If anyone's interested, Real Guns.com has a reloading page for the 9.3 X 62mm. It covers most available bullets and appropriate powders, including RL-15 and Big Game. All data was taken from a Ruger Hawkeye African with 23" barrel.
I was particularly struck with their results from RL-17, both in velocity and accuracy. It appeared slightly better than Big Game.
So that intrigued me, and I bought some. At first it appeared to be a total flop--way too slow. My max load from RL-15 was giving 2463 fps with sub-moa from the 22.4" barrel of my Tikka. That's from a 286 Hornady. The suggested top load from Real Guns (their data) was giving 2500+ fps from RL-17 and MOA from the 286 NP. With the same load, I was just under 2400 with erratic velocity. But after further discussion with a friend and more calculations, I decided to give it another try knowing it's burning rate was supposedly close to IMR 4350. I went 4 grs over their suggested max and was still less than 2500 fps, but matched my RL-15 load in both velocity and accuracy. In fact, it shoots to the exact POI as the RL-15 load! But there appears to be less stress on the brass, from measurements and observation. So, I'm going to try 1 to 1.5 more grains that may give 2500 fps without undo stress. We'll see.
Just thought I'd mention it.
And, BTW, it was JB's article in HANDLOADER (referred to above) that sparked my interest in the 9.3 X 62. Thanks John. I am a fan of mediums as well as real Big Bores.
