The 9.3x57 or 9x57 are balistic twins to the proven .358 Win. and thats high praise...
The 9.3x62 is darn close to a balistic twin of the 375 H&H in that I can get 2400 FPS with a 320 gr. Woodleigh in the 9.3 or 2500 FPS a 300 gr. Woodleigh in my .375 H&H, based on the way I load them both. That boils down to a 20 grs. more in the 9.3 or 100 FPS more in the 375, a pretty fair trade off to equal IMO...
I quite agree with Bro' Atkinson on this issue. In the last 20 years, I have owned 4; 9.3x62's, 2; 9.3x57's, and 3; 9.3x74R's. (And still own all but 3 of them...) And I like them all. That said, there isn't anything on this continent that I wouldn't tackle with a 9.3x57. In a recent conversation with writer and gunsmith:
Dieter Sturm he opined exactly the same thing.
The 9.3x62 does have a slight advantage in availability of factory ammo, but to a handloader it's a non issue. I have never formed brass, but I have made LOTS of 9x57 from 8x57 and it's no issue at all. Another .008" bullet diameter will likely not be noticed.
I find that all too often folks in this august group, tend to look at a given cartridge as what's it's NOT, rather than what it IS! But then the general tendency these days is: Bigger scopes, longer barrels, and larger powder capacity. Sadly many fine things go often overlooked in the quest to best someone else.
Me go now...
Grasshopper
