New 33 Nosler Rivals .338 Lapua Magnum in Smaller Package
Nosler has just introduced a new SAAMI-spec .338-caliber cartridge, the 33 Nosler, which is based on the 404 Jeffrey parent case. This efficient new cartridge rivals the velocity and energy of the proven .338 Lapua Magnum while using significantly less powder. AND, the Nosler 33 fits in a standard, long action receiver. Accordingly the 33 Nosler should be popular with extreme long range (ELR) shooters and big game hunters. The 33 Nosler fires .338-caliber bullets which are tough on big game and typically boast high Ballistic Coefficients and sectional densities. For long-range target work, Nosler will offer 33 Nosler match ammo with a high-BC 300gr bullet.
Notably, the 33 Nosler will fit in a standard-length Long Action. That’s a big deal because it means you can now achieve .338 LM performance in a rifle that is lighter and less costly to build. Nosler lists a 3.340″ COAL for the 33 Nosler. Compare that to 3.681″ for the .338 LM. Nosler will offer loaded ammunition as well as 33 Nosler brass.
The above chart was created by Nosler. It shows the 33 Nosler can push a 225gr AccuBond at 3025 fps and the 265gr AccuBond at 2775 fps. That’s 275 fps faster (with 20% more energy) than the .338 Winchester Magnum using the same length action. According to the chart, the 33 Nosler is also 25 fps faster than the .338 Lapua Magnum at the muzzle while burning 18% less powder. However, the numbers quoted by Nosler for the .338 LM are conservative.
The 33 Nosler® is SAAMI-standardized for consistent industry-wide brass and chamber dimensions. Nosler will be supporting this new cartridge with Nosler Brass, factory ammunition, and Nosler factory rifles. Expect 33 Nosler products to be available in early 2017.
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Tags: .338 Lapua Magnum, .338 LM, 33 Nosler, ELR, Magnum, SAAMI
As usual the cartridge designers forget the one item which IMO is of utmost importance in long range shooting.
Do NOT seat the full diameter of the base of the projectile into or past the neck shoulder junction of the case.
The entire line of Noslers fail in this regard with the use of heavier weighted bullets.
A 300 or 325 WSM (Winchester short magnum brass) necked up to .338 will give velocities on par with what the new 33 Nosler does with even lesser amounts of powder and all while seating the bullet correctly in the case for maximum accuracy while keeping the OAL of the loaded round to 3.340″ (like the Noslers).
— Dtubb
Will this cartridge work in a Savage long action? Rebarreled of course to the 33 Nosler. This is great news if it will work. I’ve talked to savage about rebarreling to a 338 Lapua magnum from my Savage 7 mag and they said No.
The Nosler comparison chart is self-serving in that the .338 LM load listed is their load (#60085), which is the slowest offering in the marketplace. At this point the only way to “normalize” the data (since 225 gr is very atypical for the .338 LM) is to compare offerings based on muzzle energy (ME). Those interested can look at the .338 LM tab of my ammo matrix at http://www.elr-resources.com/ELR%20Loaded%20Ammo%20Matrixes%2009242016.xls
I love the taste of snake oil in the morning. The figures do not stand up to close scrutiny and the marketing approach, trying to knock down the 338 Lapua but comparing results to the 338 Win, do not work on educated shooters.
I agree with DTubb all the way. Every one of these cartridges has failed to impress my because of this. And the accuracy that I have seen with the many rifles that have been built in these cases has also failed to impress. Watch out for the donuts. And at $70 plus a box they are hardly worth it.
I do not think the 338 Lapua Magnum had anything to worry about.
EDITOR: If we are talking about handloaded 33 Nosler with a custom chamber, one could easily set the throat so the bearing surface is set above the neck-shoulder junction. I suspect that will be done with many custom rifles. But that would probably require single-round feeding in a standard long action.
Tubb is exactly right. This is just another overbore magnum with soft brass.
DTUBB,
I would suggest you may be wrong on that. The 28 and 30 nosler will keep the shank of the bullet in the neck and still feed from a Wyatts box in a rem 700. That’s the 195 hybrid in the 28 and the 230 hybrid in the 30.
And its my opinion based on performance and accuracy that the 28 and 30 Nolsers are the BEST long range hunting cartridges out there.
I agree with Alex. A 28 nosler throated properly for a 195 Berger is dasher accurate and will go 3100+ fps. I’ve built around 70 28 noslers and every customer has sent me groups 1/4 Moa or better with some in the .0s. It’s the most accurate magnum cartridge I’ve seen. Nosler definitely messed up though with their short box.
Alex,
So one needs to use a special over length (Wyatts) magazine box in a magnum length action in order to attain correct seating depths for the 28 and 30 Nosler with heavier bullets?
Whatever happened to the “standard length” action (whatever that is) and 3.340″ overall length for the Nosler factory loaded ammunition claims?
I’ve looked at a cutaway of a .300 blackout cartridge where so much of the bullet is inside the cartridge and have wondered whether a lot of the powder’s expansive energy is wasted compressing the bullet instead of pushing it forward. Certainly if powder ignition that starts behind the bullet, actually passes the bullet before pushing it forward, then there is going to be some wasted compressive pressure. But the bullet may be forced forward by unburned powder in long cartridges before this happens.
The proportions of this cartridge are spot on with the current thinking on efficient design. But the velocity of the Lapua Magnum case is not its defining trait in which to compare it. The LM cartridge has an unrivaled web, it’s basically over engineered. There is a reason that it requires a bolt head diameter larger than Weatherby magnum shells. The Lapua round’s head was developed to withstand incredibly high experimental pressures, and this is certainly auspicious to reloaders for case life and safety in general. Any direct comparisons to the LM round might want to consider this.
10/30/16
David Tubb is exactly correct. We lose tons of business each year because people seem unable to grasp the issues regarding C.O.A.L. We only build rifles with reamers that are built off of “properly” crafted dummy rounds – with the bullet “properly” seated in the case neck.
If that means the gun functions as a single shot, so be it – accuracy first !
33 nosler is not faster than 338 lapua.
33 nosler 300 grain pill at 2550
338 lapua ammo by nosler 300 grain pill 2650
Buy carbon or Black Hills or Double tap and push 300 grain pill 2800 fps plus that smokes 33 nosler
I’m averaging 2781fps with hand loaded ammunition for the 338 LM, 300GR SMK. Consistently holding .6 moa.
I am new to shooting long with bigger cartridges. How would this compare to .300 win mag? I cannot justify the cost of a 338 LM. Eventually I will learn how to load my own rounds, but for now it will be off the shelf stuff. My rigle of choice will be a Noreen assasin LR. I have a leupold Mrk4 E/RT 6.5-20 × 50 scope w/ H27 Reticle
not even close to the lapua
I shoot a 338 lapua, with a 300gr berger otm it hits with about 500 ft/lb more energy at 1000 and has about 6ft less drop, and about 6″ less wind drift with a measly 5mph cross wind. there is a 200-250 yard difference between the two. this is a custom built rifle that will out perform a standard lapua, but even if you back it off, it stays 150 yards in front of the 33. My laupa with stay super sonic 300 yards farther than the 33. it’s no different than saying a 30-06 is the same as a 300 win mag, it’s just not. What a joke.
The 33 Nosler looks to be about the same ballisticly as the good old .340 Weatherby Magnum, which isn’t even mentioned here!
don’t see the 338 rum here ether.
The Nosler proprietary cartridges concept is not new. The late Don Allen, founder of Dakota Arms, conceived the idea of a 3006 length magnum cartridge for use in standard length action. One of the best cartridges in that line up is the 330 Dakota. I own 2 of them and shoot them extensively. The Dakota has slightly more powder capacity and a bigger rim. It feeds very reliably, probably more so than the Nosler which is rebated. A Savage magnum bolt face will fit it, and there is no reason it could not work in the 110 action. Savage markets the 110BA Stealth in 338 Lapua, which is an even bigger case. Nosler’s velocity quote on 225 gr bullets I think is optimistic, and likely the max. Would be careful about shooting them in hot weather. The 330 Dakota with a 25 inch barrel will push a 225 gr bullet safely at 2950 and a 250 gr bullet at 2800-2850. With a 27 inch barrel the Dakota is the equal to the 338RUM. DTubb is correct. For long range shooting it is best to have an action that is long for the cartridge used. High BC bullets necessarily have long ogives, and therefore the COAL is long. The 300WSM is severely compromised by short actions and stubby COALs.
I think some of you are missing the point, even if Noslers numbers are somewhat self serving. It is a .338 in a standard length long action, non-belted, less recoil and arguably the same performance.
I have purchased a M48 Liberty and I will be shooting it as soon as the scope and rings arrive, I’ll post some real world numbers. I always find it amazing that guys think what they have is better, simply because its what they have. No offense intended, but good God, complain and bash seems to be the standard. To answer Matt, I would say yes, you could rechamber and barrel to this caliber.
We’re forgetting something, as others have commented about “snake oil”, the one cartridge that matches the 338 Lap with a bit less powder, and around .220″ less case length (more room to seal the projie out in a long mag) is the 338 Norma.in reality with the bigger 33s, as with the various bigger 30s, the margins are almost miniscule. The prime factor to my old brain is whether we can get the rifle to shoot accurately, and we can live up to the standards that the hardware sets us.
Ok, I have put about 60 rounds through my M48 Liberty.
Shooting the factory, Nosler Custom Competition 300 grain rounds. After break in, I was able to shoot roughly a .7″ group at 100 yards with an average mv of 2535 fps. They didn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s fun to shoot and shoots great groups with factory ammo.
Jim – well reasoned posts. I do agree Nosler is ‘marketing’ but – I agree it may be just what I have been looking for also.
I would be interested in reading of any update you may have on your M48 in 33 Nosler. 1) the rifle handling; 2) rifle quality; 3) accuracy; 4) over-all shooting comfort & satisfaction.
Very Good Reading keep It Up!
Norma did this successfully many years ago with Jim Sloan’s design the 338 Norma Magnum. It rivaled and out performed the big Lapua in a lot of areas. I like Nosler but they got to the race last.
Everyone has a opinion and everyone has a preference and now days nearly all calibers are capable of shooting well so all the talk on which is better on paper is funny just find the gun (YOU) can handle and can shoot your best with
On the 338 norma. The US Army is converting over to this caliber and the 300 norma mag and dropping both the 300 win mag and the 338 lapua.
Socom just accepted the 6.5 creedmoor to replace the 308 sniper rifle platform.
I would have prefered the 260 remington, instead of the 6.5.
As far as the 33 nosler, is concerned. I have decided on the 26 nosler as a switch barrel for my pre-accutrigger, stagger feed savage. I am interested in the 33 nosler since sammi specs are 65,000 for pressure limits.
As with Double Tap Ammo, the 26 nosler ammo by Double Tap beats Nosler’s by 2.000fps in both the 129 accubonds and the 140 long range accubonds ….3600fps and 3400fps.also for the Nosler 28 ammo.
I would imagine Double Tap is doing their development as I text this on the 30 Nosler and the 33 Nosler, since they are both hot off the press.
It’s an option. I was a die hard 308/300 win mag fan, but when I repeatedly do .146″ groups out of my AR10, 260 Remington at 200 yards, I’m a convert now. The nosler ammo shoots that tight!
Anyone got an update on the 33 ?
Seems to have gone quiet. I thought this would be a great cartridge for rechambering an M70 338 Win mag to, but see it requires setback.
Probably better to just rebarrel.
Definitely wanting CRF for this caliber in a LR hunting format though.
Thoughts, Experience, Updates ?
I haven’t heard anyone comment on the 338 Edge or the 338 Edge +P. They are easily in the same class with the Lapua or Norma. In fact a stock 338 RUM unmodified is in that class. The brass is substantially cheaper and does not need a 416 Rigby bolt face which is too large for most reasonably priced actions to accommodate.
The 33 Nosler is exactly in the middle of the 338 win mag and 338 lapua mag. Period. There’s no BS ing real shooters that shoot and research this subject. Smoking mirrors don’t work with informed shooters. It’s a great round but not the greatest. Nosler has done to the Nosler cartridges what Hornady has done to the Creedmoor…hyped it up beyond it’s actual potential.
The Nosler .33 is only faster than the 338LM with certain weights like the light weight 225gr. bullet. They are doing the same sort of misleading very careful marketing spin that you see with the 6.5CM and the 300 Win Mag comparisons. They are not lying they are just not representing the cartridges strengths and weaknesses accurately and they are doing it on purpose. They want the customer to fill in the blanks in a manner that is not accurate. Call it clever marketing, spin or a lie of omission? It is a great cartridge but it is not really what they are trying to make it sound like. The fact that it outperforms the 338WM in the same length action should be enough but they have a complex and need to try to sell it as real competition for the 338LM and Norma Magnum line and that is just not what it is. In this day and age why would anyone want to shoot a 225gr. bullet in a .338 bore? I can shoot that in a 30-06 and 196gr to 200gr in an 8mmx57 Mauser. If it is not at least 250gr. or heavier why bother going to .338 diameter? A 225gr. bullet in any .338 Magnum is as stupid as a 150gr. bullet in any .300 Magnum. If it does not do something significantly better or solve a problem it normally will not have staying power. If you ignore SAAMI look at what can be done with heavy loads in 300 Win Mag!!
I would expect the Nosler 30 @ 210g accubond is not a good enough reason to throw away even a.300wm. I love marketing & I’ve quickly realized what NOSLER is doing. They received pretty good feedback when comparing med game bullets just under the magnums. The 26 & 28 seem to have had fairly good success. However, the marketing is the cartridges by which they have designed to shoot best & then compare to basic shelf purchased ammo on your other rifles. NOSLER has proven a noticeable level of accuracy with there custom cartridge designs for the 26 & 28. And I believe in there excitement they reached to the stars but, the time tested & proven magnums are not @ all threatened. Build the 33 NOSLER to exceed either 338mag “by” 300fps/500fsp @ 800 yds & I’m all ears. Just as soon as it’s independently tested & verified.
I’m actually struggling to determine the next size up from my 270W bolt action. Was looking @ 308 but I believe only a specific condition with 2 types of cartridges & loads will I appreciate any difference. I have the .243W & 270W & 7mm. Looking @ 300wm/338’s/NOSLER 30/33.
NOSLER 30 is the front runner since I will not be going to Africa in the near future. Just want the option to use different grain say 210+ if needed yet 168gr cartridges to kill a white tail deer & a big elk with just a cartridge switch & not a chamber or carry two guns. Specifically, 750yd & carry the rifle, NOSLER 30 fits this space with my limited education. I keep coming back to .300 WM as next & just use NOSLER cartridges.
If I spend money to hunt @ 2,000 acreage ranch I want to just change out the cartridge & not carry two guns or two different barrels. What’s practical for my interests & why? Thanks much.
Is the 33 M48 a good all round rifle for places like Utah Alaska and Africa . Have and old rem mod 700 280 just do not think its enough what do think. Thanks Thomas Lee Cedar Hills Utah.
I would also suggest that if you already have a working and accurate 300WM like I do you look at 208gr, 220gr, 230gr, and 250gr VLD/ELD bullets. They are viable. Mark and Sam After Work on YouTube have demonstrated this at don’t quote me but something like 3600 meters. I think they were shooting a 250gr. out of a 300WM.
Depending on what rifle your conventional belted magnum is built on a throater may be all you need to make the switch to big heavy long ELD’s.
Let’s face it New Remington’s are scarce as hens teeth right now. Ruger and Savage have some of the shortest SA and LA especialy in the factory magazine space.
No one wants to hear what actions I use and why. It solves most of these issues on the cheap and what chamberings you want to make conversion almost a basement affair!
Their are also some European companies and custom action companies that make intermediate length actions. For what they want currently for bare Savage or Remington Actions $876 last I checked it is almost silly to buy one of those actions currently better off buying a rifle already chambered in what you want or go the custom route as of right now in Covid-19 price insanity! Also almost all of them were short action which I would never use for many of the problem child “short action” modern cartridges with or with out a magnum bolt face.
Absolutely no way would I pay $800+ for a bone stock Remington or Savage action than pay someone to convert it and buy the extra parts needed as well.
This whole COAL issue and short actions is not a secret.
If you want to run with the big dogs and shoot heavy ELDs and any future bullets just say no to short actions and custom builds. Unless you plan on shooting something very specific with no VLD/ELD choices like the 30BR an you know you will always be shooting the same light bullet for caliper you always want more action length than you need! This is to future proof your expensive custom machined, custom barreled rifle. So that 2-3 years latter when bullet makers dream up a new heavier longer bullet you have space to load it and shoot it. This way the most you need is to throat your existing barrel or rebarrel.
EDITOR: Yes use a long action for a long cartridge. But 95% of shooters, including most F-TR competitors, can get by with a short action. And the bolt travel will be shorter. Unless someone told us they were building an ELR Rifle or a Dangerous Game rifle, we would steer them to a short action. The poster is correct about price — you may be better off purchasing a complete Savage, Tikka, or Remington rather than paying a high price for a bare action.
So, where is the evidence/authority for requiring barrel set back for 338WM conversion to 33 Nosler? Thanks for any information. Great comments, thanks.
All three shot well out of the box. The Nosler was built with the intention of taking a beating. Reloading all with complete accuracy I I find the Nosler to feel tighter. Allan three can reach out there. Using the same variables for each the Nosler and Lapua are tight. After 300 rounds out of each the Nosler just feels right. It’s tight and I feel can take a beating.
I have a 338 Blaser Mag and due to ammo availability in Canada was considering to re chamber to a 33 Nosler. Blaser K95. It used the same 404 Jefferey case. The author never mentions the 338 Blaser Mag from Europe