I once had an 1886 Winchester in that caliber. I wasn't aware that Marlin ever chambered rifles for the round. Winchester offered it first in 1903, and dropped it with the 86 in 1936, when they came out with the Model 71 in 348 Winchester. The 33 is about the same as the 35 Remington insofar as power is concerned. And ballistics are similar
If memory serves, the factory ammo I got with the rifle chronographed around 2200fps with 200gr flat points.
I would love to find another one some day, or maybe a 71 in 348
Your rifle looks to have great potential, so enjoy tinkering with it. I suspect you will find it to be quite accurate.
David

 

Heat up the metal parts that has the varnish and try some bronze wool in getting it off. Bronze wool and oil for the rusty parts too.

 

Very Cool Rifle!!!! Congrats!!! :congrats:

Found this by chuck Hawks:

The .33 Winchester (.33 WCF)
By Chuck Hawks

In the year 1902 the Model 1886, the strongest of the Winchester lever action rifles, was adapted to a new smokeless powder medium bore cartridge called the .33 Winchester (or .33 WCF, for "Winchester Center Fire"). The famous Model 1886 was produced for many years, and is covered in my article "Winchester Medium Bore Lever Action Rifles." Winchester also offered the .33 WCF in the Model 1885 falling block rifle (still being produced in limited numbers), and Marlin chambered their original Model 1895 lever action for the cartridge.

The .33 Winchester was the first Winchester smokeless powder medium bore cartridge. Like most subsequent Winchester medium bore cartridges, it was a combination deer and elk cartridge. Today the .338x57 O'Connor wildcat fulfills a similar role, and offers somewhat higher performance.

For a time .33 Win. factory loads were offered by Winchester, Western, Remington and perhaps others, but it never became very popular. The Winchester factory load used a 200 grain soft point bullet at a MV of 2200 fps and ME of 2150 ft. lbs.

In 1936 the 1886 and the .33 WCF cartridge were replaced by the Model 71 rifle and the .348 Winchester cartridge. In 1940 .33 WCF factory loaded ammunition was discontinued by the major manufacturers and the cartridge became obsolete.

Today, a specialty ammunition manufacturer might be able to provide new .33 WCF cartridges. Stars and Stripes Custom Ammunition would be one potential source, as they seem to be able to supply practically anything a customer is willing to order, and in virgin brass. There is a link to Stars and Stripes on the Guns and Shooting Online Links Page.

The .33 WCF is based on a rimmed, bottleneck case with a 16 degree, 15 minute shoulder angle and plenty of body taper. The rim diameter is .610" and the overall case length is 2.105". Maximum cartridge overall length is given as 2.69". The .33 WCF used .338" diameter bullets, the same size used in today's .338 Magnums. This was a departure from the .333" bullets used by most British .33 caliber cartridges.

The Model 1886 in .33 Winchester was before my time, but around 1963, while out squirrel hunting, I met an old timer named Jack. Jack must have been in his late 70's at that time. He lived alone in a cabin in a remote wooded canyon. We became friendly acquaintances, as I hunted in the area of Jack's canyon on several occasions.
One day, knowing I was interested in guns, Jack showed me his hunting rifle. It was a Winchester Model 1886 in .33 Winchester, the first and only time I have encountered an original M-1886 still in use.

Jack kept his .33 loaded at all times, but admitted that he was low on ammunition and having trouble finding more. (By that time .33 WCF ammo had been discontinued for over 20 years.) A year or two later I happened to spot a somewhat faded box of brand new .33 Winchester cartridges on the shelf in a small country store, and I immediately thought of Jack. That was the only new box of .33 Win. cartridges I have ever seen.

Reloading data is still available, and .33 WCF cases can be made from .45-70 brass.

According to the sixth edition of the Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading the .33 Win. can drive a 200 grain Flat Point bullet (SD .250) in front of a starting load of 35.1 grains of H4895 powder at a muzzle velocity (MV) of 1700 fps. A maximum load of 45.1 grains of H4895 will drive the same bullet to a MV of 2200 fps, the same as the old factory loads. At the latter velocity the trajectory should look like this: +2" at 100 yards, 0 at 150 yards, and -5.2" at 200 yards. These Hornady loads were developed using Remington cases and WLR primers and were tested in a Winchester Model 1886 rifle.

Unfortunately, production of the 200 grain Hornady Flat Point bullet, the only jacketed bullet suitable for the .33 Winchester of which I am aware, was discontinued around 2002. When existing stocks are exhausted .33 WCF owners will presumably be forced to cast lead bullets if they wish to keep shooting their rifles. The .33 WCF seems to be a "candle in the wind," soon to be found only in collections.

Note:This article is mirrored on the Rifle Cartridges page.

 

Nice find! Congrats! I'm with you on removal of the varnish, if possible, but I'm sure you know to try VERY HARD to NOT disturb the original "patina". You definitely don't want to scrub too hard on wood or metal....you don't want to remove any of either. Getting varnish off the metal with acetone wouldn't harm the metal underneath, but it might be a bit touchier on the wood.

They are only original once. Have fun!

 

Congrats on a nice find!! I wouldn't use chemicals to remove the finish on the wood. I had a 1895 45-90 with the same problem. I used 0000 steel wool and fine polish and took my time over a few days and got it down to the original finish that wasn't removed, the new finish was applied right over it. It looked much better! You can get a replacement butt plate on EBay for about 15.00. I also have a 95 33 and Winchester 86, A fine caliber!!! I would say it was made in 1911-13.The 33 was first offered in 1911 or 12.What kind of front sight does it have? a ramp or dovetail

 

Hey, I found some buttplates with the same pattern, but hole spacing looks different. I'll have to measure them up...may still work, just require a new screw hole. The front sight is a dovetail sight, lots of taper to the barrel. Definitely your bog-standard 1895 lightweight, looking at the Brophy book.

One thing I just noticed, it states in the book they had a "varnish finish" - can anyone show me what a 100% original finish stock should like like on a gun like this?

 

Very nice rifle, congrats!

 

Very nice find, congratulations. She'll clean up real good!

 

Cool gun in a great old caliber. Hope you can find or reload ammo for it. That classic begs to go hunting in the mountains.

 

I'm definitely going to go easy on removing that old varnish. It looks like the same stuff that was on my A-5, and it came off real easy. I might try a little heat and see if it scrapes off cleanly, then clean up whatever is remaining with some thinner. The patina on the metal is beautiful, and the bluing is really good still on the barrel. The case colour on the receiver doesn't show up in the pics, but its really nice in person. My wife is a great photographer, so once she's all cleaned up, I'll treat you all to some nice pictures, since you've been so helpful with this rifle!

As for shooting it, I'm thinking more and more about going that route. I found a guy in town who has some gear for reloading .33, so I'm hoping he can help me out with getting started. I'd assume ballistics should be similar to my .35 Rem? That rifle has never let me down, although lately I've had that dirty Winchester Model 70 bug. I live in big deer and moose country, up in Thunder Bay, Ontario - so you can guarantee this rifle will see some bush.

 

nice, just needs a little love!

 

If you decide to reload for it I have 300 200 grain discontinued Hornady bullets for it.

 

Here's one

 

Here's a 1893 from same time

 

Yea, that finish to me looks like a built up linseed oil finish. I have a friend who is a violin maker, I'll consult his expertise. He uses the same type of finishes they would have had in that period.

 

Jeez,what a rare 1895 you have there,Congrats on your find!!!:top:

 

Congrats on that wonderful gun, I was at a gun show and a guy had a1895 & model 71 the 71 was in great shape, the 1895 was rough, so the 71 came home with me, I still think about that 1895 !!!!!

 

What a great find! Congrats to you on that one, I would sure take Bryan up on his offer of the 300 bullets, if you can get them across the border. Kudos to you Brian! DP

 

Nice old gun in an interesting caliber. Must have been a fairly common practice to coat a gun in varnish. I have seen quite a few that were done years ago.