I have a Ruger #1 in 9.3X74R and it's twisted 1-10" It is super accurate. I expect the Hawkeyes will shoot every bit as well. At around $1000 to $1100 I believe they will sell well.
It would be better if they were "real world priced" at about $850 to $900. Personally I think if Ruger was to make them in larger numbers the caliber would become even more popular then it is now. Winchester, Browning, Remington, Savage and even Mossberg should all pay attention to this.
Now I could be wrong, but I base my opinion from a trend I have seen here. I live in Wyoming, which is a "gun state" and hunting is a major deal here. But we also have the smallest population of any state in the USA.
I have been doing gunsmithing for 1/2 a century and in those years the top selling caliber for custom rifles has been the 270 Winchester. Those that come close are the 30-06, 7MM Rem Mag, and until the AR15 got so popular, the 22-250 was one of the shells asked for most in custom rifles.
In a busy year it was not uncommon to chamber 6-8 barrels a year with those chamber reamers. But starting about 3 years ago the demand for builds (and re-barrel jobs from 25-06s, 270s, 30-06s) to 9.3X62 has been a shock to me. In the last 3 years (almost 3 year anyway) I have now installed 21 barrels chambered in 9.3X62 in existing rifles, or custom builds. And the demand for the 270 and the 30-06 (for me in my shop at least) is now behind the 9.3X62.
Is this just a Local phenomenon inside Wyoming and with some spill-over into Idaho and Montana? Or is this something that is national?
Other gunsmiths and gun dealers, please chime in here.
I am wondering if this cartridge has finally been "discovered" all over the USA, or it it's just something that has grabbed the attention of hunters around the "grizzly country".
Last edited by szihn; 02/15/19.
