I realized I should have posted this here rather than in the Reloading section. I arrived home yesterday evening after a great hunt in the Eastern Cape. I used the 9.3x62 with the 250 gr Barnes X to take two kudu (sort of..), eland, gemsbuck, blesbuck, impala, two bush buck, springbuck and a porcupine (my wife got her quills...). Performance of the caliber and bullet was phenominal and I was able to recover four bullets. The blesbuck (120yds), impala (120 yds), springbuck (180 yds) and one bushbuck (150 yds) all dropped to the shot with complete penetration and sizable exit wounds and internal damage. All were hit either in the shoulder or just behind it. The kudu bull was taken as he trotted into a small clearing in the thick hillside 100 yds away and paused, the PH had called him good. At the shot he tumbled and a kudu cow tumbled soon after. No one saw the cow race by, I was not particularly pleased but the land owner was more than happy to have the meat and the PH stated that he did not see the cow as he watched for the shot through his binos. This bullet entered just behind the slightly quartering near shoulder of the bull, exited the off shoulder, enter the cow just behind the shoulder and stopped just under the skin behind the off shoulder. The recovered bullet weighs 250 grs and can be used in a Barnes catalogue photo, four petals rolled back and slightly twisted to the base of the hollow point. The gemsbuck was taken after quite a stalk (I now know how a leopard crawls...) just over a slight ridge at 40 yds. The bullet entered just a bit high and behind the shoulder. At the shot he whirled around and staggered. I could see the lump of the bullet on the off side, he trotted 10 yards or so, staggered and fell. The recovered bullet looks exactly like the one from the kudu and weighs 248 grs. One of the bushbuck was taken at 40 yards after a long wait for him to move, which he refused to do. He was facing nearly straight away angled slightly. Confident in the caliber and bullet I fired. The bullet entered the back of his left rear leg and he dropped at the shot. The bullet was recovered just under the skin a bit forward of where the neck meets the shoulder. Again, the bullet looks the same as the previous two, weighing 250 grs. The eland (a very large bull) was hit too low and a bit behind the shoulder at 180 yards and took off into the thick brush. We tracked him for 45 minutes or so following a very good blood trail. Suddenly, less than twenty yards ahead the big bull leaped to his feet behind thick brush and ran. I ran trying to find a clear shot through the brush and found a clear view and landed one a bit high where his neck and shoulder joined. He just rolled at the shot, gave a slight grunt and expired. This was exciting and unbeknownst to me was all observed by my wife who had trailed along with the tracking. She appeared more excited than I (well almost!). This bullet was recovered under the skin in the off side of the neck. It lost two petals and weighs 221 grs. The first shot left another sizable (2" or so) exit hole that bled well. All in all, if you can get the bullet to shoot well in your rifle (this is the first of many tries in many rifles and calibers that I have ever attained acceptable accuracy with the X) I believe you will be very pleased.

Ed.
Thanks for the report. Us 9.3 x 62 fans always like to hear how things went.
I just bought my son his first 9.3 x 62 (CZ 550) in order to get his hands off mine. He used it in Africa in May and fell in lust with it.
He is about your age.
Where in TX are you?

Great report. What is the load/powder/brass/primer ? And will we see the pictures?

Ed,
The 9.3's are truly great calibers and I glad to hear the 250 Barnes X worked so well, may have to give it a try someday...I'm still enarmoured with the 320 gr. RN Woodleigh at 2350 FPS for the bushveld...

I have a 9.3x62 M-54 Win. and I just built a pre 64 Mod 70 with a 9.3x62 barrel for some reason or other, guess I'll just sell the M-70 after I shoot it a bit.

The old Lothar Walther rebarreled Win. Mod. 54 with its skinny schenable forend stock, Talley fitted R&B and a 3X Leupold and NEA adjustable front sight and an old pre 64 Magnum rear island adustable sight with the adjustments on a roller and shallow V sight (made by precise metals) is my true love, but don't tell "Sweet Thang"...

good news, I had much the same results with 250 grain X bullets loaded by Sako. All penetrated fully did not recover bullets. The load gave 2400 out of my rifle.

Ed,

Well done!

Don

Now this is my kind of thread, it's what were here for, to talk about guns, hunting and campfire talk, not this other stuff we been into for a week or two....good show!

Well done!!!!

Weidmannsheil

Martin

Answers to the questions. I live just outside Houston. The load uses Norma brass, CCI BR-2 primers and a compressed charge of VV-N550 powder at 3.330 OAL. It consistently groups inside 2" at 200 yards in my custom FN. I still have not clocked it but expect velocity is in the 2600+ fps range given case measurements, Barnes data, Norma factory load data and my experience with this powder in the 35 Whelen. I will try and post pictures of game and bullets as soon as my luggage (including rifle, bino's, camera, etc., oh yeah and Ray's five boxes of GS bullets....) arrives. It's all lost and Delta cannot tell me where it is after three days. By the way, I booked this hunt through Ray and it exceeded both my and my wifes expectations. Almost turned her into a hunter which, as we all know, is a major step in the right direction.

They sent me 5 boxes of bullets, wow!! I was expecting two, but I'm loving that..Now ya'll you keep after Delta..I can find a hit man if anyone gives you a problem...Love it when a client comes home all smiles. Love it better when he finds his luggage and my bullets
Ray

Sorry Ray, that was a typo error of mine. You are right, they only sent two boxes...