Hello,

I'm reloading an 1886 .33 w.c.f. with 200gr hornady sp interlock bullets.
I seated the bullet approximately .16 in an empty brass case and marked it in black to see where the rifling starts.
It would seem I don't touch the rifling with the bullet seated at this depth. :confused: Probably a very long thoat.
My goal is to get the bullet as close as possible to the rifling.
The bullets will not be crimped.
I am using the rifle as a single shot.

1- Can I safely seat a .338 diameter bullet only .16 in the case?
2- Can I readuce the seating even more, to move the bullet closer to the rifling:confused:
2- What velocities do you think i need to get to have this bullet expand properly on Deer, Moose?:confused:

Thanks!

-Dan

if you want to get close to the rifling i would go to a round nose bullit
you should go one diameter deep on your seating a little less is never good you need a good bullet
pull to help with powder burn [ powders burn better at certain pressures ]

i would call hornady and ask them about the velocity thing

Why don't you try loading to the crimp groove first? You never know..... I would not even consider seating bullets that short, for hunting.

If you are target shooting, just pick a longer/heavier bullet. For hunting, that's one of the few jacketed bullets on the market that will expand at .33 Win velocities. Just follow the load data and you'll be fine, certainly for deer. I don't know about moose but as suggested, a call to Hornady might be helpful.

You might also consider trying some cast bullets if you can find them in Canada in .338" diameter. That's what I'd use for hunting.

Good luck.

Per another thread currently running, I usually find guns have at least a couple of seating depth sweet spots. One near the lands, and another when the bullet is around 1 caliber deep into the case mouth, though that varies quite a bit. Take Mike's suggestion to try it further back before reaching far into a deep throat.

I guess my first question is how does it shoot loaded to the standard COL? are you having accuracy problems with the rifle? Like Nick says the basic rule is to seat a bullet 1 caliber deep, especially in guns that are not single shots where bullet movement caused by feeding can be a problem.

Thanks guys,

I'll try Mike's suggestion and seat to the crimping groove, which woorks out to .338. I wanted to get the gun as accurate as possible but I suppose that isn't possible as the throat is too long. It's going to be my hunting rifle with iron sights with a maximum 50-75 yrd range.

Finding flat nose bullets is next to impossible here in Canada, so i'm moving on to a single shot with spitzer bullets. I suppose at the range I will be shooting at, the accuracy gain will be negligable.

Thanks again,
This is a great forum!:)