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

I suppose it knocks them loopy long enough for 1./ to happen.

Lions do not have thick hides or large bones like a Cape buffalo. Bullets that are good enough for a large Canadian mule deer are all that is needed for a lion. A-frames or triple shocks are too sturdy for a lightly framed like a lion. A Speer 270 grain Hot-Cor probably will not open up on a broad side shot on a large lion.

Poor shooting is the biggest reason for bullet and\or caliber failures. Deer bullets are more than adequate for cats. That is lions or leopards.

Ill add that to the crazy list along side the theory of cartridge 'knock-down' power.

I LOVE the H-mantle in this caliber! The terminal performance is astounding. While I have not taken lion with them, I intended to do so on my last Zambia trip. I did take cape buff, leopard, sable, zebra and other with that combo.
I have no doubt that it would prove very effective.

Pardon me, but cats are sure as hell susceptible to velocity. For one, all one has to do is actually talk with myriad PHs who attest to this, or just watch the overwhelming evidence in hunting films. As to the OP, Hatari, with extensive experience with the 9.3, pretty well covered it.

BS TSX, TTSX Bullets open fast and easily, I shot too many to believe otherwise. At 300 yards a 30 180 grain TSX threw a Praire dog 4 to 5 feet in the air with 6 feet of intestines streaming.

Nobody has yet sensibly & rationally explained how the whole 'shock' effect theory works and your suggestion to simply watch
videos doesn't explain it either. A person could also watch videos of aircraft but still remain ignorant of the principles of flight.
hence why the P.O.F are explained to pilots.

What exactly is being shocked in the animal and how does the whole process work?

I am not aware of any proven effect in killing outside of physical trauma causing blood loss or destruction to the CNS.

Thanks for the tip on P.O.F. Regarding cats,there are myriad books out there explaining this, linked to their central nervous system. The evidence is there, not to mention as related by PHs who've witnessed many cat kills.

Ummm.what grain bullet? It's likely closer to 3200 fps if driving a 130 gr bullet. I'd not go lower in weight for cats albeit an 85-90 gr. copper bullet is impressive on Pronghorn Antelope and would be a good choice for some African plains game.

Fully agree. There is no doubt that high velocity has an extraordinary effect on cats.Their CNS does not seem to be able to cope with the effect from high velocity rounds.

A Myriad..really?.....but you haven't named any at all which makes me wonder.
Are they proper scientific-anatomical based conclusive studies , or just hunting publications sprouting loose theories?
So which particular book do you recommend?



Again, amateur hunting videos are not scientific proof of CNS shock theory ,and neither is ordinary human observation
and conjecture.

The only way game dies from the effects of a projectile, is through physical destruction causing blood loss
or physical destruction to the CNS. Animals being shocked to death sounds very much like a wild theory that
regular people have perpetuated out of convenience. I have never seen anyone ever present on the net any
scientific -anatomical based conclusive study that supports the claim they have made about shock theory.

I'm more a guy that believes in experience, and not what you read from a book. To me, an employee with no college degree, that has been doing a job for 20years is worth a lot more than some college graduate fresh out of college with all the right papers but no experience.
What I'm trying to say is, listen to what has been observed through our own eyes rather than what some book says.









Its called the temporary wound channel, where the size of the temporary cavity, is affected directly by the velocity of the projectile.
"Hydrostatic shock transfer refers to the effect when shock waves travel through flesh to distant nerve centers, disrupting their ability to emit electrical impulses."

The effect of Hydrostatic shock from high velocity rounds are evident in all animals, not just cats, but saying this, the cats are certainly most affected. I have seen these affects even on Cape Buffalo. I can clearly see the difference of the effects on Cape Buffalo being shot with a 200gr projectile from a .375H&H traveling at 3200fps, as compared to a 600gr fired from a .505 Gibbs, traveling at 2250fps. Now, I'm not comparing the calibers at all,and their killing abilities, merely the visual effects I have observed between fast and slower rounds on practical examples, where I feel situations were equal. (i.e. state of the animal, shot placement etc) The faster round puts them down faster, no doubt. This is from a single shot to a relaxed animal.I'm not even referring to a few feet difference, but a on average, the bulls taken with the lighter, faster projectile traveled between 10-15yds. before collapsing, compared to 50-70yds with the bigger calibers. I would say I have had a sample size of 5 Buffalo bulls to compare results on, so by no means enough to write a dissertation, but enough proof to myself that there certainly is a difference in effects where hydrostatic shock comes into play.
Cats are notorious for having a much more sensitive nervous system as compared to a brute of a Buffalo bull.

Pretty much what my PH said too.

The ultimate cause of all death is anoxia to the brain. Brain doesn't get oxygen you die- from direct penetrating injury or from lack of blood (heart attack/stroke in humans; broken neck -> diaphragm no workie), etc.

In animals if you want to stop an animal in its tracks- you knock out the CNS ie brain and spinal cord.

The CNS and blood vessels are also susceptible to indirect penetrating injury (shock).

CNS- we've all had direct blows and felt numbness in our limbs, concussions, etc. These can also get injured from shock, these get edematous (swollen) from the insult and then stop working.

Similarly blood vessels (the smaller) get injured through shock (just read a thread on bullet types and my bullet does less meat damage BS). You've heard of people dying and getting strokes from a chiropractor (though a different mechanism of injury) it is still indirect non penetrating trauma. The neck is snapped, the inside wall of the blood vessel detaches and occludes the carotid artery -> no blood to brain (no O2) stroke.

Nothing kills like direct penetrating trauma. However, indirect trauma through "shock" can cause just as devastating injury when appropriately located.

Location, location, location

That is obvious...

Don Heath lion article with comments on 9.3-
https://www.norma.cc/sv/Jakt-Skytteliv/Om-Jakt/Jaga-pa-afrikanska-stappen/lion-hunting-techniques/

Don Heath Vid.
9.3 at end-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jakKUkKTM6c

He was a proponent of the 9.3 and experienced with problem animal control.