Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Looking for good 9.3x62 elk hunting loads

I acquired a Tikka in 9.3x62 and besides the normal reloading books, I was wondering if anyone out there had particular loads that worked best for them.
I'm just starting to acquire the components for the this caliber so I'm not steadfast on bullet weight. The tikka has a 22.5" barrel and I plan on having this as a black timber elk gun.
Any thoughts or help is appreciated.
MTSmith

A very flexible load that will work both in timber and at somewhat longer ranges is a 250-grain spitzer at 2600+ fps. In my rifle (a CZ with a 23.6") barrel either 62.0 grains of RL-15 or 60.5 grains of Varget gets about 2650 with either the 250 AccuBond or Tipped TSX. Both penetrate very well, and have pretty high BC's so trajectory is very similar to the standard 180-grain load in the .30-06. I've had these loads pressure-tested and they're right around the standard .30-06 pressure of 60,000 psi.

Any of the good 286's will get 2450-2500 fps, at the same basic pressure level. I like 66 grains of Ramshot Big Game, but RL-15 and Varget also work. The 286's aren't as good beyond 250 yards as the 250-grain bullet, but shoot flatter than most people would guess.

For pure timber shooting the 320 Woodleigh can be pushed to 2350-2400 with either RL-17 or Big Game. I use 61.5 grains of Big Game as it's been more cold-resistant than 17 in my rifle, but at close ranges it really doesn't make much difference. Dunno if the 320 actually gains anything in penetration over the 286 Partition, Barnes TSX,or Norma Oryx, though, because it tends to open more widely. Have been meaning to do some media tests with the 320 but haven't gotten around to it.

Was also impressed with the Hornady Interlock 286 in one use on a nilgai in Texas with Hornady factory ammo. The mzuzle velocity was less than my handloads, probably at least 100 fps, which may have helped, but the Hornady penetrated completely on a frontal angling shot at around 200 yards.

Thanks for your informative response John. I appreciate the starting point.
Sounds like you were the right informed person to respond.
Thanks.
MTSmith
ps. we sure do live in a great state...

Yes, we do!

You'll find a lot of powders work in the 9.3x62. In most rifles it's apparently one of the cartridges some people call "inherently accurate."

Why do you choose a different bullet for timber vs. non-timber hunting?

Nobody knows, it's a 19th century myth. God knows enough tests have been done of various bullets shooting in brush and they all get deflected. If you don't have a clear shot at a vital area the bullet is immaterial.

If you want to shoot through brush in black timber get yourself a rifled 12 bore semi-auto and shoot 3" Brenekke Magnum Crush slugs. A fair chance of connecting, pokes a big hole and will break down any NA big game at black timber distances. Something to be said for "five shots quick".

Otherwise a 250 gr TSX @ 2500 fps will kill anything in North America with a proper shot and if you practice will be effective to 300 yards. Merkel even make a semi-auto in 9.3x62.

Gee, thanks for your "help," but no, I don't use heavier bullets when strictly timber (or brush) hunting because of hoping to get them through vegetation. Have known that's a myth for decades. Instead I tend to use them because they penetrate deeper, which can make a difference on the severely angling shots often encountered in thick cover, especially on elk.

Either the 286 Partition or TSX will out-penetrate the 250 TSX. I've seen it in two kinds of media, and on plenty of game. But the 286's aren't as good for hunting in mixed country, where you might get a shot at 400 yards.

John, I am about to take delivery of a shiny new 9.3X62. I am going to try the Matrix 270 grain bonded bullet, virtually the same bullet used by Yukoner 2-3 years back on that nice grizzly written about on here.

What is your powder of choice for the 270 grainers? Thanks.

Varget or RL-15 work well. Probably Big Game would too, but I haven't tried it.

It's a bigass 308!

As opposed to a .308 with a big ass!

Sorry, couldn't help it....

I started out with JB's suggestion for the 250gr TSX and it shot so well that I tried nothing else. It seems to be a very friendly round for reloading.

I had opportunity to put down a wounded 60" bull this past September and the short barreled CZ did very well at 380 yards.
WITH 3X SCOPE!

Varget under a 250 TTSX works well for me.

The topic was hunting in brush not bullet penetration. In that arena the semi-auto 12 bore wins every time.
Never shot the heavy 9.3 on game, no need to as we have no Cape Buffalo or Elephants here. The 250 will penetrate plenty far enough on any side, front or quartering shot on anything in the lower 48.
Based on media tests the 250 TSX will well outpenetrate the 270 Speer as well as being faster and flatter.
The joke we have is that recovering a Barnes TSX is as easy as getting Obama to tell the truth. Almost always 2 holes with wreckage between.

BTW John, I wasn't "helping" you, I was responding to the OP.

Faithful subscriber to all the Wolfe publications and enjoy them a lot. But, even authors there don't know everything. When do you suppose we could see an article on current non AR sem-automatic hunting rifles ? We have Browning, Benelli, Remington and Merkel all of which shoot cartridges suitable for any N/A big game, are accurate enough for shots to at least 300 yards, all have detachable magazines and are so much faster for followup shots, it's no contest.

It was Askins the elder who predicted in the 20s-30s that semi-autos would replace all other forms of hunting rifles. A man ahead of his time and would have been correct had the "establishment" embraced progress. We "won" WWII with the M-1 but everyone came home and bought bolt and lever guns .... go figure.

I like $3-5000 hunting rifles as well as the next guy but a Savage or Marlin bolt gun will match or outshoot most of them and us average folks can afford them.

Keep up the good work here and at Wolfe.

Sorry for the misunderstanding--but your post was the first one to mention shooting through brush, so no, it wasn't part of the subject until you brought it up. And I have found the extra penetration of the 286's helpful from time to time, even in the lower 48.

I've done a couple of articles over the years on modern autoloaders. You must have missed the one on the Sauer 303 that appeared in RIFLE in 2011. VERY accurate, with a fine trigger. Have had experiences with other modern autoloaders that weren't worth writing up, including a couple on your list. One of the hard decisions that many magazines make these days is whether to waste space on something that doesn't work as well as it's competition.

John, here's what he said: " I plan on having this as a black timber elk gun. "

Outside of Europe where the forests are managed like a garden, Black Timber in the West is a mix of old and young conifer trees, lots of Aspens and buckbrush. That frequently means slipping a bullet through a hole in the woods. My assumption was that hunting there might involve the obsolete concept of "Brush bucking" bullets.

Insofar as semi-autos go, Merkel, Browning, Benelli and Remington all make semi autos that will hold 1 MOA or better not to mention all the so called MSRs (clubs).

The Sauer you mentioned is long gone and betcha a steak dinner that for ever SIG MSR sold Remington sells 20 M-750s, not to mention the tens of thousands out and about that may be called M-4s, 740s, 742s or 7400s but are all about the same.

IMO the ultimate Black Timber rifle is the Merkel SR1 9.3x62, IF you could ever find one.

Amusing to see all the hype over the 26 Nosler which, in the tested rifle, hardly shot bug holes, has an estimated barrel life of 1000 rounds, in the real world won't do a thing a 700 7mm RemMag can't. The rifle tested cost 2-3 times as much as 700ADL/BDLs 7 Mags filling used gun racks. Nosler didn't even spend the extra $350 to get the barrel Nirtided which would have extended the barrel life at least 400%.

I wish you would suck start one Larry..You bag of wind

I'll agree with John on this one. My rifle really likes the 286gr, bullets so that's what I use. I've tried the 270gr. Speer, the 285gr. factory norma oryx and some others, but settled on the 286:



I also do a little bit of the type of hunting the op was asking about...

7x64FN,

Yeah, I figured as much. And you're FOS as usual:

1) Once again, you brought up the brush-bucking bullets.

2) It depends on what you mean by "hold MOA." If you mean the typical 3 shots in an inch at 100, yeah, some of them will, though in my experience rarely, and then only with selected ammo. Brownings are more accurate than Remingtons, and in fact Brownings were to most consistently accurate non-AR autoloaders I ever shot before the Sauer 303. I've fooled around with three Benellis, and out of the box none of them would do better than 2", and all were very ammo-sensitive, which generally translates to varying accuracy at different temperatures.

3) Dunno what you mean about the Sauer 303 being long gone. Sauer still lists it on their website, in fact 9 model variations, and Euro Optics in Pennsylvania has them in stock.

Dunno which review you saw on the 26 Nosler, but in both the handloading article and the test I did of factory ammo, the test rifle would do better than an inch for groups of MORE than 3 shots. The best handloads I've found for it will average .5 for 3-shot groups at 100 yards. That won't win any benchrest shoots, but it will kill animals quite a ways away.

Good hunting, and GFY!