Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Compare the 35 Whelen with the 338WM and 9.3x62.

Man, all this 9.3 talk could get a guy wound up. I already have a 35 Whelen, 35 Newton and a 338 Win Mag as well. Plus, I ran across what looks like a decently sporterized M1917 this afternoon that would make a slick rebore candidate for a 9.3x62. Seems like the 1917's make some pretty cool rifles with their big bellys.

Sounds like you are all set.

I would never have thought to call Ruger in search of that stock. Good thinking!

bigwhoop,

I dunno about the construction of the 9.3 TSX's being softer, partly because there are a few 9.3x64 enthusiasts around, not to mention 9.3 wildcatters. In fact, the guy who played "Donk" in CROCODILE DUNDEE is a rifle loony and 9.3 wildcatter. Met him a few years ago at the SHOT Show in the Redding booth. Not as big as he looked on-screen, but he loves his .366's....

Should also emphasize that this all ballistic trivia, since aside from the legality of using the .338, Whelen and 9.3x62 in some African countries on dangerous game, the all work fine on the same basic array of animals.

But the Campfire is the cyberspace center of ballistic gack, as our friend Dober put it, and a major my job is dealing in rifle trivia.

In what is loosely termed "reality," the .30-06 with the right bullet will do anything the three rounds we're discussing will. But to rifle loonies that ain't any fun.

You went and spoiled all the fun!

I've owned a couple of .338 Win Mags, a couple of .35 Whelens and three .375 H&Hs. Actually, that's only two distinct rifles in .375 H&H as the last one had a 26" barrel that I had cut to 22" The other was an M70 with a 24" that weighed about 10 lbs with scope.

All of those rifles are long gone. Not due to poor performance in a ballistic sense, but I got out of them all I wanted and then some. In looking for another .35 Whelen, I came across a terrific buy on a 9.3 X 62, and had an interest to the point of researching ballistics and listening to John (MD) and Ganyana (Don Heath).

I was impressed by what they had to say and chose the 9.3 X 62 over a a M700 Rem in .338 RUM. I'd owned a .340 Wby for ten years so knew pretty well what to expect from the RUM. But in handling those two rifles side by side in the same shop, at a near identical price, I chose the T3 in 9.3.

I've not been disappointed. In fact, I'll keep this one.

John will defend it, and we have a fellow up here in the far north of Canada who has a dozen or so of 'em, and uses it on all big game in the Yukon. He killed a big griz with one a couple of years ago. He's become quite famous across the North Land and in the Northwest. And due to his promotions and adventures, the 9.3 X 62 has become quite popular across the north of Canada.

My experience in hunting with it is so-far limited to two bears. One, I finished off for a young friend and was quite impressed by the work of a 286 Hornady. The other was my own bear - a six-footer - that took a frontal chest hit from a 286 Nos. Part. that penetrated 3 feet and was found in skinning just in front of the right hip.

It's ballistic performance comes close enough to the .375 H&H, that I feel a more appropriate comparison is with the .375 than the .35 Whelen.

I've written quite a bit about it in my blogs, including the current series.

My thanks to John and Don for their enthusiastic endorsement of that famous African cartridge (yeah, I know it's German), and to Ted in the far North.

Now, I have my own reasons for endorsing it as the best of The BEST in mediums.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

Bob,

Thanks for the very interesting post!

The 286 Hornady performs very well, especially in the Hornady factory loads at the now-standard industr velocity of 2360 fps. The last animal I shot with the 9.3x62 was taken with that load in April, a big cow nilgai facing me at a little over 200 yards.

Now, nilgai guides will tell you both bulls and cows are the toughest in North America. Whether that is true I don't know, only having taken 4 and seen another 4 killed. But the outfitter with me was totally astonished to see the cow hop sideways a little, then collapse about 10-12 feet from where it was hit. The bullet had entered just inside the left shoulder and exited just behind the rear of the ribcage. He told me they often see cow nilgai go as much as 400 yards after solid chest hits with good bullets from .300 magnums.

Probably would. And 000 buck, at .360", would probably work in a .357 even without sizing.

I saw in your article that you use #4 buck in a .243, but had to sort them. I guess you know Lee Precision makes a mold that casts #4 buck about a dozen at a time. Of course, if you're going to cast, you'd probably just make bullets.

I've seen this as well - but interestingly, my current whelen in M77 Hawkeye config has a 1:12 twist. Came from the factory that way. I believe Ruger made a 1:12 twist in a run of 350 Rem mags and this barrel came from one of those batches. I've been looking at the heavy Woodleighs to give them a try just to see how they shot and velocity potential. I've also contemplated having my whelen re-bored to 9.3x62 to take advantage of the twist, 286 Nosler, and legality in Africa. I have a 375 Ruger but it weighs 9 lbs, my whelen weighs right at 8 lbs with a handy 22" barrel. Plus it shoots well.

Why no love for the 9.3x64mm? Especially if it is in a custom rifle.

Is it just too close to the .375 H&H? It doesn't have the recoil reduction advantage of the 9.3x62 but could be loaded down to that level easily. With 286 grain bullets I believe it is allowed for dangerous game in most African Countries, except the ones with caliber rather than energy restrictions.

Ammo for it was on the shelves of the sporting goods stores that I checked in Windhoek and Johannesburg. It is real close to the 35 Newton that so many get horned up over. Good sized non belted case, good brass, so why so little looney attention?

It's a pity Hornady no longer makes a 275 gr .358" bullet as IMHO that would put the whelen on even grounds with the 9.3X62.

Swift does make a 280 gr A-frame which should be outstanding, but as John mentioned the 1-16 twist remington barrels will likely have issues stabalizing that bullet. Should be no problem with a 1-14 or 1-12. And if you have a 1-12 twist barrel and want to drill deep, there is always the 310 gr woodleigh.

And a friend got a swaging die to turn .366" bullets into .358" bullets, though as I recall the accuracy was so-so. My understanding is when you swage a bullet the jacket springs back and the core is slighly loose, so the proper way to do it is to swage smaller than dia and then bump the bullet up to final dia. Too much work IMHO when you have options already in production.

With regards to the "legal cartridge for Africa", what is that based on? It there just a drop-dead minimum ft/lbs number? Is it based on many years of guides and their observations? What started that in the first place? I bet Mule Deer has some incite.

I'll let you know for sure in a few weeks.

Something tells me I'll get it to shoot.

It's a fairly blunt-nosed "spitzer," designed to be short enough to work OK in 1-16 twists. However, I had the best luck getting it to shoot in my 1-12 twist .358 STA.

That's why a 223 is a FAR better deer round than a 22/250, because they generally come with a faster 1-9" twist vice the antiquated 1-14" of the 22/250.

There is not a one size fits all. Africa is a big place with many countries and provinces within countries. Each country or provincial game dept will determine ft lbs standards or lack of same. Many times it depends on what the PH will allow, he will have to clean up your mess if you screw up a shot.

Foot pounds is not on game killing authority. Would I take a big five on with a 35 Whelen?, no way!, with a 9.3x62 yes, yes! How do I know, because I have, more than once. Would a 416 be a better choice, sure, but a 9.3x 62 is not a bad choice either.

AR has a list of African country recommended minimums.

How about Bigfoot? 9.3 or 35?

Why not? I'm not thinking anything out there is going to notice .008" in bullet diameter.

Lack of experience shows. Cape Buffalo take a lot of killing. Try killing an elephant with a 35 Whelen. Bullet construction and penetration matter. Not many solids for a 35 cal being made.

How many do you need?