Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Your opinion please : 9.3x62 Mauser vs Lion

Is the 9.3x62 Mauser a good ammo for lions, enough efficient ?

I have no doubt that a 9.3x62 will settle a lion's hash. The question is, how quickly?

IMO, a frangible bullet (i.e., a CoreLokt or Partition at 2,500+) would be a good choice.

Cats are susceptible to shock. A bit more velocity with a "soft" bullet is more prone to success on a first shot.

In a 9.3x62, a 250 grain cup and core might give you a better result on a first shot than a 286 at 200 fps less.

My personal experience, it should be known, is limited to one lion. It was well hit, but a 400 grain A-Frame out of a .416 Rigby showed no immediate effect. MV was 2,262 fps and the bullet just zipped through. The followup, in the dark, was shall we say, exciting. I don't care to do it again.

If I were to shoot another, I would opt for a .375 with a 270 grain Partition or CoreLokt (or something similar).

For the followup, a well fitted, fast handling double. Definitely.

My friend is over there now, and just took his Lion with a 404 Jeffery. I'm sure a 9,3 would do the deed, but I wouldn't take a chance given the hunt & trophy fee for a Lion. ...416 Rigby for me, with 400gr Swift A-Frames.

You pay your money and you take your chance. Happy trails!

Just fine if you shoot well. I would use Norma ammo with the Oryx bullet.
First choice.

I have no doubt the 9.3x62 with bonded soft like a NorthFork would do the job. The question is does it meet the minimum caliber requirement for where you will be hunting?

Have a PH friend who has a passion for hunting big cats. He's been doing this for decades, and when I last spoke to him about the rimmed and rimless 9.3, he had nothing bad to say. But what he would personally choose to use, may not be what he would either recommend or require of his client.

I'd suggest discussing this with the PH for the particular hunt. That will carry more weight than what opinion those not involved may have.

yes.

Also remember that some countries require a .375 bore size and 4,000 fpe when hunting DG.

I don't know the answer, I've only been to Africa once and it was for plains game. My Ruger African in 9.3x62 shoots 250 Nosler Accubonds into tight little groups at 2650 fps using RL 15. I bet those 286 grain Nosler Partitions would do well on Leo. Good luck!

As some have pointed out here, some countries have a .375 caliber minimum for dangerous game. However, if it's legal to use where you'll be hunting, the 9.3x62mm Mauser is a great choice. If you can find them, the 258gr RWS H-Mantel bullets for the 9.3 are an absolutely perfect choice for lion. They combine a perfect mix of rapid fragmentation with deep penetration. As an added bonus, they are designed to make clean, circular entrance and exit wounds that bleed freely, but do not ruin the hide.
http://thebiggamehuntingblog.com/2014/08/rws-h-mantel/

Lions only weigh about 450 pounds. A .300 magnum is legal for lion in Zimbabwe. I wanted to use one but my PH recommended a .375 instead. I shot the lion with a .300 grain soft point, through the heart with a large exit hole and a broken elbow on the way out. The lion roared, ran about 50 yards, and died.

A 30-06 would have had the same effect.

A 9.3 will do just fine.

Jim Carmichael liked and used a 338WM for lion.

I have found that higher velocity has a definite visual effect on Lion. Velocity and a 9.3 hardly goes together in the same sentence. Will it work, absolutely, and some. I would stick to a soft bullet with rapid expansion.
Would the 9.3 be my first choice, certainly not, but that is simply because I think there are much better choices out there for a cat.
What are the possibilities of shooting a lighter projectile in this 9.3?

Oh, and I'm off to hunt a late season Lion next week...

I have to agree with Marius.
The visual effect of velocity on the cats is impressive.
I have had clients shoot cats this year with 500 Nitro, 375 H&H , 300 win mag, 458 Win Mag, 270 WSM and 470 NE.

By far the most impressive result was with the 270 WSM using Barnes X at close to 4000fps. When I say that the cats died where they stood, they literally collapsed.

That said, having used a 375 pushing a 200gr bullet at 3050fps that also killed them good and propper.

One thing I always tell my hunters is to please use a good bullet that is able to break bone. Dont shoot the cat with some [bleep] bullet to get expansion. If you dont penetrate vitals and break bone then you better hope you hit CNS.

All told, my favorite bullet for cats this year has been Bares with Swift A Frames running a close second.

Most importantly, dont try and use a gun that you are unsure of. A good first shot is the most important part of the whole hunt. So good optics and low recoil trump big caliber and massive recoil.

Cats are not hard to kill, but dont stuff up, because they are hard to kill once they know who has hurt them.

Good luck with your hunt
Ian

Ian,

When you talk about the effect on "cats," are you making any distinction between lions and leopards?

I have read that some experienced PHs consider a .243 adequate for leopard but my PH (who turned out to be very knowledgeable about various cartridges, unlike some PHs) very definitely wanted me to use a .375 H&H on lion.

250gr Swift Aframe at 2700+ (RL17 will get you more than that) all day, every day, and twice on Sunday.

Yes.

Ive heard this said on forums for some yrs, so how does this shock theory work?

Animals will only stop and die from a projectile after it causes either;
1./ physical trauma resulting in extreme low blood pressure or, 2./ physical trauma to the central nervous system.

I've heard from a PH I respect that it is his favorite round for Lion. Typically, hear .375 with a softer bullet. I would not worry about a 9.3x62 - all about the right spot.