I don't know about you guys, but when I take a never-before-fired medium bore out the box and put 3 rounds in a 1.5" group at 100yds with untested factory ammo, well, I get a big silly grin on my face!

I was using PRVI Partizan 286gn ammo.

I cannot wait to see what this CZ will do with my tweaked handloads!

BTW, it's mounted with a Burris 1.5x7 Illumidot. Great scope (and that from a dye-hard Leupold fan)!

It will be my primary safari gun on my upcoming Safari!

Pics????
Let us know how you fare with the 9.3 x 62 on your upcoming safari.
Is there anything you'd not use it on???

I don't think I'd feel comfortable with a chest shot on a buf or a heart/lung shot on an Elephant, but I'd sure take a heart/lung shot on a buf (Nosler Partitions or Barnes TSX 186) and a brain shot on an ele (Woodleigh 320gn solids).
I feel very confident in this gun and I think hunting well and hunting success are to a large degree based on the confidence in your gun.
Now please take that with a grain of salt because I have not yet been to Africa and facing down a DG animal may make me think a bazooka was not enough gun!

I really like mine too. My handloads helped accuracy just as you predicted. No blood on mine yet, but I'm guessing it will flatten a whitetail. I think the 9.3 is a great choice for your African trip. Hope you have a great safari and we will expect pics!

Your 9.3x62, loaded with the 286gr Barnes TSX, will do JUST FINE on a Cape Buff chest shot. See Dr. Kevin Robertsons comments in the latest Barnes Reloading manual #4. While you are on the page for 9.3x62, right accross from the good Dr's article is a photo of me with my SCI book Cape Buff

GREAT grab and addition there! If you send me a PM with your adddress, I will mail you a copy of my article from African Hunter Magazine on suggested modifications to the CZ series of rifles for dangerous game use. They are wonderful right from momma, but can be made better IMO, with a few upgrades. Might even throw in my DVD with my CZ in action against an Ele and a client wounded cape buff.

BTW I have a Mcmillan Edge stock made for it if you want to save your pretty wood. I will sell it cheap.

I am a big 9.3 X 62 fan. It was not my choice for elephant, nor should it be yours. Everything else is good. The 250 TSX makes it reliable on cape buffalo. Enjoy!

My second last night of Safari in 2009 I was sitting around the fire with Kevin, and as it often does, talk got around to favourite chamberings. He asked me what I would take for buffalo next hunt. I opined that if I could afford a new rifle, I would like a 404 Jeffries, but that a 375 was the probable rifle. He surprised me by asking me if I had ever considered the 9.3x62. The man makes a very convincing argument for shootability and penetration. He is a definite heavy and slow proponent, but admitted the barnes tsx showed remarkable penetration characteristics. I had a complete penetration through the chest of a Gemsbok at 350 yds and both shoulders at 200 yds.

I have done a lot of research on the 9.3 and am very impressed with it. The rifles I have seen chambered are nice rifles (one CZ, one Tikka.) They have been around the same price, but I do like the control round feed of the CZ. I am undecided if a new 9.3 will go with me or a .375H&H. Knowing the 9.3 has enough is not the same as believing the .375 has. Crap sometimes runs in my veins now that I am older.

Safariman,
That is most gracious of you and thanks for the tip on the TSX 286's.
PM Sent!

I took my FN Mauser/Lothar Walther barreled 9.3x62 to Africa in 2009 for Kudu and Eland. I felt grossly overguned the cartridge is that potent. Be sure of your backstop.

58 grains of 2208/Varget under a 286/285 grain projectile of your choice is the 'magic' recipe. You will read and hear more of that load the more you research.

I have 2 CZ 9.3x62s and love the cartridge and the rifles. Both mine actually shoot well under an inch at 100. I've taken several bears, eland, and wildebeest with the new Federal 286-grain Swift A-Frame load and have been very happy. This September, I took the combination to Africa and took several animals, including a buffalo and hippo with it and was not as pleased.

I dropped the hippo with a pair of quick 286-grain Barnes solids (the new Federal load) but the buff did not go so well. My first shot destroyed the top half or 2/3 of both lungs but did not exit. The second, a solid, got the liver and a whole bunch of other stuff with a Texas heart shot. as it ran away. 40 minutes later, the bull charged me with amazing speed, especially considering the amount of damage those first 2 bullets did. My PH and I dropped it at 7 yards - his hit it between the eyes a split second before my shot, so mine hit it in the spine, which is where the head was when I pulled the trigger. Fortunately, my cameraman held his ground and the whole thing will be on Petersen's Hunting TV next year.

The 9.3x62 worked, and one animal is hardly enough to form a very solid opinion, but I won't use it on buff again. I've taken 7 with the .375 and 5 others with various .416s and the .470. All were one shot kills, and all seemed to out an instant hurting on the buff, while the one I shot with the 9.3 didn't look to affected by either of my first 2 shots. I know one buff is not enough to form an opinion that is valid enough for you to consider, but it was all I needed to see to know that the 9.3x62 isn't quite enough gun for me. The .375 is my personal minimum, but I prefer the .416 (Rem., Rigby, or WBY) for buff. I'll reserve my 9.3x for bear and big-bodied plains game.

Sounds like a great story Greg, but you're going to upset the 9.3 "aficionados"! Good pucker factor
Who were you hunting with?

If you had used the A-Frames on the buff, you'd be singing its praises. If you had used the 250 TSX, you would be zealot. It did give you a good story. (Hippo are quite large, you understand, maybe something with a lanyard might be better?)

I did use the A-Frame on the buff. Federal has 2 new loads - a Barnes banded solid and a 286-grain A-Frame. The first shot was with the Swift.

GregR.....It sounds like to me, that this particular Buff was just NOT going to give up the ghost like you may have thought. I have a lawyer friend of mine who had to shoot his, using a .416 caliber 5 times and the PH shot it twice with his double gun. It was to enraged to know it was already dead I suppose. It was a very exciting time and he still gets all wound up explaning what went down on that Buff hunt.

Mean buffalo. Best to leave those be.

I have only shot 13 myself, but I have been present when many more were taken by clients. After sifting through all the organs in skinning shed, I was amazed that the buff was still alive, much less in good enough shape to do what he did 40 minutes after the first shot destroyed its lungs. In fact, no one could believe it still charged so long after the first shot. I don't know about mean, but it was awfully tough.

Glad to hear you and your PH came out on the winning side of the equation.

Classic, and true!

It's good to see the 9.3x62mm regaining popularity. I've been a fan for awhile.

I had AHR build me one on a CZ550 receiver, and have taken it to Saskatchewan and Namibia. 250gr. TSX and 286gr. Partitions have taken numerous heads of game with authority.

Going back to Africa over the next couple years, and undoubtedly the 9.3x62 will be my companion. Still in a quandary though.... not sure if I'll stick with the 286gr. NP (shoots extremely well in my rifle) or dabble with the new 286gr. A-Frame.

Need to see how well the new Federal loaded 286gr. Barnes Banded Solids shoots in my rifle too.

Greg,
I greatly appreciate sharing your field experience with the 9.3x62. "It is what it is" as they say, and you discovered that for you it is just not enough gun for getting the job done.

My thoughts on this splendid rifle and caliber are this:
It makes for an authoritive PG rifle at reasonable ranges (up to say 250yds for me).
It is a very potent caliber in a very manageable size and weight.
It has enough power to take care of most DG situations you might come across, though not ideal for any.

Is that an accurate assessment in your opininion?

I owned an M70 Classic Stainless in .375 H&H and sold it. It required too much of this and that to get it safari ready for my tastes.

I gave my friend my M70 .416 Rem in wood/blue, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind me using that for a dedicated buf hunt.

My ultimate 2 gun safari would be my 9.3x62 and a 404 Jeffery.
I could not imagine a better pairing for me. Pardon my romanticizing those rounds, but I've always liked things a bit different. I own a nice M70 wood/blue .30-'06 but it just doesn't move me like the 9.3x62, pardon the pun.

BTW, although I like the M70, I find the M70 cheek comb is too wide (stuck out too much) to feel comfortable when shouldering. I find the CZ comb perfect for my build (medium and somewhat stocky).

Jet: I also share your view of nostalgic calibers but the 9.3 and the 404 combo is too close for me. Personally you'd be much better off with the 06/375 or even better the 06/416 for buffalo. I don't have near the experience Greg does but I can tell you I've seen the difference even between a 375 and a 416 (in my case a Rigby). So what's my idea of a perfect combo? a 300(any flavor) and a 416. jorge

Jet,

The first two parts of your assessment are very accurate. However, I really think it is too light for elephant and just marginal for buffalo. I would much prefer a .375 if I were looking for a DG rifle that didn't rattle my fillings. It works very well on buffalo and I would have no qualms about using it again.

Jorge already mentioned that the .416 is noticeably better than the .375 on buff. He is correct. Sort of. Too many people who can't really shot a .416 carry them. Consequently, we see far more buffalo rodeos with .416s, .458 Lotts, and big double rifle cartridges that we do with the .375. Those big cartridges look and sound sexy, but few folks practice with them enough to shoot them well. If you can shoot it, the .416 is tough to beat. If recoil bothers you or you don't want to buy another rifle, be careful with your shot placement with your 9.3x62 or .375 and be patient. Go sit under a tree and BS for a while before you go after your buff and, if you shoot him well, you won't have any drama to deal with.

Thank you gentleman.

Although the 9.3 seems close to .416, it is so pleasant to shoot by comparison that I have taken it as my only safari rifle for everything from impala to buffalo. It has noticeably less recoil than the .375, but the terminal performance, in my observation and experience is equal on buffalo. I would not and did not use mine on elephant. That's were I draw the line.

The .416 (or .404) would be even better on buff. They do everything my .450/400 does in spades. That includes elephant.

If you like that combo, then by all means go with it.

FOsteology- Skip the solids in the 9.3, I went through a period where I thought the solid was king, and found the TSX out performed the solids, especially on buffalo. I had a couple of safaris where we had 2 hunters with 9.3's, one shooting the TSX and I mostly solids. The solids worked, but no DRT. I saw enough to go to the 250 TSX, and have been very pleased ever since.

I've used the 250gr. TSX a bit myself. Absolutely love it on wild hogs as the bullet penetrates completely at any angle. If the hogs cooperate, and line up just right, I can typically get two (and a few times three!) with one shot.

However, I'm leaning towards the 286gr. Partition as I'll be hunting lioness, and have found that the Partition expands quicker, and tad more than the TSX at 9.3x62mm speeds on thin skin game.

The Partition is never a bad choice. If you can ever find the RWS H-Mantle, give it a try. I've had outstanding performance with it, but they are hard to find and are priced as if made of Plutonite mined on the Dark Side of the Moon.

Just ordered a barrel today for an old heym mauser action thats been sittin long enough, Im gonna shoot 320 woodies in mine, tryin for 2400 fps w/a 25" brl, outta GED for some nice inside 300 yd. huntin.
Good luck w/ Yours
Gunner

I love my CZ very much. It is very accurate and easy shooting. So far I have only used Norma factory ammo in 232 and 286 grain bullets. It has flattened every CA pig it has come up against with one shot. I haven't used it on anything else and have never been to Africa, but given my confidence in this gun and my ability to shoot it well, I wouldn't hesitate to use it at moderate ranges on everything up to Cape Buffalo.

I used the 250 gr X (the original) in my 9.3x62 in 2002 on a bunch of plains game up through elend. Excellent performance from that bullet.

I have one, and I bet if you switch to another ammo make, or handload, it will shoot even better!

Mine is menuine sub MOA with the original Barnes X 286grns..

Regards,

Peter