Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa 9.3x74r

I'm looking at a 9.3x74r double rifle from NEG. It's made in Europe and imported.

It's a s.c.e.a.c.e. or some thing close to this. It has a pivot mount and I'd like to put a leupold 1.5-5.5x20 on it.

Does the 9.3x74r have enough juice for Buff? I'd also like to take elephant, hippo and the big cat's. Is this caliber sufficiant as a client DG rifle. I tend to love the 9.3 in general because of my experience with the little 9.3x57.

Is ammo redily available in Africa?

Any feed back would be apprciated.

JC: The 9.3X74R will kill a buffalo, but in my estimation, it is way underpowered for such use. I'm sure you can find ammo "somewhere" in Africa, but not as readily available as the 9.3X62. Oh yeas, one more thing; putting a scope on a double is like putting chrome hubcaps on a Rolls-Royce. jorge

Second Jorge on the scope issue. The 9.3x74 is a bit behind the .375 Flanged for doubles. Velocity with a 286 gr. bullet is almost 2400 fps, with very high SD. Not a wimp, by any means, but a bit light by today's standards for buff. Nice cat round, though.

lots of discussion on this subject at accuratereloading.com and nitroexpress.com.

imho, the 9.3x74r is a superb rimmed round for a double in the 'less-than-470ne' category.

and anyone who regularly uses the round will appreciate the lethal effects of a .286 grain bullet traveling at roughly 2400 fps (see doc robertson's book 'perfect shot') for anything up to buff.

The 9.3x74 is not the equal of the .375 H&H - but a chap by the name of Bell killed elephant nicely with a 7x57!
A 286 grain bullet in the correct spot will do anything that you might ask of it with good bullets - as in SOLIDS for buff.

I have never been able to visually document a difference in a buff hit properly with a 9.3x74 - .375H&H -.416 - or .458. They all died within 60 yards, but the instant availability of that 2nd round is very comforting when hunting buff.

As to the issue of scopes on a double. If I were shooting at any range where a scope sight is really necessary - past 100 yards with my ancient eyes - I would use a scope no matter what it hanging underneath of it. ACCURATE placement kills - lousy shooting can get you killed, even with one of the largest bore rifles.

It has been long said that professional hunters really like to see folks arrive with a .300 magnum or .338 - or .375 that they can SHOOT than with the newest - biggest - baddest they can't.

I once spent two weeks in a very unhappy camp with two PHs and two Texans who brought brand new, shiny Weatherby .460 rifles to Africa. THEY HAD NEVER FIRED THEM - THEY HAD BEEN SIGHTED IN BY THE GUNSMITH WHO SOLD THEM THE RIFLES - Very Bad Ju-Ju all around.

Don't worry about all that foot pounds nonsense. Buy a rifle that YOU can shoot, lots of ammunition and shoot the bloody rifle until you can hit a 6 inch circle - offhand - at fifty yards with every round. Your PH will adore you, will find you very nice beasties to shoot dead, and will offer you a sundowner of the good stuff he keeps in his tent for the few clients who aren't trying to see if HE can kill a gut-shot buff in the deep grass.

One old PH who will remain unnamed here used an old Mauser chambered in .35 Whelen after arthritis set in and he developed a serious flinch. He fired only solids and reportedly NEVER lost a woulded animal.

Bluesman

Dear god buy a 9.3x64 Brenneke and be done with it
the case will fit standard action's some need a bit of box work but not much..

With it you have ..Less recoil then the 375 H & H better preformance then the 375 HH and almost any game guide will let you take Cape with it...


http://www.gunsnet.net/album//showp...mp;sort=1&cat=500&page=1

There's a big difference between British and Continental doubles. You'll very rarely see a british double with a scope. Unless it's a 303 or something else in the "less then 375" class. Most british doubles where build for african or indian hunting , and in chamberings suitable to stop a charging beast right now!

Most continental double rifles where ( and is) chambered in cartridges between 9.3-7 mm. These gun are primarily used for driven game up to moose. And for these guns a scope is not unusal even though the scope is usually mounted using a claw mount or some other detachable mount. I have seen and used some 9.3x74 doubles and most of them where scoped.
None of the british NE doubles that I've seen where scoped though. I don't think that you should scope a 470 NE but there is nothing wrong in scoping a 9.3x74R.

Best Regards

Henrik

My W.J. Jeffery in .450/400 has quick detachable scope mounts so I don't think it unheard of for a over .375 in a good English gun to be so equipped. I think a scope on the 9.3x74 would be a good choice and am considering the same with mine. Putting the first shot on target no matter the game is the primary goal.

Telly

Bluesman, This is not directed at you to be mean only informative.



Bell was a poacher who by todays standards would have been killed in the bush by police or put into prison for the remainder of his natural life in every Game managed country on earth.



The stories of his expliots with the 7mm on elephants is an "urban legend" when referenced by sportsman. As you may or may not be aware he killed these elephants for Ivory only. Since it's not possible to boil the tusks out, nor practical to chop them out quickly without damage. The most common means of the day were to let the body decompose until they could be slid out of the skull from rotting. Since no other animals eat ivory there was no risk in letting them run off to die in the bush.



His reason for the 7mm was that military ammo was easy to come by and he could get bullets into many elephants at one time in a herd shooting event. With a more practical double he might only be able to shoot one or two of them, rather then shooting 4-5 in the same time frame. However all the 7mm shot bulls will run off and die. Had he used a more reasonable rifle they would be dead where they stood or near by. He had no intention of dropping them in thier tracks. To the contrary he was hoping they would run off for safety sake!



It's actually quite easy to locate a dead elephant through several means. Circling vultures, the sounds of hyena, and the smell. Bell had a large crew of blacks to pack and search for these dead elephants. Sometimes they were located 3 days to a week after they were shot, somtimes months later they just stumbled upon a skeleton with two nice tusks laying there.



For anyone today who believes that his use of a 7mm as an elephant hunting rifle was a good idea and perfectly capable of elephant culling duty or hunting they are very sadly mistaken. How many hunters today would shoot a trophy and then wait a week to retrieve it? How many would be accepting of a hidious head wound that would take many hours or days to finally kill something?



This whole concept of Bell being some super hero with a 7mm rifle because he wasted so many elephants and found them days later is obscene. The reputation of the 7mm based on that is way out of context as well.

JJ,

What do you recommend that your hunters bring for firearms?

If I was going to travel to Africa again, I'd be looking for antelope with long/tall horns, since I think that they make the most attractive head mounts. The last time, I brought a pair of Winchester 70s in 375 H&H and 6.5x55.

What antelope would we hunt and what would you recommend that I use for a cartridge?

Jeff

JJHACK, Interesting "the rest of the story" about Bell. I hadn't heard or thought of that side of the culling operation. Thanks for your insight. It changes my opinion of Bell a bit.

I hunt there several months a year and I only own two hunting rifles. a 30/06 and a 375HH that should give you a good idea about what I think!

For my work I have a 458 LOTT but that is not what I would use as a hunting rifle unless under the most unusual circumstance. I have killed quite a lot of the biggest toughest game alive with a 375HH with a good scope and an accurate shot it's a one trigger pull ordeal 99% of the time. It's also far easier to place second shots with this cartridge then anything bigger. If you can ahndle bigger then go for it.

For my money the 375HH is the most power you can get for the investment in recoil force. Heck I have seen a 100 pound lady shoot a White Rhino bull with a 300 grain solid out of a 375HH one shot dead!

If a petite little lady can handle a gun that will fold a several ton bull Rhino what more can you ask for?

Hello Telly,
of course you are absolutly right! I have heard (and seen a lot of pictures) of a couple of 450/400 that where scoped. But that's not the general rule.
I have also seen modern doubles in 470 that where scoped. But when the majority of british doubles where probably made before WWII and in those days the scopes where not as common (or as good) as today.
Since a lot of the early scopes of good quality where of german origin it's not very strange that a lot of the early german doubles had scopes. In since a lot of the hunting in germany is conducted from "hochsitz" or stands a scope is a big advantage.

Best regards

Henrik