The .333 Jeffery and .333 Jeffery Flanged are medium-bore rifle cartridges developed by W. J. Jeffery & Co. and introduced in 1908.

Design

The .333 Jeffery and the .333 Jeffery Flanged are both bottlenecked

centerfire Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center A center-fire (or centerfire) is a type of metallic cartridge used in firearms, where the primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i. ...

rifle cartridges. Originally both cartridges were released with two factory loads, one with a bullet of and the other with a bullet of .

.333 Jeffery

The .333 Jeffery, also known as the .333 Jeffery Rimless Nitro Express or as the .333 Rimless Nitro Express, is a rimless cartridge intended for use in magazine rifles. It is derived from the .404 Jeffery and can be used in both standard and magnum-length

Mauser 98 The Gewehr 98 (abbreviated ''G98'', Gew 98, or ''M98'') is a bolt-action rifle made by Mauser for the German Empire as its service rifle from 1898 to 1935. The Gewehr 98 action, using a 5-round stripper clip loaded with the 7.92×57mm Mauser ...

actions. It fires the 250-grain bullet at and the 300-grain bullet at .

.333 Jeffery Flanged

The .333 Jeffery Flanged or .333 Flanged Nitro Express is the

rimmed A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped, or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. Thus, rimmed cartridges are sometimes called "flanged" cartridges. Almost all cartridges feature an extractor or headspaci ...

version of the .333 Jeffery, intended for use in single-shot and

double rifle The double rifle, also known as a double-barreled rifle, is a rifle with two barrels mounted parallel to each other that can be fired simultaneously or sequentially in quick succession. Synonymous with big game hunting found primarily in Africa an ...

s. It is loaded to slightly lower velocities than the rimless .333 Jeffery, firing the 250-grain bullet at and the 300-grain bullet at .

History

Upon its introduction in 1908, the .333 Jeffery firing the 300 grain bullet quickly developed an excellent reputation due to the very high

sectional density Sectional density (often abbreviated SD) is the ratio of an object's mass to its cross sectional area with respect to a given axis. It conveys how well an object's mass is distributed (by its shape) to overcome resistance along that axis. Secti ...

and exceptional penetration of the round. Unfortunately the original 250 grain bullet was a copper-capped hollowpoint that was too fragile to be fired at 2,500 feet per second, making it unpopular and marring the .333 Jeffery's reputation for some time. The .333 Jeffery Flanged never enjoyed the popularity of its rimless counterpart, this has been attributed to Jeffery's initial reluctance to regulate double rifles in this round for the 300 grain loading. The .333 Jeffery was somewhat overshadowed by the arrival of the .375 Holland & Holland in 1912. As with many British proprietary cartridges, the .333 Jeffery was forced into obsolescence when

Kynoch Kynoch was a manufacturer of ammunition that was later incorporated into ICI, but remained as a brand name for sporting cartridges. History The firm of Pursall and Phillips operated a 'percussion cap manufactory' at Whittall Street, in Birmin ...

suspended ammunition manufacturing in the 1960s, Kynamco resumed manufacture of the Kynoch range of cartridges in the 1990s meaning the ammunition is again commercially available, although no firearms manufacturers make factory rifles in .333 Jeffery today.

Use

The .333 Jeffery was not intended for dangerous game; however, due to the excellent penetration of the 300-grain round, it has been used successfully on all

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n game species up to and including

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

. In his ''African Rifles and Cartridges'',

John "Pondoro" Taylor John Howard "Pondoro" Taylor (1904–1969) was a big-game hunter and ivory poacher of Irish descent. Born in Dublin as the son of a surgeon he developed an urge to go to Africa and become a professional hunter. Taylor mainly hunted for his own ac ...

wrote of the .333 Jeffery, "Time and again have I driven it the length of an animal's body, and cut the perfectly mushroomed bullet out of his hindquarters. I have never had one break up."

Sir Alfred Sharpe Sir Alfred Sharpe (19 May 1853 – 10 December 1935) was Commissioner and Consul-General for the British Central Africa Protectorate and first Governor of Nyasaland. He trained as a solicitor but was in turn a planter and a professional hunt ...

used a bolt-actioned .333 Jeffery rifle extensively for hunting in Africa, using it to hunt elephant and other game. The cartridge was very similar in performance to the .318 Westley Richards. The .280 Jeffery was created by W. J. Jeffery & Co. by necking down the .333 Jeffery to .

WWI service

In 1914 and early 1915, German

snipers A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

were engaging

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

positions with impunity from behind steel plates that were impervious to .303 British ball ammunition. In an attempt to counter this threat, the British

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

purchased a number of larger calibre sporting rifles from British rifle makers, including .333 Jeffery rifles. In his ''Sniping in France 1914-18'', MAJ H. Hesketh-Prichard, DSO, MC, stated "I proceeded to try on these plates all kinds of rifles, from Jeffery's high velocity .333 to heavy elephant guns of various bores, and was delighted to find the bullets from the .333, as well as the elephant guns, pierced them like butter."

References

External links

Cartridgecollector, ".333 Jeffery Flanged", ''cartridgecollector.net''
retrieved 12 February 2017.
Cartridgecollector, ".333 Jeffery Rimless NE", ''cartridgecollector.net''
retrieved 12 February 2017.

, retrieved 7 November 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:333 British firearm cartridges Military cartridges Pistol and rifle cartridges W. J. Jeffery & Co. cartridges