Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only 9.3x62 die preferences?

I'm having an old ought-six hollowed out to 9.3x62. I'll end up with some factory brass, but I also have an over abundance of one fired, LC .30-06 brass to reform (I've got enough to consider it, basically, disposable after being fired)

I've always had great luck with Lee, but I've never used them for reforming. RCBS have been great for converting .308 to .358 & I was wondering if they would be the choice this time out, or if there's a better option (without going silly budget)

I went the silly budget route - Redding 3 die set.

There's a fair amount of brass out there right now, both Lapua and PPU. Plenty of 285 - 286 bullets as well.

Mine are RCBS but I would have preferred Forster or Redding.

Ditto, they are the only decent dies still made.

Rob,
Not a simple neck-up 30-06 brass. You'll have to make a false shoulder and fireform.

I've never done it but my friend Ted (Yukoner) makes 9.3 brass from 30-06:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/13549374/5

A tapered expander will make the 06 expansion easier. Not sure if any of the makers have them as standard in 9.3x62. My Redding 35 Whelen & 358 Win sets have one. It should be an optional part available if not standard.

And the 06 is 1mm longer than the x62

Pretty sure that's what led to the invention of the case trimmer 😉

I made 375 Whelen AI cases from 30-06 (35 Whelen cases too). I used RCBS dies. I have most manufacturer’s die and I like RCBS as much as any. Their warranty is outdistancing.

When the case is opened up it tends to shorten. I’d bet the length wouldn’t be an issue. If you have intermediate dies such as 338 you might consider opening the neck in steps.
You could open the neck to .375
And size in the 9.3x62 full length die. Fire form if desired.

After I modify cases such as that I anneal the necks.

Be very carefull using 06 brass in your 9.3x62 base size is different some have had issues, 9.3 brass is available and in stock. Why risk it?
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...62-and-30-06-case-confusion#Post17281920

I recently had my 9.3x57 rechambered to the x63 version. I find Hornady dies are best when necking up brass as they come with a tapered expander! Other expander balls are also available from Midway if you want to do an intermediate size up, which I recommend!
What I do is anneal .30-06 cases first, then neck up in stages using Imperial sizing die wax inside the case necks.
I neck up with a .375 neck expander button, then full length size down for a tight chamber fit with the 9.3 dies. This creates a false shoulder to headspace on.
The .30-06 cases are too long to chamber in the 9.3 so I trimmed the cases down to the MAX listed case length.
The cases were then fire formed to the chamber when they shortened, surprisingly to the correct trim length, but MAY still need another trimming.
Yes the .30-06 cases are smaller in the base than 9.3 brass but you are only expanding the bases out once when you fireform after that the 9.3 cases are sized with the correct base size with the 9.3 dies.
Other cases can be used also---.25-06, .270, .280 R (maybe best as they are longer base to shoulder), .338-06 and .35 Whelen.
Some military cases may be better to use to form as they generally are thicker brass (less capacity-use caution when reloading).

Hip

Buy real Hornady 9.3x62mm cases and a set of Redding dies, have fun, it's a great cartridge, 320gr Woodleigh Weldcore softs and solids at 2400 fps over RL-17 would take no prisoners on any game animal worldwide out to 300+ yards.

Graf's has tons of PPU 9.3 brass with the correct head dimensions. There's Lapua 9.3 brass around right now, too.

As far as dies, my Lee 35 Whelen dies make brass with the exact same runout as my Redding 35 Whelen dies. I never had great luck with Lee seating dies but for the price, why not get a set?

For the past 16 years, I've used nothing but lapua, norma and prvi brass in the 9.3x62.

I've never had a single failure.

Had this discussion on here before. Nosler 9.3x62 has a head dia. of .475-6", ppu and s&b are at .4735" any of the brands of 06 brass are .470". What's the dia. at the head of Hornady brass?..mb

Redding.

When I put my 9.3x62 together Forster didn't make dies for it, but if they had, I would have bought Forster instead of Redding.

Regular ol run of the mill RCBS is all you need.. The nice thing is we have options. I know for a fact that the RCBS dies I use turn out some damn good ammo and you can buy the damn things at wally world if you want. Just remember, you can pay a whole hell of a lot more, but your rate of return is nil a lot of times. RCBS also has stellar cs. Keep it simple, no matter which brand you choose.. I would also suggest buying 9.3x62mm specific brass. I used Norma, but there are other brands out there that will work equally as well.

Current production RCBS dies are the same as Herters.

Redding or Forster are the only choices.

Prove it.

IF repeat IF you owned a borescope you could see it.

But really, there is no need to prove anything to you now is there ?

You wouldn't be able to prove schidt you stupid fu ck. Go troll somewhere else. Unless you can add something useful to this man's thread..

Measured New Lapua 9.3 X 62 Brass Head diameter .471 Lapua brass Resized brass head diameter with current RCBS dies .472

Fired Lapua brass to my Pacnor chambered 9.3x62 rifle head diameter .474

Measured resized RP 06 brass head diameter .467

I will continue using my RCBS dies which I prefer to non vented Redding and Lapua 9.3 X 62 brass have had no issues

I bought my dies in 1999 and they are RCBS. I don't recall others being available then? I also bought 200 pieces of Norma brass, again, all I recall being available then in the US.

I'm glad you hit on that non vented feature. One of the dumbest moves by some of the die manufactures out there. I recently bought a Horandy die set for a new cartridge I started handloading and was very surprised it didn't have a vent hole. I took it back and got my money back and bought RCBS. I tried. This hate was stemmed from using a competition die set for a 6WOA I had for a while. I'd always get tiny dimples in the shoulders of the brass when re-sizing. Totally frustrating. Garbage as far as I'm concerned.
That's where I was at when I had my 9.3x62mm. A great combination. Loaded very good ammo, as I stated in my previous post. Ran blemished Noslers when they were a great deal and affordable to practice with:


That rifle would lay them right in there and thought it was a varmint rifle. 400 yard shots were cake walk with that rifle and load.

Jesus.
This took a turn, didn't it?!

As I said in my original post, I will be buying (actually have bought) 9.3 brass to load.

My only thought on the ought-six brass is that I have tons of it, I know that it's sub-optimal but doable & I don't need to reuse it. Cheap practice without getting excess wear on the real stuff.

Speaking of the couple of thou difference in rim diameter; I've been shooting 6.5x55 in a couple of converted '06s for years with zero problems. Same difference in rim diameter.

Hang on...I have some more random stuff to add.

Hahaha!

Well I don't think the rim diameter is the issue. the head diameter is in my mind. Going to the extra work to fireform 06 brass that has .005 to .006" less head diameter than spec. to use 1 time seems dumb to me. Build or buy a 35 Whelen or 338-06 would be a better use of the extra brass. I have had split necks with Privi and S B once fired brass, nothing wrong with my cz-550 either. But those 2 brands aren't the same quality as lapua,nosler,or Norma as a fact. You went to no small expense to aquire a 9.3 and supplies why you being a cheap Charlie now.?..mb

If you have split necks after once firing of PPU brass, there is something wrong with your rifle, dies, or your loading procedures!

Hip

When I had a 1903 Springfield rebored to 9.3x62 by JES, I grabbed a new Hornady New Dimension FL sizing die off eBay for $15 while I was searching for a full set. It has turned out to be one of the most precise and accurate dies I ever owned. I very carefully measure the effects of all my sizing dies on my brass, testing for runout. These are near perfect. The next one off the line might not have been, who knows.

That said,
The shoulder being further forward on the 9.3 than the '06 is a big deal. You can't just neck it up.
Rex

You have to neck it up further/larger and then neck it down again forming a false shoulder to prevent headspace problems.

I neck it up with a .375 expander button----works well!

Hip

Or fireform with Privi 285 gr round nose seated against the lands

I like my RCBS dies and Laupa 9.3 X 62 brass don't want any case head seperations with 06 undersized brass!

I would have expected the long, tapered throats on the standard 9.3x62 chamber to preclude that. Especially with the Privi 285 being such a short bullet.
Have you (or anyone else) successfully fireformed 30-06 to 9.3x62 by jamming the lands?

Thanks,
Rex

When I built my 9.3 I was experiencing misfires.

Contacted RCBS about the problem and, long story short, they admitted their dies for that chambering could be problematic.

Went to Redding and all issues went away. This was with necked up brass as well as factory 9.3.

I have done it this way. The throat on my 9.3 allows for a 3.200 oal. with the 286 Privi, so no long taper on mine and even with a long taper the round nose would contact the rifling.
The Privi 286 is not a short bullet

Here is a 286 Privi seated to touch the lands. As you can see it has plenty of room to seat further out.
Next to the Privi is a 286 Partition, it could also be used for fire forming, kinda wasteful though...
As for the 30- 06 brass base being smaller, it's a one time deal, your 9.3 die will not size it back down, leading to repeated stress.
This pic should remove any doubt as to whether I am making things up

There are Redding dies and then the rest.

I used the Cream of Wheat "CoW" to make my 9.3x62 cases from WW 30-06 brass.
I annealed the neck area after forming and they have worked well in my rifle with hunting loads.
The head area looked normal in my rifle and I have no concerns about using formed brass.

Thanks for the follow up and I was of course NEVER implying you were making things up. But I will say you have a most unusual chamber. It's great that you can jam the lands and thus effectively fireform necked-up 30-06 in one step.
But the OAL where the 286 Privi touches the lands in mine is 3.53". For the 286 Partition it's 3.59". This is a JES re-bore with what I understand to be a pretty standard 9.3x62 chamber. The OP wrote he was having a 30-06 "hollowed out" to 9.3x62, which implied to me a rebore, and I would expect it to be JES's. If this is the case I don't expect him to have the advantage of such an unusually short throat, thus my comment:
"I would have expected the long, tapered throats on the standard 9.3x62 chamber to preclude that. Especially with the Privi 285 being such a short bullet.
Have you (or anyone else) successfully fireformed 30-06 to 9.3x62 by jamming the lands?"

Thanks for answering back and confirming that indeed you have.
Interested in what the other 9.3x62 owner's throats allow. Are there any more as short as ibfubar's?
Sir, what brand is your rifle, and is it a factory or custom barrel?
Thanks,
Rex

Actually it is a short bullet, at least as compared to about every other 285 or 286 .366" bullet available. On another thread, Mr. Barsness was making a point about the length variation in 285/286 9.3mm bullets. He wrote:
"I happen to have five different 9.3mm 286-grain bullets on my loading room shelf. Here they are, in order from longest to shortest:

Barnes TSX--1.521"
Woodleigh Weldcore--1.444"
Nosler Solid--1.414"
Nosler Partition--1.373"
Hornady Spire Point--1.313" "

I can add that I also have the Privi, and the Lapua Mega, which appear identical, and both are 1.238". By far the shortest 285/286 9.3 I have used.

Not trying to find fault, just highlighting what I have observed.

Cheers,
Rex

My comment was in regards to land engagement.... of course it's overall length is shorter

Makes perfect sense that you meant that. I don't have a .366 insert for the bullet comparator but can use my chamber as such. Though the 286 Part is .135" longer than the Privi, the max OAL for the two bullets to jam the lands is only .060" different.

Still interested in the make of your rifle and if it's a factory or custom chamber. It seems very unique. Hope to hear from you on that.

Rex

Rex,
My 9.3x62 is a custom Mauser built on a VZ24 action with a Montana rifle co. barrel. It does not have a long throat. I assume the reamer was sammi spec?

The length of a bullet has no bearing on touching the lands! It is the length of the loaded round to the OGIVE of the bullet!

The OAL of a loaded round is only important as far as the length of the magazine box!

Hip

Yes... well said

Rex,
My 9.3x62 is a custom Mauser built on a VZ24 action with a Montana rifle co. barrel. It does not have a long throat. I assume the reamer was sammi spec?[/quote]

Thanks for that information sir.
That would not have been cut with a SAAMI-standard reamer. In fact it is far from it (and there is not necessarily anything wrong with that).
Too big to attach the individual drawings, but you can reference the most recent SAAMI cartridge dimensions on their published centerfire rifle document HERE
The 9.3x62 is on page 56 (.pdf page 68). Note the chamber drawing at the bottom of that page. The 9.3x62 has an unusual, very long and tapered throat. Doing the math (3.555" - 2.453") shows a 1.102" long throat, which is in a class by itself among common rifle chambers.
You can contrast it to the 30-06 shown on page 95 (.pdf page 107). The 30-06's throat is only .2214" long (2.7442" - 2.5228")

Your rifle has an extremely short throat compared to SAAMI. From your earlier photo I recall the Privi 285 jams the lands at 3.20" (or thereabouts).
In a SAAMI chamber, the throat doesn't taper down to the basic bore/groove until 3.555" from what would effectively be the case head. Recall in my chamber, the "jam" OAL for the Privi is 3.53" and for the Partition is 3.59", consistent with the SAAMI dimensions. My magazine only allows 3.4 so I load everything to 3.375" and they shoot great.
Since the SAAMI maximum OAL for the 9.3x62 cartridge is 3.291" to fit in the 3.30 in magazine of the pre-WWI commercial and military Mauser 98's it was intended to be housed in, if I were a betting man, I'd guess the smith that made yours cut a custom throat so you could load right up to the lands with most spitzers while staying at or under SAAMI max OAL.

Question - have you shot much factory ammo in it? I have factory Lapua 285 Mega (which is the identical profile to the 285 Privi) and they are loaded to 3.265", (crimped into the groove closest to the bullet base). Based on your photo I wouldn't expect these to chamber in your rifle.

Have you found that you get higher velocities than predicted in published load data?

Anyway, just casual curiosity about your rifle.
I throw the rest of the data above out mostly for the OP since, though you can fireform by jamming the lands in your rifle that wouldn't be possible in a SAAMI chamber.

All the best,
Rex

indeed.

Still wont use 06 cases pictures on thread shows why not worth the risk in my opinion.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...62-and-30-06-case-confusion#Post17281920