Hawk Bullets

[33wcfshooter]

Has anyone tried the bullets by Hawk? If so what do you think of them. I'm thinking of trying them in my 33 wcf but can't find out much about them. Thank you for any information it is greatly appreciated.

[Kansas Ed]

I love them, but they are a lot pricey for everyday plinking. The other thing is that you will need to specify a cannelure location when you order. I cannelure my own, so no issue.

I would recommend the .025 jacket thickness for deer sized game, and for elk and moose .035.

Using the .405 Winchester my brother shot a deer at about 50 yds with the .035 jacket and a 300 gr RN bullet. Deer just stood there looking at us, took a couple of wobbly steps and then fell. .411 diameter hole clean through.

The next year I shot a buck at about 60 yds with the same load, but using the .025 jacket. It slung the buck sideways in the air and he hit the ground right now. Never even twitched and ear. .411 hole in, and about a 2" hole out. Blood shot meat confined to the immediate area around the exit hole.

Ed

[KWK]

From what I've read over the years, they are fine so long as you keep the fps moderate, say below 2300 fps.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

From what I've read over the years, they are fine so long as you keep the fps moderate, say below 2300 fps.

Is this due to the soft copper jackets?

[2ndovc]

I'm going to order some and try them out. Finding .33 WCF bullets is difficult at best. I didn't know anyone was making any since Hornady discontinued theirs.

jb

[71fan]

I have 40 rounds of 33 wcf loaded by Gad Custom using the 200 gr Hawks but I haven't shot them yet. One comment is that the meplat on these bullets is fairly large making the bullets look different than most jacketed bullets. They are almost cylinder shaped, having a very shallow ogive. To be honest, I haven't even tried to chamber one yet and I hope there isn't a free bore problem. I'll have to check when I get home tonight.

I've not heard anything bad about Hawk bullets, and in fact they do have a good reputation. Anyway, it is fairly irrelevent since they are the ONLY option for jacketed bullets now.

[71fan]

The Hawk bullets chamber in my 33 just fine. I may have issues with my brass but that's another topic. I smoked a few rounds and didn't see any traces of rifling contact. Here are a few pics of the Hawk 200gr in reformed 45-70 brass, loaded by Gad Custom. As stated before, I haven't shot these yet so I can't comment on quality.

[2ndovc]

Cool,


Thanks for checking.
I wanted to order some and didn't want to end up
with a couple boxes that wouldn't work right.



jb

[Larry O]

I still have several boxes of the Hornady bullets but to save them I use both the Rapine and the RCBS gas check molds and have never had any problems with them as I cast hard. My .33 is a takedown that was made in 1908 and is still in about 85-90% condition and the bore is almost mint so that helps too. Since original .33 brass is now so darn spendy to get, I use 45-70 brass and it works great. I now have the Hawk co. on my nice list and will no doubt get a couple of boxes.

[KWK]

Is this due to the soft copper jackets?

Sorry Rimfire, I hadn't followed this thread.

One comment I recorded in my notebook sums it up: "Hawk bullets are definitely soft and not designed to give maximum penetration. If you call and talk to the owner, he will be very candid about it and tell you that. It is very old technology and the old ways of choosing bullets should apply-i.e. going with heavy-for-caliber bullets at modest velocities."

I also have noted comments about quality control, with regard to exact bullet diameter, but that could well be under control.

While one old outfitter really dislikes them, some of the African big bore guys have praised the bullets.

Again, my interpretation is they are adequate if you keep the fps down, and they make a surprising range of diameters for many old guns.