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

No that sounds like the kind of guy I wouldn't do business with. I listen to people and their testimonials..lol One reason the CZ 550 FS is nice is that it has iron sights. I would keep it that way for awhile.. Have several scoped guns and my eyes may be 54 but they still do OK. Then later if I choose..easy to find scoperings for it.. maybe even buy them now for later.. I will have to keep a look out for one..seems like the price is creeping up.

I love the 9.3x62 and I find it a better caliber than the 9.3x64 for my purposes..I can get within about 75 FPS of the 9.3x64 by using a 26" tube in the 9.3x62..

I have used the 270 gr. Speer on deer and a limited amount of plainsgame, the reason I say limited is the bullet is simply too soft for the velocities I generate in my 9.3s, so I dropped it from my agenda. The Hornady bullets work well for me on plainsgame and deer and even elk.

I like the 286 gr. Nosler for most hunting and I really like the 320 gr. Woodliegh for Cape Buffalo at 2400 FPS in my long throated and long tubed 9.3x62 with a big dose of RL-15. I believe I would opt for a 300 gr. swift or a lighter GS Customs bullet in the 9.3x62 if it were a carbine...

I also really preferred the North fork cup point for buffalo over any other bullet I ever used and I could push it much faster than the 320 gr. Woodleigh.

Just a great caliber for any big game.

Not for everyone out there, but you can readily have a Ruger #1 rebored and rechambered to 9.3 x62. 26 inch barrel on the #1Bs too. Recoil is lively, but manageable even with my bad shoulder. Scoped with a Leupold 6x, its no lightweight but the I have little use of the slim barreled Syntheic stocked LTWs. It is a very compact and nicely balanced rifle.

Now to find something big enough east of the Big Muddy...

1B

I think I would just get a Ruger #1 in 9.3X74. It has the same ballistics and is a traditional cartridge for single shots.

Interesting - that translates to 4114 ft-lbs muzzle energy; what load do you use for the 320?

??? better for your purposes, yet picking a longer tube to get performance the 64 'give you ???

I have a 9,3x64 DWM 98 with a 22" tube that gives me 2400 fps with 286 gr. Barnes TSX on top of 62 gr. N140 (Vihtavuori). I am pleased with this load and well more with the handling of the rifle - light & short.

I had to use the 26 inch tube with the 320 gr. Woodleigh in my 9.3x62 as I couldn't quite get to where I needed to be with that heavy bullet in the shorter barrels, but only with that one bullet..I can get 2700 with a 250 Barnes, and 2400 with a 286 gr. Nosler with a short tube (24")in my case. I might add the extra 4 inches of barrel is the same length of my pocket knife and long tubes are an asset IMO..they point better and hold better for off hand shooting, so its just a matter of personal choice, no arguement here.

I have no problem with with the 9.3x64, its a great cartridge, other than brass has been very hard to come by off and on over the years and also very expensive in the past...These problems have lessened recently, for how long I don't know! and of course I realize a long tube 9.3x64 would also pick up the anti in favor of the 9.3x64..

That all said I still prefer the 9.3x62 and I have owned and shot both, but like I said, its better for MY purposes such as easier to build in a std. action, with a good deal less modification, I have the reamer on hand, I have the loads and brass handy..There are more reasons on my part than just picking a long tube in other words. If I had a good 9.3x64 I would be perfectly content with it.

Bundukwalla,
My personal load was a stiff load of RL-15, in my long throated and lengthened magazine 9.3x62 which I just recently sold to a friend of mine and sometime back I sold my other one..I suppose when I finish my 404 then my next project will be another 9.3x62, perhaps a Manlicher with a 20 inch tube and a receiver sight since I have about 800 loaded rounds, that much brass and that many bullets, and dies, I would bet. That is unless someone would buy all my components..I think I still prefer my 375 H&H over the 9.3s or at least that was my justification for selling them both.:)

That Mannlicher with a 20" tube sounds like a great idea. Somehow I get the feeling, you do not need too much encouragement on rifle projects. Hope to see the .404 sometime.
Now, I just now can not enter into the 9,3s vs. .375 H&H - Debatte, as I am currently ruminating the .270 vs. 30-06

all the best.

Hi group,

Recently purchased a CZ 550FS in 9.3x62 and glad to find a lot of you familiar with the cartridge. Had to have one gun different from my group of shooting and hunting friends. Love the gun and having fun working up loads.

I see where a number of you are using RL15. It works for me also but 58.0 grains of IMR4064 really is the most accurate in my gun, and at 2500fps with 250gr Nosler Accubonds. No pressure issues whatsoever. Quite satisfied with the velocity, even with the 20" length. Not going to Africa but will be chasing auodad sheep and elk around our little ranch in the next couple weeks. Hopefully, I'll have my first "performance" review.

I had a CZ Mannlicher-style rifle in 9.3x62 for a while, mostly to compare to my main CZ 9.3x62, which has a 23.6" barrel. I tried 4 different loads in the "carbine," two factory and two handloads, and the biggest difference was 88 fps, which ain't much. In fact one load went a little FASTER in the short barrel, which sounds strange but isn't all that unusual when you start experimenting.

One reason I like Ramshot Big Game with 286's (and heavier) in the 9.3x62 is that is is a very dense ball powder, a little slower than RL-15. My main 286 load is around 65-66 grains of Big Game, and it gets just about 2500 in my 23.6" barrel. And yes, I have had it pressure tested and it develops right around 60,000 psi. Accuracy has been very good in several 9.3x62's.

There really isn't a vast difference between the case capacity of the 9.3x62 and the 9.3x64. The reason for the big difference in factory velocities between the two is that the standard CIP ("European SAAMI") pressure for the 9.3x62 is pretty low, while the pressure for the 9.3x64 is much higher. Load them both to the same pressure and there really isn't a heck of a lot of difference.

Thanks Mule Deer.

I am going to start moving up to the heavier bullets and will give Ramshop Big Game a try. I have not worked with it before but this will be a good opportunity.

Thanks for the info.

I've been shooting a CZ 550 in 9.3x62 for about 12 years. I have killed everything I have shot usually with one shot. I don't mean that as a testimony to my shooting but to the ability of the cartridge to perform outside it's apparent ability. I use 54.7gr of Norma 201 with a 286 gr Nosler Partition and WLR primer. It is a Norma factory duplication load and shoots to the same point of impact as Nosler custom ammo. IMR 4895 56.6 gr and a Nosler 286gr Partiton with a Federal primer also shoots to the same point. Nosler claims 2450fps for their ammo. I think my loads are about 2350. That is plenty good for my purposes.
I tried Reloader 15 but didn't get the accuracy I got with Norma and IMR.
I have used these loads in 3 rifles and all shoot them well.
This is my "go-to" cartridge if I'm not carrying a 30.06. It doesn't spoil meat but penetrates like crazy. I shot one all the way through a 220# wart hog end to end. One entered the thigh of a mature kudu,passed through the hip and pelvis,rumen,liver,lungs,heart and came to rest under the opposite shoulder blade.The front of the bullet was gone but the rear half was there. I recovered one from an eland this year that weighed 254 gr another weighed 266gr.It is a great round.

Otto Bock was on to something. Love that name.

How does all this differ from the .375 Ruger? Don't get me wrong,I like the 9.3's,have two of them,but the Ruger does seem to fill the same pair of shoes....??

Predates the Ruger, by about a century
Lower pressure
Standard bolt face
Lower recoil, with lower but still impressive and nearly comparable performance

I have shot both side by side,could not tell any difference in 'butt smack'....Lower pressure will depend on the load..A standard bolt face reletes to what?..Both are good rounds,but a lot more bullets are around for the .375......

Standard .473" bolt face. I.e., if you have a Mauser, Rem., or whatever with that bolt face, '06 family magazine, you have no changes necessary other than a re-barrel, to go to 9.3x62.

Lower pressure will depend upon the load, but on average, and esp. when comparing factory fodder to factory fodder, the 9.3 is lower pressure.

I've shot both side by side, and to me, the 9.3 recoil is less "felt", not that either is overly objectionable.

Granted, there are FAR more bullets out there for the .375s.

Can't figure what you're getting at though.

I don't think the boltface is a big deal,the gunsmith would at least reface it anyway,to open it is not that much more...
just throwing out seed for thought....maybe just part of justifing the next purchase.