1000 in a 7mag with a 180 gr. Was about 1 fps per degree change in speed exactly if I remember correctly. And RL23 is pretty temp stable but didn't give me good accuracy, like RL22 with lighter bullets in a 7mag. RL22 worked well in a 300 wm with a 190 smk. But it's not very temp stable.
I'm doing a 33 Nos as well but with a lighter bullets shortly, got everything but the barrel. I plain on using RL16 and a 160 or 185 ttsx or a 200 bd2 and H4831sc, pretty temp stable powders. In WY where we go it can be 30° at sun up and 60° in the afternoon. So I tend to stick to "H" powders and RL16.
Am gonna try to kept my muzzle energy under 4000#'s so a 7.5-8# rifle doesn't kill on both ends.
I got 250 pc's of Nosler Brass(on clearance at midwayusa for $2.00 a pc, overstock I believe) which is made by Peterson, branded Nosler. I was surprised to see that sale back in 2020.
That's a nice rife you got there. Hopefully BD2's shoot for yeah. Am trying them this week in a 243.

 

[Idaho Trecker]

Good luck. I am curious to hear your results. I'd use H4831sc or H1000 or Retumbo, temp stable powders. Never got great results from RL23 or RL26, but in a 7mag and 300 wm. RL26 was faster, but dropped like 40 fps from 80° to 40°, so I went to H1000 in a 7mag with a 180 gr. Was about 1 fps per degree change in speed exactly if I remember correctly. And RL23 is pretty temp stable but didn't give me good accuracy, like RL22 with lighter bullets in a 7mag. RL22 worked well in a 300 wm with a 190 smk. But it's not very temp stable.
I'm doing a 33 Nos as well but with a lighter bullets shortly, got everything but the barrel. I plain on using RL16 and a 160 or 185 ttsx or a 200 bd2 and H4831sc, pretty temp stable powders. In WY where we go it can be 30° at sun up and 60° in the afternoon. So I tend to stick to "H" powders and RL16.
Am gonna try to kept my muzzle energy under 4000#'s so a 7.5-8# rifle doesn't kill on both ends.
I got 250 pc's of Nosler Brass(on clearance at midwayusa for $2.00 a pc, overstock I believe) which is made by Peterson, branded Nosler. I was surprised to see that sale back in 2020.
That's a nice rife you got there. Hopefully BD2's shoot for yeah. Am trying them this week in a 243.

I've had great temp stability with 23 and I don't hunt in seasons over 80 degrees so 26 is also amazing for normal temps in my personal testing. I've also never heard anyone ever say peterson makes nosler brass and comparing them side by side I'd definitely say they do not make it for them. I'll see how these powders go for me but I do have lots of other options for powder. I doubt retumbo will work as it will be to slow burn rate.

If your rifle comes in at the weight you're projected then it will be 2+ pounds less than mine and will be better to shoot the lighter bullets like you plan. I'll be watching for your build and see how it goes.

 

[MagnumManiac]

Very nice rig, I went 9" twist for my 338-416 Rigby Improved before it was really a thing… is it going to spin those badlands enough?
I hope you get your desired velocity, if not, you could do what I did and run HBN on your bullets, it's works far better than I ever thought it would.
Have fun with it, there's just something about the 33 calibre.

Cheers.

 

[Idaho Trecker]

Very nice rig, I went 9" twist for my 338-416 Rigby Improved before it was really a thing… is it going to spin those badlands enough?
I hope you get your desired velocity, if not, you could do what I did and run HBN on your bullets, it's works far better than I ever thought it would.
Have fun with it, there's just something about the 33 calibre.

Cheers.

Badlands only calls for a 10 twist with the 250 Super bulldozer-2. If I went with the 275grain it would be close at my elevation and taking the length of the aluminum to into account for the SG factor that jbm let's you input for their calculator.

I tried hbn a few years back and didn't feel like it was worth my time. I mostly felt like my process wasn't as consistent and then what happens if your rounds rub in a pocket or get wet or other things on a hunt.

I agree that it is really fun to launch relatively heavy large diameter bullets. The diameter alone adds a level of killing power that is hard to quantify but it's definitely there.

 

[BEEMAN]

Interested to see your results. Very nice rifle as well.

 

[shinbone]

I am a big fan of the Nosler family of cartridges. I have the 26, 28, and 30 Noslers. I've been contemplating a 33 Nosler, but thinking that the 30 Nosler does all I need is holding me back.

Let's see some groups!

 

[Aoudad shooter1975]

I had a very similar rifle. I can give you my thoughts on the 33 nosler.

1. It's great with bullet weights 250 and below. My gun would push 225, 230, and up to 250s greater that 2800 fps with no issues. 225 right at 3000 and 250 Berger elite hunters at 2825. To get 2900 out of a 250 you are going to have to work at it and will be shooting at the upper end of its performance range (in another words the loads will be hot). Mono metals above 250 grains--forget about it. I tried 265 LRXs and 270 monos...Too long I struggled to get 2650 and get them to shoot...and yes my 33 had a tapered throat--so I could seat them out.

2. I find the 33 very pleasant compared to my 338 Norma's and 338-378. The "bark" was considerably less.

3. My gun had a 25.5 in carbon barrel finished. I know what your saying about suppression. If I were going to do that rifle over I would have done a 20 in barrel as I love to shoot suppressed when I hunt.

4 I felt like the 33 nosler is what the 338 win wanted to be--well thought out case design that gives you a little more. Enjoy your new rifle.

Below are a few pics of my old rifle--think a board member still owns it--it was a shooter---7828 SSC and a 250 Berger would give you basically 2820 and it would shoot under 1/2 in MOA.

 

[Idaho Trecker]

So far I've been able to shoot 71 of the 100 rounds I loaded for break-in/forming to the chamber. I should get through the last 29 on vacation next week and get some chrono numbers on the last 3 rounds to see how it compares to my first readings.

Last night I stated up way to late and got my Redding fl bushing die set cleaned up and sized all of my fires cases. I'd say these redding dies have had the most grease from the factory that I've seen of any brand. After a little trial and error I got my bushing size figured out so that it worked in conjunction with my expand mandrel to give me 0025-003 neck tension. I ended up using a .362 bushing and a .3355 expand mandrel.

I couldn't stand it any longer and had to see how the 250 Badlands super bulldozer-2 looked actually loaded. I wanted to get a feel for a starting point and charged the case with 78 grains of Rl 26 at .020 off the lands with a CCI 250 to ignite it.

Luckily I was able to find a minute today and have a range off my deck to make it easy to shoot even when swamped. The magnetospeed was attached and I let it rip for a speed of 2863 fps and no pressure signs. I'm very happy where the speed fell with no pressure. Even if I didn't get more than that I would be happy if the accuracy is there. When I have more time to finish a pressure test then look for nodes in smaller charges I will update. Another note I am happy with my decision to have this throated for the 270 eldx where I did as the mong 250 mono sits exactly how I want it as far as position in the neck. I loaded 79 and 80 grains tonight and 80 grains still has lots of space. This tells me I should be able to use rl23 (much less bulk density than 26) and possibly even h1000 with it being bulkier and bit slower burn than 26.

Here is the 78 grain fired case.

This action seems to leave a slight ring around the firing pin. I think could be from the face of the bolt around the firing pin holeat. I also noticed this when testing the original 27 Sherman mag barrel on this action.

 

[Idaho Trecker]

I have shot around 20 of the 250 badland super bulldozer-2 with rl 26 for a pressure test and then trying to get some charge testing from there. Nothing has been stellar so far with some charge and minor seating testing. I may try some 040-060 from lands and see if that improves anything. The load I thought looked promising at my 118 yard paper was 1 moa at 600 yards.
I did get through my 100 rounds that I loaded up for break-in and the last 3 shots chronod 77 fps average faster than when new.
If I don't find anything soon I'll be jumping to the 252 cutting edge mth max, 265 mth max, and 260 maximus.
I ran both barrels for this action up to Unknown Munitions for cerakote and they turned out amazing! Also picked up another Kelbly Nanook which this barrel is just hand tightened to for pictures. Since I was already running the 4 port Salmon River Solutions tipro I figured noise is noise so I stepped up the the 5 port ti pro for the extra port and diameter. I'm excited to see the difference between them.

It will probably be a while until I get back to the 33 Nosler since it is broke in now. I need to get the other barrel going so both are ready for load development before my early hunts start.

 

[BEEMAN]

Nice rifle! What velocity are you getting with the 250 SBD2? 26" Barrel?

 

[Idaho Trecker]

Forgot I started this thread until a different one on the 33 Nosler popped up. I changed a couple things and this barrel is on its own Kelbly Nanook and Manners LRH stock with a Leupold Mark5hd 5-25 on it for now. Might drop down to the 3.6-18 Mark5hd. Rifle, mount, and optics the rifle weighs 10 pounds 2 ounces.

I guess I forgot that. The barrel is 25" long.

I did a few rounds early on to find pressure with the Badlands super bulldozer-2 250 grain and rl 26. I had this throated for the 270 Eldx which allows the 250 grain class monos sit very well in the neck also. The OAL I started with was 3.662" which put them .020" off the lands.
78 grains 2863
79 grains 2879
80 grains 2913
81 grains 2948
82 grains 2991 click at top of bolt lift. Huge jump in speed. Stopped here and explored between 78 and 79.
I couldn't get this bullet to shoot playing with charge and seating depth .
Yesterday I gave one last effort with the Badlands and ran them seated a little deeper at 2.791" BTO which was .040" off the lands. Still didn't shoot good. The speeds were very consistent though. The garmin read 2870 2857 and 2860fps with 78.8 grains of Rl 26.

Next I had a short pressure test loaded up with Rl 26 and the 252 grain Cutting Edge MTH Max. These were seated at 3.606" OAL. It was a s***show getting everything loaded in the truck and drive a couple miles down the road to shoot and I ended up having one of the rounds fall out of my bag on my deck at home. I had 78 79 and 80 grains loaded for that. I only had the 79 and 80 grain loads with me.
79 grains 2882
80 grains 2929

I'll have to re do this and go higher to find max pressure for my rifle. I'm going to abandon the Badlands and order some 250 grain Cutting Edge Lazer Max. I do have 265 grain MTH Max and 260 Maximus but might just move those to buy the Lazers for a hunting round and practice with eldx (if they shoot well). Also have 250 grain Berger and SMK on the shelf I may try.

I really like the size/capacity of this round. Even throated "properly" (in my mind) this still fits great in a CIP length magazine with room to spare.

Here's the 250 Badlands next to the 252 CEB.

 

[Idaho Trecker]

I loaded up 5 rounds at 78.7 grains of rl 26 with the 252 CEB MTH Max and took it to 1010 yards on a 1 moa sized rock. That rock took 3 rounds which removed some large chunks from it. It was gusty so I'm hoping to try again on a calmer day. I was very happy with the bullet and the load.

After that I did bite the bullet and ordered the 225 CEB Lazer Gen 2 and 250 CEB Lazer Max because I can't leave well enough alone. I found out the hard way that Cutting Edge doesn't recommend seaters that have a sliding sleeve which my Redding comp seater does. It has not been a problem for me until I tried the 225 Lazer which gets stuck in the seater. It hadn't been a problem for me with the others because they were the Max ( single feed) that have a longer sleeker nose profile. I was able to run a short pressure test with the 250 Lazer with Rl 26. I virtually mirrored the speeds of the 252 which only surprised me because the Lazer has a much longer bearing surface that I thought would slow it down more than it did. I had my first pressure signs at 81 grains and 2977 fps. This was only 1 grain less than I ran up to with the 252 MTH.
A new seater should be delivered tomorrow so I can seat the 225 and see what speeds I can reach. I think I am going to have to drop down to a faster burn rate powder that the Rl 26 for this weight bullet. I may give Rl 23 a try but not hopeful that I'll be able to get enough in with it being so much less dense than 26. Hybrid 100v will be my runner up if 23 will not work.

Once I get a handle on the lazers I'm going to move onto finding a cheaper practice load with 250 smk.

225 Lazer is not seated far enough but is close enough for the picture next to the 250 Lazer.

And just for fun a 250 Lazer next to my 221 fireball with a 40 grain v max.

 

[KH_Outdoors]

I had a very similar rifle. I can give you my thoughts on the 33 nosler.

1. It's great with bullet weights 250 and below. My gun would push 225, 230, and up to 250s greater that 2800 fps with no issues. 225 right at 3000 and 250 Berger elite hunters at 2825. To get 2900 out of a 250 you are going to have to work at it and will be shooting at the upper end of its performance range (in another words the loads will be hot). Mono metals above 250 grains--forget about it. I tried 265 LRXs and 270 monos...Too long I struggled to get 2650 and get them to shoot...and yes my 33 had a tapered throat--so I could seat them out.

2. I find the 33 very pleasant compared to my 338 Norma's and 338-378. The "bark" was considerably less.

3. My gun had a 25.5 in carbon barrel finished. I know what your saying about suppression. If I were going to do that rifle over I would have done a 20 in barrel as I love to shoot suppressed when I hunt.

4 I felt like the 33 nosler is what the 338 win wanted to be--well thought out case design that gives you a little more. Enjoy your new rifle.

Below are a few pics of my old rifle--think a board member still owns it--it was a shooter---7828 SSC and a 250 Berger would give you basically 2820 and it would shoot under 1/2 in MOA.

This is great intel on the 33 nosler and like cartridges. Do you know if these 33 Noslers do well in the shorter 20-22" barrel setups?