Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 9.3 x 62 Bullet Selection...

...and performance.

I have a CZ 550 American in 9.3 x 62 that I have been carrying in the MN Whitetail woods for several years.

My load has been 286gr Partitions with 65gr BigGame.

Harvested a lot of deer over the years with this combo, but I have always been a little surprised that these MN Whitetails rarely were DRT. they always ran even though most had their hearts blown to smithereens.

Today I shot an eight pointer in the face at about 150 yards, of course he dropped DRT as the bullet entered his face, brain and traveled down his neck and logged in his backstrap.

This is the first bullet I have recovered with this bullet rifle combo.

The front half of the bullet did as it was designed to do and was mostly gone, the back half also stayed intact and did as it was supposed to do. What surprised me was the amount/length of bullet behind the "partition", 2/3 of the original length, maybe a little more, that doesn't leave much for the front expansion portion, or does it.

So, my question is, is this bullet to tough for thin skinned MN Whitetails?

I have a few hundred Partitions left, but I also have a couple hundred Hornady 286gr SP Interlocks. I have yet to test these Hornady bullets on game.

How would this Hornady Bullet perform compared to the Nosler Partition in thin skinned game?

Thanks

I think your bullet choice is just fine. They are killers? I think the Hornadys will destroy more meat. Have you ever lost a deer that was properly shot with a Nosler?

Above is a quote from Mule Deer like ten+ years back. I have noticed this on the few that I have recovered. I find it to be a great projectile and have no issues using them on anything in NA or Europe.

Try a Nosler 250 grain Accubond with John Barness's RL-15 load (if you can find them).

Lost, duno, if it was lost I cannot be sure of proper placement.

That said, I can't recall ever losing a deer to a Partition, BT's are a different story.

Now this is what I'm talking about, got 500 squirreled away.

I like the Prvi 285 for deer. Even more so now that they changed the design to a spitzer.

I like the Partition for heavier game but it sounds like they did their jobs on the deer.

I’m using the 286 gr interlocks this year for Deer in MS. Our deer are smaller bodied than most of Deer up north. I’m gonna try the 286 prvi as soon as I can find some in stock, or the lapua mega next year. This is my first season using the 9.3x62, and season starts this Saturday. Hopefully can report back soon.

This is great advice, IMO.

I shoot a 9,3X74R and a 9,3X62 and use Prvi bullets for deer sized animals. I've found them to be exceedingly accurate, especially for lower priced pills.The Partitions are elk killers. I've not tried the 250gr AccuBonds, but I suspect they would be about perfect for deer and would be fine for elk at the velocities developed in the 9,3s.

HECK, , I still have some 250 gr 9.3mm Ballistic Tips in the basement someplace.

JB's loads.

DF

DF,
Thanks for putting up those loads! I am wanting to start loading for my 9.3x62 and that info will help out a lot.

I tried all of those powders and also a few others, BigGame was by far the best with the 286gr in both velocity and accuracy.

I have never tried any of Ramshot's powders but those numbers make it a certainty that I will try BigGame. I once had a CZ 9.3 x 62 for which I loaded. I got incredible accuracy with RL 15 but my velocities, even with Nosler's listed max for the 286 barely cracked 2300 ft./s.
I no longer own that CZ, but I recently acquired a Sako 85 in 9.3 for which I look forward to developing loads.

Be sure to try mag primers with Big Game.

DF

DF,
Good to know and thank you.

65 gr BigGame with 286 Partitions = 2450fps out of my 550 American.

I think it is. I shot some feral cattle with them several years ago and it hit them like the hammer of Thor. I'd use the Speer 270 for lighter game. It's supposed to be too soft for the typical game you'd shoot with a 9.3, so it would be great for deer.


Okie John

Based on my limited sample of several dozen Sitka Blacktails shot so far, I'd say the 286gr partition works perfectly. I use them in case I run into a bear, but they work great on deer. The speer would work as well but I'd never use it due to the possibility of brown bears where I hunt. My 20.5" barrel gets 2425 with 66gr of Big Game. I tried magnum primers but got some weird vertical stringing. YMMV.