Does anyone have some good handloads for a 98 mauser in 9,3x57mm.

Thanks, Aleko

I was curious about this cartridge a year or so back and did some searching on the internet. I'll copy here the notes I took; you'll want to visit the sites and verify these.

The German site www.ladedaten.info had copies of some old VihtaVouri data. I didn't copy these since they looked to be hot, a reputation VV has earned over the years. (I'll note this site now charges for access to the loads section.)

www.norma.cc, 10/03, had these loads using their bullets and powders, and the loads appeared to be far more reasonable:

                    COL           gn     fps

 232 Vulcan        2.93"   200   41.7   2264
                           201   46.6   2264
                           202   48.4   2297
 286 Alaska        3.01"   201   43.2   2067
                                 39.8   1903
                           202   44.8   2067
                                 40.9   1903
 286 PP Dual Core  3.01"   202   44.8   2001

I failed to record the barrel length.

The CIP (Europe's SAAMI) pressure limit is a low 36,000 as measured with their copper crusher arrangement. The SAAMI number would likely be about 35,000 CUP.

Based on the cartridge dimensions, I'd hazard a guess that Reloder 15 and IMR 4064 would be good choices.

I hope that helps.

The Vihtavuori manuals are still available at www.lapua.com and can be downloaded as a *.pdf-file.

I would sure like to get one of those nice, old Mausers in 9x57 or 9.3x57 mm. Once I had the chance to get a Drilling in 9x57 R real cheap and am still sorry about this missed opportunity...

In case Norma 202 is a bit difficult to find...

I just checked Norma's site, and I see they now have data for 203-B. This powder is likely the same as Reloder-15, save the typical lot variations. Both are made in the same Swedish plant.