Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Mule Deer's 9.3x62 data

Not the Weldcore, but I load the Oryx. Nothing hot, just around 2,400 fps using H4895.

In my experience Woodleigh Weldcores and Norma Oryxes perform very similarly, retaining about the same amount of weight and opening widely.

Is there a chance you have played with them as well? I’m hoping for a bit more speed but don’t have your reference Varget load that is amazing for the NAB 250gr.

Yes I had Pac-Nor rebarrel my LH Win 70 in 9.3x62 quite a few years ago after listing to Ted, also had Yukon Freighter canoe after listening to Ted seems to be full of good advice! Kurt

You can get a whole lot more speed with the 232 grain bullet. I just don't happen to need it for what I use it for.


MD's load data for the 232 grain Oryx uses RL-15 and ramps the MV up to 2,700+ fps. Of course, YMMV...

Another load for a lighter bullet for those who want the flattest possible trajectory from the 9.3x62, is the 210-grain Cutting Edge Raptor with 66.0 grains of RL-15, which gets around 2850 fps from the 23.6" (60cm) barrel on my CZ 550. The Raptor's an excellent monolithic bullet, which penetrates well. (This load is listed in 2022's Gun Gack IV, The Little Book of Rifle Handloads That Work, since Cutting Edge bullets hadn't been introduced when I published my original article on handloading the 9.3x62.)

Just as an aside, I was handed a box of factory Nosler Accubond ammo for the 9.3 last week and so out of curiosity took them to the range today to chrono them (Mondays are 'Weekly Group Therapy Sessions' for me).

On the box it says nominal MV is 2,550 fps. A 10-shot string past the chrony from my 24" barrel produced an average MV of 2,364 fps with E-S of 42 and an S-D of 15.1.

Me thinks that Nosler test barrel is a tad longer than 24" ...

I doubt their barrel is longer than 24". SAAMI companies follow SAAMI specs. Just because your barrel is the same length as the ammo companies test barrel or a powder/bullet company's load data doesn't give the same velocity you see in your barrel. So many variables will turn up different velocities. Fast barrels, slow barrels.....tight chambers, loose chambers, etc.....can cause some larger than normal velocity differences. I see/hear it all the time at work.

Alan

There's a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes that the general "Joe Handloader" is kept in the dark about! I've found that out by digging and asking questions of the head guys in their ballistic "labs". For instance, in all of Nosler's manuals - going way back to the present - they publish results for many loads that came from computers, not actual results! Examples are plenty: On any given page where there are several bullets of the same weight but different styles, they print the same MV for all of their .30-cal in .30-06 for individual loads - as one among hundreds of examples. They never tested all those loads except for one or two out of 5 or 6, took the average of two and called it the result for all six! Then that's what went into the computer and when pulled for printing... ? You guessed it!

And Nosler isn't the only "guilty" party that does that. To test every component bullet they manufacture and then state in print that its MV was identical to every other style of that weight and calibder from an identical load is preposterous and presumptuous!

Also, they don't load their ammo, nor do others, to the "max" that's presented in their reloads. And sometimes ammo gets out the door from a batch that's not been tested!

WE EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM MASS PRODUCED PRODUCTS! Early 250gr RN .35 Whelen advertised at 2400 fps made 2247 fps from my 22" Remington out of 10 from a box of 20.

And all that's not even close to what could be said about manuals and the factory product. Yes, today matters are much improved over what they were 40 - 50 years ago - especially bullets and gun powders!

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

They are good guides and seem to help a fella get started, but I have rarely ever seen book data come close to what the same load does in my rifles. The only one that seems consistently close to the book is the 6.5 CM..

Fooled around with some alternative powders for the 9.3x62 and thought I would share my results.
These loads were safe in my rifles but might be excessive in yours.

Ruger #! - 22" barrel:
250 NAB - 60.0 - AR-Comp - 2675 - 1.1" group
250 NAB - 62.5 - Varget - 2655 fps - 1.1"
250 NAB - 62.5 - N140 - 2640 fps - .84"
250 TTSX - 60.0 - N540 - 2543 fps - 1.1" This is the only promising TTSX load so far
286 NP - 60.0 - AR-Comp - 2432 fps - 1.1"
286 NP - 60.0 - N140 - 2435 fps - 1.1"
286 NP - 66.0 - Big Game - 2486 fps - 1.1"

Titan 16 - 22" barrel:
250 TTSX - 60.0 - N140 - 2598 fps - 1.4"
286 Hdy - 56.5 - N140 - 2400 fps - .9"
286 Hdy - 58.0 - N540 - 2425 fps - 1"
286 Hdy - 59.0 - N540 - 2486 fps - .7"
286 Hdy - 59.0 - N150 - 2474 fps - 1.5"

The Titan 16 (a clone of the Mauser M96 Straight Pull) is made by Roessler in Austria. It is finely made and accurate. The bolt has more internal parts than a Bavarian cuckoo clock. The owners manual (when I finally obtained one) states that the bolt should never be disassembled. The importer seldom gets anything from the manufacturer and, as yet, has not come up with a spare magazine. I like the rifle. But had I known the ultra-complex bolt could not be taken down for maintenance I would have passed it by.

Cheers,
Walt

That sounds very German, over engineering something beyond the ability to service it other than at the factory.

Ya reckon that’s where John Deere got the idea of software only they could manage, customers locked out.

Interesting nonetheless. Pictures?

DF

I was thinking the same thing. That Ruger #1 sounds like a heckuva shooter..

Between those two, the #1 for sure.

DF

JB's load.

CZ AHR.

Why make something simple when it is much more fun to make it complicated?

Pictures here:

https://www.empolotezsignaturefirea...traight-pull-model-exclusive-cal-243win/

Cheers,
Walt

It’s different, for sure.

I’d have to use it a while before I had confidence to take it on a hunt way out in the boonies.

DF

What did that one weigh as pictured? How about sans scope?

It was a tad heavy. Traded it. Don’t remember actual weight.

DF

Trying to make the 9.3x62 something it wasn't designed to be is a fools errand. If you want blistering speed get a 338 win mag. If you want a rifle that will kill anything you point it at within hunting ranges up to 300 yards, go with the 9.3. It has been a hunters cartridge in the rest of the world as the 30-06 was in America.I have taken deer and hogs with it using 286 grain So and 232 grain Vulcan and really have not noticed much difference in performance. Short heavy blood trails leading to dead game.