33XC Hunting Rifle By Johann Fanzoj

The birth of a prodigy.

The birth of the 33XC Fanzoj hunting rifle came about a year ago. Last January, I was heading to Ferlach, Austria as a result of a unique 338 Lapua rifle project I was invited to see. Nestled in the mountains, this small Austrian alpine village has been making luxury handmade rifles for 300 plus years for very discerning and distinguished patrons. I was super excited to be heading there to learn more about some of the oldest rifle builders, techniques and tools used to make the ultimate rifles.

Above all meet people that have dedicated their lives to rifle making, bespoke manufacturers whose purpose in life is to build some of the wildest ideas that people dream of. I found that job description amazing. From a business perspective, how they managed to keep this going for 3 centuries is incredible.

During 2024, I crossed paths with some of the best rifle shooters, spotters, rifle makers, scope makers, tool makers and spoke to some distinguished patrons that fund some world class rifle projects. Rifletalks.com brings together a specific niche of audience that is truly passionate about this topic. We also witnessed some superb 33XC shooting at 2000m at Extreme Shot Italia IV which consolidated the role of the 33XC cartridge even further as an ultra performance F1 rifle round. What do we have in common with the hunting scene? We both seek to achieve a perfect cold bore shot and are willing to go to lengths to make it happen.

What I saw in Austria however took that chapter another level altogether. The patrons that walk into this bespoke rifle builder want to accomplish more. In my eyes they want the precision we seek in ELR when taking a cold bore shot, with the beauty you would associate with a Ferrari and they want a one-off item only.  They are educated individuals with a deep appreciation for fine rifles, a fascination for precision, a craving for unique pieces of art and a love for hunting firearms with wild dreams in their minds that need to be delivered for them to be satisfied.

It’s all about the details. The three-dimensional snow leopard’s head on the forend is made of solid 18K white gold, 250 grams of it while blue sapphires line the contour around the neck as well as the eye sockets preserving that stone cold glare.

Most of the rifle projects I come across monthly are performance rifles, rifles meant to perform in strings of intense competition, a different mix with a common love for high performance and the delivery of a perfect shot.

Johann Fanzoj has struck me above all others I have dealt with. I first bumped into this unique 9 generation firm, through a 338LM long range rifle project that a Eurasian hunter had dreamed about. Most rifles I have seen this year were competition oriented rifles and at Extreme Shot Italia, we saw over 70 fine species of highly tuned long range rifles and ammo combinations from all around the world, many in this same cartridge, the 33XC.

Over 160 teams of precision long range rifles will head to Sicily for ESI 2025 bringing one of the largest gatherings in ELR. Speaking to so many shooters has enriched our understanding of what makes very precise rifles. These guys on the other hand understand high end rifle making, a unique fusion that can place ideas to metal and bring dreams to reality.

33XC Fanzoj hunting rifle – Another breed of hunter

Another selected breed of hunters today want the precision that can be obtained in these match rifles using the same high quality match components but there is an additional level to this segment of the rifle industry. A client that above all wants extraordinary attention, beauty and precision, art and high performance, amalgamated in a perfect piece that spells master craftsmanship.

This craftsmanship needs to be coupled with precision gunsmithing we normally associate with Alamo gunsmithing in the US or Pete Walker in UK or Harry Drescher in Europe or Mik for his Fclass builds or Andrea Santa Croce in Italy for the perfect bedding job.

Here’s what the rifle looked like the first time I saw it being put together ahead of the first test firing.

However none of these highly skilled rifle builders and machinists can make you a rifle with the same intricate artistic qualities and precious materials that Johann Fanzoj has access to as well as the knowledge and commitment to actually make it happen. Their access to exclusive materials and stones with an inhouse stock of prestigious woods collected over the last 3 decades and kept in the perfect environmental conditions like you would do with a bottle of Petrus distinguishes them and the people they work for. Bringing all the fine elements together is what Johann Fanzoj is doing these days among other projects they are expanding to. More over, they are willing to listen and ask questions for hours before embarking on a project. Time that most rifle builders will never be able to justify. 

Johann Fanzoj consult and seek the knowledge of individuals in these high performance scenes to then incorporate that in the high end works they are so famous for, bridging two worlds that have not held hands in the past.

This coming together is indeed as beautiful as it is contrasting. Seeing these projects come together has been a real treat for me unlike any other.

We are humbled to be involved in these projects connecting people in the industry with others that can help bring to fruition these wild creations.

33XC High End Hunting Rifle by Johann Fanzoj

Here are some specs 67,5cm (26,5inch) barrel;

Rifle weight: 6,1kg / 13,5lbs

Total weight 7,5 kg/16,5 lbs including a ZC Zero Compromise scope.

It is nothing new that hunters have chased and fueled demands for wildcat cartridges that can accomplish more in one shot, closing the gap between wind drift and drop to ensure a more successful hunt. Ultimately if you don’t manage to connect with that one shot, you may never get that chance again in the wilderness. With more hunters heading to far flung destinations in search of elusive game, the desire to own ever more performing calibers has increased exponentially. The challenge still requires superb shooting skills. As we have seen at Extreme Shot Italia, less than 28% of shooters can make a 1st round cold bore shot at a 15cm target at 570m in competition conditions and about 48% can make it on their second shot.

My experience in Ferlach brought with it more surprises. Patrick Fanzoj, Daniela’s brother whose role is to see these unique pieces come to life mentioned that he wanted me to help out with a 33XC build. The details were sketchy at the time of our first conversation but he had inquired about a practical length in which it would be possible to run a 33XC single shot break barrel hunting rifle, known as Kipplauf in this part of the world. Patrick had an order from a new client who wanted the superb performance of the 33XC as witnessed in competition, in a hunting weight rifle. It has the added benefit of being packed away in a small package as Ammon Ammon had done with his 338 Lapua Magnum.

With a Kipplauf 33XC hunting rifle, you can remove the barreled action from the hinges that hold it in place and pack away the stock and the barrel in back pack.

The scope would remain on the action so no change in zero occurs. In the footage below filmed on the 338 Lapua Magnum version, you can see Ammon Ammon assembling it in the field from his backpack.

The simplicity and precision in the working parts is a beautiful example of perfect workmanship. The video below shows exactly that moment of assembly.

338 Lapua Magnum vs 33XC cartridge

How much difference is there really between a 338 Lapua magnum and 33XC? This is a very popular question and its increasingly being asked by hunters and high performance match shooters.

338 LM for matches typically have a 32″ barrel while stock military ones are 27″. 33XC barrels are typically 33″ long with some also going to 36″.

With a stock 338LM you will be driving 300gr bullets at about 2700-2900ft/s with retumbo or N570 powders. With very long 36″ 1.8 like Roberto Buccolo uses from Windcut Bullets, you can get 3000ft/s running solid monolithic bullets.

Here’s what a well tuned, long barreled 338LM can do in a match for your to get a feel what we’re talking about driven by an expert shooter and spotter during Extreme Shot Italia IV, 500m-2000m match in Sicily.

With a 33XC from a 33″ barrel 1.9, you can easily do 3200ft/s and 3300ft/s if you push it past 115gr. So in practice a 33XC will give you somewhere around 330ft/s or 100m/s more than a 338 Lapua. In practice what this translates to is a flatter shooting round, an increase in supersonic flight distance, a heavier hitting round and larger splash when you miss. Impacts on steel are also more pronounced producing a nice flat 1.5 inch grey splatter, very visible through a good spotter.

Fanzoj’s 33XC client wanted a 26″ barrel to be more portable. This meant that there wasn’t much data out there because match shooters would never run such a short barrel. The Kipplauf rifle does not have a traditional action since the cartridge is inserted into the chamber right away much like you would do with a Ruger no1 rifle. This means you save an additional 6-8 inches which you can add in barrel length or just keep it short. The client also wanted a large muzzle break on this rifle build to tone down the 110grains + of N570. By all means, a tall order, luxury hunting rifle providing match precision in a high performing 33XC cartridge pushing 300gr bullets. In the end the client pushed the system even further with a load of 113 and 114 grains.

Now checkout what a 33XC cartridge can do at 2000m in the footage below.

Why do we show you a match when showing you a 33XC hunting rifle?

The 33XC cartridge was born as a match cartridge by David Tubb, a long time high power rifle US champion that over the years also gravitated into ELR with a philosophy of creating a rifle platform and cartridge that can be shot from a 338LM bolt face and enabling the shooter to shoot it from an easy to carry, shoulder-fired rifle that is easily packable and tactical. The cartridge picked up like wild fire. Other siblings of the cartridge include the 37XC and 41 XC which use the same parent case.

To appreciate what it can do, you must see this footage of the 33XC performance during ESI 2024 at 1860m and 2000m.

Rifletalks.com was among the first to adopt the cartridge in Europe a few years back with the help of solid solution designs in the Netherlands. Harry from SSD joined us in Ferlach to see the project coming together. He provided some of the components for this 33XC project. Ady Newberry from the UK also travelled to see and try this hunting rifle. Ady is a former Accuracy International employee and is of great help in bringing insights and experience. He runs his own company today called AN Precision Ltd UK. We met him in person at IWA in 2024 and it was great to learn of his training experiences.

Why does a Fanzoj 33XC like this appeal to hunters?

Firstly, because you can. Like any custom project, your desire trumps everything else and is sufficient a reason to go ahead with it. It’s a one off item created to your spec and no one else has one like it.

Ballistically, even in a 26″ barrel, the 33XC allowed 908m/s or 2979feet/s, velocities typically achieved in 338 LM in a 34″ barrel. That is big deal. Wait till you see it’s performance. I wasn’t sure that was achievable in such a ‘short’ barrel. If it were mine, I would have probably done 29″ given that this rifle saves you the length of the action which you can put into the barrel but as you can see, even a 33XC shorty does magic. A number of muzzle brakes were ready to test to find the best possible combination of weight, size as well as performance. Harry is seen below discussing this unique rifle build from his experience building 33XC rifles for long range shooting with Patrick Fanzoj.

33XC hunting ballistics.

At 300m this bullet drops 9″, even without dialing in, you can basically hold on your game animal’s spine to deliver a heart shot.

At 400m it drops 22″ or just 5 MOA with just 7″ of drift in 10 mph wind. I would dial this shot into my scopes elevation turret.

At 500m you got 42″ of drop or 7.5 MOA with just 11″ / 2MOA of drift in a 10mph wind.

Based on what I’ve seen in competitions on 2 MOA plates, I wouldn’t feel comfortable seeing most shoot further than that, because my match statistics show me they miss.

Anyhow that’s for you to decide what you can do with it.

33XC hunting load development

We were involved with this rifle’s load development process from day 1. Me and Harry sat in the reloading room adjacent to Fanzoj’s indoor rifle range preparing rifle ammo for it.

Harry Drescher seen above being given a tour of the facilities of Johann Fanzoj by Daniela.

We had put together a few 300 A-tips and 300 Bergers aside to test fire the rifle with using Peterson brass and VV N570. We both didn’t know what to expect and I was dying to see the flash produced by those 110+ grains of N570 in a shortie.

I really wanted to see how this would kick given my rifles weigh 12kgs and this weighed about half as much. We loaded a few at 110gr just 0.020 off the lands to start with. It would give us an idea of velocity, recoil and rifle dynamics.

Patrick gave me a 470 Nitro Express to fire at their indoor range, he assured me that if I could handle that, I would find the 33XC to be quite a soft shooter.

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The first batch of ammo was ready for testing. We started out low as we wanted to see if it would present any pressure and how the action would handle it.

Patrick assured me this action design is a very sturdy one and can take high pressure. The initial results looked very promising with one load on the right hand side showing 3 shots touching that I was sure could be improved either by loading in smaller grain increments or changing seating depths. This load at 107.7 gr produced 904m/s or 2965ft/s. I suggested more working may need to be done moving away from the lands to find a tighter node.

 

The 33XC cartridge was easy to remove from the action. I was pleasantly surprised as I know some rifles require more primary extraction to extract a round than others and without a conventional bolt action, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

The rifle kept making head way requiring not only the shooting performance but also the finishing qualities that this brand is expected to produce. Keep in mind that with a kipplauf rifle, you have to break open the rifle to load your next round. That means you do loose the sight picture and your position may change slightly from shot to shot. Unlike ELR shooting where your rifle barely moves and you cycle rounds manually working your bolt, here you move your entire body. Nonetheless the pedigree was there and the cartridge had already shown its potential and colors.

Fanzoj’s range infrastructure indoors allows you to run these tests in all tranquility at any time of the day. Absolutely top notch and it’s heated too

More 33XC hunting load testing

Editor’s Note: One of the distances I really like to test my rifles is at 500 or 600m. It enables me to learn more about the vertical dispersion of my loads. Here you can see a group sent in by Fanzoj’s customer himself after further load testing they did showing results with 300gr Berger OTM at 114gr of N570. We had not gone so far up with the load. He reached 920m/s or 3018 feet/s.

That is as good as I could wish for my precision match rifle to shoot. Indeed at this performance and beauty, Fanzoj has pulled off another challenge, learned new lesson and pushed the boundary for another client.

 

More about the Fanzojs

People like Patrick and Daniela Fanzoj keep pushing the limit in what is possible with traditional craftsmanship in a line of work often not sufficiently understood or exposed. We augur that with this article, we manage to shed more light into this world of high end rifle making and reveal what the possibilities are for those that dare to dream and reach out to those experts, whose mission in life is to make it happen. Thank you for opening your doors and providing a glimpse into this fascinating world and projects you get to work on.