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I am looking for something that basically doesn’t exist, loaded .33 WCF ammo. The only sources I can find online is Buffalo Arms and another reloading website that I just discovered called Hendershots. The latter being VERY EXPENSIVE. But of coarse neither one has any in stock and probably never will in my lifetime. I have a backorder in with Buffalo Arms, for what it’s worth.
Does anyone have any advice for me in my quest to find Hen’s Teeth ??
HI Brian, I have a few boxes of 1950’S vintage Winchester 33 WCF cartridges for sale. $150 plus shipping. Call or text 207-522-0939 if interested.
Thanks, Dana
My Dad’s first deer rifle was a .33 WCF. Even though he purchased this rifle in the early 1950’s, ammo had not been on the shelves for many years. He was a very successful deer hunter but could still make one box of cartridges last many years.
I’ve ready many stories about old-timers living up in Canada. One box of cartridges accounted for 20 caribou.
Brain,
I try to visit some gun shops 2 hours + away from my home every couple of years. In August, 2021 convinced my wife we needed to go to Washington, PA to see what stores survived the COVID crisis. My idea was to visit Ace’s Gun Shop there. Sure glad I did, found 5 boxes of .33 Winchester Factory ammo (3 boxes Winchester, 1 box Remington and 1 box Peters).
Drove back several days later with some cash.
I found 3 additional boxes over several years at gun shows with somewhat reasonable prices.
Good luck in your search.
Jim
Life Member WACA & NRA
Colorado custom cartridge sells all you need for the Old Winchesters…….Bill
426crown said
Colorado custom cartridge sells all you need for the Old Winchesters…….Bill
They do. They also sell on gunbroker. They presently have three boxes of .33 available. $132.00 per box – plus actual shipping. Around $20 I suppose. So with sales tax you’ll probably be into them for about $160 per box – which comes out to $8 per round. But, they are available, which is something these days:
2 boxes for sale at auction-currently $50 per box plus buyers premium and shipping.
Colsuper said
2 boxes for sale at auction-currently $50 per box plus buyers premium and shipping.
That’s fairly clean looking ammo. Eleven days to go….
Brian, First, I must ask if you reload? If the answer is “No” and you have no desire to learn, then you need to follow the suggestions previous to my posting. If the answer is “Yes”, or a qualified “yes” as you are willing to learn, then the options are more pallettable. Brass can be formed from .45-70 brass. Bullets are somewhat available from Hornady, although the original, 200 grain flatnose for the .33 WCF was discontinued years ago and no intent to restart. But the 200 grain flex tip can and does work in some of the .33’s. They work in mine. The current problems are finding components and dies if you are starting from scratch, but it would provide some leeway if you are into reloading or wish to begin. Note, you will likely lose some pieces of brass due to wrinkling when sizing down to the .33 diameter. Part of the cost of saving money?! My opinions at least. Tim
Steve,
the same auction has 4 boxes of .32 Special at $40.00 per box.
Colsuper said
Steve,the same auction has 4 boxes of .32 Special at $40.00 per box.
I did see ten boxes of corelokt 32 special at Fleet Farm yesterday. About $45 a box. No buyer’s premium or shipping of course. That still seems like a lot for me. That is cheaper than any of the very few suppliers on the internet are selling it for. But, as a reloader, I am flush with components for both .32 special and .33 WCF, so I’m mostly holding back from buying factory ammo of late.
Steve,
I would agree that $45.00 per box is more than I want to pay. Great that you reload. I have been looking for some .32 WS factory loads for quite a while, but have not located any that were “reasonable” in my opinion.
Colsuper said
Steve,I would agree that $45.00 per box is more than I want to pay. Great that you reload. I have been looking for some .32 WS factory loads for quite a while, but have not located any that were “reasonable” in my opinion.
A search on ammoseek.com this morning revealed only one supplier has .32 special ammo:
$80.00 + $20 shipping + $7.50 tax put it at $107.40 to my door. $5.37 per round.
This makes the $45 per box I saw at Fleet Farm on Friday seem more reasonable. It does make me wonder if it will ever be offered at less than $45 per box?
November 7, 2015
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Good times to be a reloader/caster. Spending thousands of dollars on a rifle you can’t shoot is a sad state of affairs. After another cup of coffee I suppose I’ll fire up an RCBS furnace and pour a few Unobtanium bullets. If the folks paying $2-6/round for ammo knew what components cost me they’d be sick. OTOH I don’t want to know what I have invested in my reloading equipment and supplies.
Point is, if you want to shoot whenever you want, you need to either put back a few extra boxes when they are available or invest in a reloading setup. I realize not everyone has room for a loading bench and another bench for casting. I keep at least two furnaces full of my standard alloys, two sizers full of lube, a shelf full of loading dies and another full of moulds. I don’t have a .33 but I’m one set of dies and a custom mould (and maybe an annealing setup) away from making all the ammo I’d ever need. And yes, I’d love to load you a few boxes but BATFE regs and cost of insurance makes that pretty much impossible.
Reloading can be done on a small scale, old timers’ “loading setup” was often a small wooden box with a mould and a few hand tools. If you can find an old reloading tool in good condition it will probably work as well as it did 100 years ago. A modern single stage press can be mounted on a small portable bench. All you really need is a set of dies, a press, a way to measure powder and components. Problem is, reloading tools and components are probably harder to find than ammo these days and components will be hard to find long after ammo returns to the shelves.
Mike
It’s not always this messy. Sometimes it’s worse.
Well thanks to all who responded to my post. It looks like my only option is to pay through the nose and basically buy what is “Collectible” ammo for $8 to $10 a round or make my own. I am stubborn enough that I will not pay $10 a round for loaded ammunition for range and hunting. So I will probably be investing in the dies and equipment that I still need to reload obsolete centerfire, .33 WCF, .45-60, .45-75, .50-95 Express, .32-40 Etc. I have original and replica rifles in all of the old Winchester calibers. So trying to find loaded obsolete ammo has been a multi year quest. Full of frustration.
I already have most of what I need to reload centerfire, so will be looking for the die sets and bullets next I guess. Thanks again to all who responded, appreciate it.
Brian
BRIAN BUSSEY said
Well thanks to all who responded to my post. It looks like my only option is to pay through the nose and basically buy what is “Collectible” ammo for $8 to $10 a round or make my own. I am stubborn enough that I will not pay $10 a round for loaded ammunition for range and hunting. So I will probably be investing in the dies and equipment that I still need to reload obsolete centerfire, .33 WCF, .45-60, .45-75, .50-95 Express, .32-40 Etc. I have original and replica rifles in all of the old Winchester calibers. So trying to find loaded obsolete ammo has been a multi year quest. Full of frustration.I already have most of what I need to reload centerfire, so will be looking for the die sets and bullets next I guess. Thanks again to all who responded, appreciate it.
Brian
Brain – if you are already set-up with a reloading press, powder scale, powder measure and so on, you are most of the way there. If you have rifles in all the obsolete chamberings you mentioned (plus, “etc.”) you are surely have strong reason to load your own cartridges. Best of luck!
Brian,
The hardest thing to get is the load that works in your gun. If it works for someone else it will work for you. I would suggest asking some of the members that shoot your caliber for their recipe, brass, powder, primer, bullet, and velocity. You don’t have to start with information out of a loading manual but you do have to check with the manual to get pressures. Stick with Winchester original velocity for your gun when manufactured. 45-75 and 50-95 smokeless in a 1876 is tricky, not a lot of thickness to the metal around the chamber.
I reached out to the members a year ago and got some real good loads, saved me a lot of time and money experimenting. T/R
Well Thanks again for the responses. I think the first thing I need to do is look for a bunch of .45-70 brass. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the .33 WCF, .45-60 & .45-75, all start life as a .45-70 casing. Plus I have an original Trapdoor Springfield that I need some tame .45-70 loads for as well.
Any thoughts on trying to form .33 WCF from .348 Winchester brass ?? Mike Venturino, is his book “Shooting Lever Guns Of The Old West”, discourages that and recommends using .45-70 brass instead. Being new to reloading, I have no experience with that ??
The 45-60 is just a shortened 45-70 case but the 45-75 is bigger at the rim and the barrel in front of the rim. The 45-75 works if you use 348 brass. The 33 can be made with 45-70 brass, using 348 brass would be to large in back. Save the 348 brass for 45-75.
Whatever you do don’t use old vintage balloon head brass, it will blow in the rim area.
AARDVARK Laboratories, Glen Andererson out of Cape Corral Florida sells most old caliber’s loaded. His brass is good , many times I buy his stuff and pull the bullets to get the brass. He used to be in the Chicago area before his move to Florida, I see him at Tulsa setup in the southeast corner of the building. Cell number 630-957-7999, that number might be old. T/R
November 7, 2015
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If you’re buying once-fired 45-70 brass I hope you’re aware that some Hornady brass is a bit shorter than SAAMI specs. Good luck on your adventure in reloading obsolete cartridges. I’ve found it to be quite enjoyable once I have everything gathered up.
Mike
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