I have a 30-06 barrel laying around, and am thinking of having JES make it into a 9.3x62.

Just for grins.

Anyone else do this?

Nothing that I currently hunt requires more than a 308, but I have a friend pestering me about Africa all the time, and I want to go back.

Do it so you will have a reason to go back!

I had JES rebore a CTR to 358Win... It's a shooter with 180gr TTSX's.

Yup. Made my whelen. It’s awesome

Nice thing about JES is he cuts the throats separately so he can do any throat length you want. I have a few rebores in which he cut a shorter throat than SAAMI, either to bump pressures with weak factory ammo (common in the 9.3) or to accommodate the jump I wanted within COAL constraints.

I'd go the more expensive route and use a new barrel. I'd probably use a barrel nut as well, just so I could play around more as my tastes change. I like to try things out, and if I can swap barrels in my garage with minimal tools it's a huge bonus.

I know a guy who had JES rebore his L579 Sako to 358 Win. He likes it and says it's accurate, but like most gun guys, he tires of new ideas quickly.

So it's for sale, if anyone here is looking for a beautiful condition Sako in 358 Win.

I've done plenty of both and have no real preference except that you have to wait for someone to make you a 9.3 barrel, then wait for someone to chamber it, then maybe adjust your barrel channel.

Speaking of JES, has anyone ponied up for the four or five groove barrel instead of the three? If so, do you feel it was worth the extra $?

Wayne York cuts 5 or 6 grooves in every barrel he rebores. I've owned 3 of his and 7 of Jesse's. I see no accuracy difference between them. Wayne's are lapped on a separate machine and that has eliminated alot of the copper fouling I get from each of Jesse's barrels.

Why ruin an outstanding cold hammer forged Tikka barrel by messing with it?

They are better than a lot of the big name barrels I have used over the years and I personally would not do what you propose.

Yes, but I doubt the OP is in a hurry. PVA will build the barrel and chamber for a Tikka, but I get the 9.3 isn't a popular barrel right now with builders. The OP can definitely do what he wants, but I know I wouldn't stick with a 9.3 very long. That's why I'd opt for a barrel I can pull and replace easily.

I wish I would have done that

Any tikka barrel can be pulled and replaced easily
That’s the point.

Thanks, Dinny.

I'm sorry David, I should have read your first post better. I thought you were talking about sending a barreled action off and not just an extra barrel. That's what I get for skimming after reading the title.

Do what you want with an extra barrel. I was just thinking I might want to reinstall a good 06 barrel at a later date if it was my rifle. I've just built rifles to try, and for most things larger than .30 caliber I'm over it pretty quickly.