Convince me that I need one! I killed a lion in Namibia with one, but usually use a .375HH. I have been offered seriously good deals on 9.3x62’s.
Do you love them, like them, hate them?

I hate them, A LOT!!! Please forward via P.M. any and all contact details of those good deals and I will do my best to delete those pesky urges!

The 9.3 pairs well with the 400 Whelen, I find.
I have barrels.....and actions too!

I believe one would be seriously challenged to prove to you a 9.3x62 is ballistically equivalent to your 375 H&H. Having said that, I own over (10) 375s and even more 9.3s. And there is a reason why the 9.3x62 is DG legal in many African countries. The PHs I have spoken to there feel it will take the same animals as a 375. But, the 375 H&H will send 300 gr. at 2,550fps, and the 9.3x62 will send a 286 gr. at 2,350. So, the H&H simply has a bigger case and therefore more horsepower. But the question is, is it needed? That question must be answered by each hunter on his own.

Here's what I love about my 9.3s. Generally lighter built rifles. Holds more rounds. Less recoil. DG legal.

The 9.3s that I own are Dakota, CZs, Sako, & Rugers, plus some AHR #3 CZs. The new Lipseys Ruger African 9.3x62 weighs the least of them all, about 7 lbs. Mine does at least. A joy to carry, and for me, no problem to shoot recoil wise whatsoever.

My favorite medium bore is my 35 Whelen, but I have to admit the 9.3x62 is just a little more.

I also have an AHR #3 CZ 9.3x66 that was converted from a '62, and I am in love with that rifle.

My advice? Buy one. You may end up owning a herd of them like me...

Think of it as being in the same power range as the .338 Win that you also want!

I feel for the temptation of the .338. Just now getting it sorted . Then, the 9.3 comes along.
I am weak when it comes to a nice looking and accurate rifle!

Dogcat, I'm going through the exact same dilemma!

Been thinking about having Smithson build me one, but I have a very nice 30-06 and .375 and that covers everything short of the really big stuff on an African trip.

That said, I trim, great handling, 9.3x62 would be fun to have.

I have shot 15 head of game in africa with 9.3x62 and 74R. They are my favorite mid bore (8mm-375) I shoot the 300gr A-frame at 2350. With a great SD they penetrate extremely well. On paper is isn't where a 375 is but they kill everything I have shoot from diker to eland.

I haven't noticed that something shot with the 9.3 kills any faster or slower that my 375's.

Each hunter has to decide on what works for them. Shot placement is the most important element in a quick harvest of our game.

I would hunt everything up to cape buff with either the 9.3 or 375.

Only if you really like the 9.3x62, I always had one and loved it, but never doubted the 375 was better on all counts for DG..in fact I prefer the .338 over the 9.3x62..That said I used the 9.3x62 on buffalo more than a few times.

Most of you guys have way more big game hunting experience than myself. So, don't put much stock in my comments. My hunting experience has been limited to elk, whitetail, mule deer and hogs and I envy those who have had the opportunity to hunt big/dangerous game in Africa or big bears in the North. There is something about a medium caliber and cartridge like a 9,3x62 that works pretty well on the dangerous game and perfectly on smaller critters like elk and deer.

My CZ is easy to carry, a real pleasure to shoot and really easy to reload for. The biggest problem I've had is which bullet/bullet weight and powder combination to use as they have all proven more than accurate enough for hunting. This week I think I've settled on 250 gr Nosler Accubonds over Varget. Next week who knows, it may be 285 grain Norma Oryx or Nosler Partitions over Ramshot Big Game. I reload for 10 different calibers and the 9.3x62 is one the easiest to work with.

Finn Aagard once wrote that he saw virtually no difference between the 375 H&H and Heavy 30-06 in game under 700 lbs. As humans, we tend to subjectively rationalize “Need”.

I love history and mausers. Some say the 9.3x62 was the most ubiquitous medium bore sporting round in Africa before WWII, and that if Mauser Werke had not been destroyed and 9.3x62 ammo hadn’t dried up, it would have never been replaced, as it has, by the 375 (What if Winchester had made cheap Model 70’s and ammo in 9.3x62 after the war? If “ifs and buts” were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas!)
John Barsness sold me on the 9.3x62’s performance and practicality many years ago. Then around 2008, Bob Faucet posted pics and history about Osa Johnson and her Type A in 9.3x62. That’s when I really decided to jumped down the rabbit hole.



These two rifles differ in length by less than 1/4”. The mauser weighs 7lbs 15.5oz, and the Ruger weighs 7lbs 10oz.

Available component bullet weights that I am aware of: 200gr, 232gr, 250gr, 270gr, 285/286gr 300gr, 320gr, 325gr.

Component Brass is available from:

Norma
Lapua
PPU
Hornady
Graf’s (PPU made, I think.)
Nosler

While Walmart doesn’t sell 9.3x62 ammo, just about everyone is making factory ammo these days:

Federal
Winchester
Nosler
Barnes
Remington (at least one run of 286 core-locts a few years ago)
Norma
Hornady
PPU
S&B
RWS (NECG has 8 different RWS loads in stock. Not cheap though)
Lapua
Swift
Sako
DoubleTap

I would have to add to my above post that it is hard to determine the difference on buffalo shot with the 9.3x62 and the 375 H&H, at least visually...but I still believe the 375 is the better of the two, much like its hard tp tell the difference visually between the 375 and a 416, but I know in my heart of hearts there is..

what makes hunters opinnions is more about what the "see" and it can be misleading and/or actual..

Ray, I agree with you.

A 416 (or 404) has to be better than a 375.

A 375 has to be better than a 366 (9.3).

I guess the big question is, how much better? Or is needed?

You have stated that you have killed many Buffalo with a 9.3x62. Also with a 375 and a 416 & 404.

A 9.3x62 (or 9.3x66) rifle is so much lighter, carries more ammo, and has much less recoil in a like-weight rifle, that the 9.3 is so tempting to carry as opposed to the others, that it is like a siren that calls to me.

When I hunt Buffalo in Africa, I always carry either a 404 Jeffery or a 458 Lott with open sights. My back up medium bore is usually a scoped 375, however I have also carried a 338WM, 35 Whelen and a 9.3x62, but I have never used them on Buffalo. I always 'hope' to take my Buff with one of the 40s if the distance is close enough (for me, that is 80 yds. or less. Hopefully less!), but am ready to use a scoped medium if it's not.

In fact, that is exactly what happened this year in Zambia with Andrew. I have taken two previous Buffalo with my open sighted 404 Jeffery with Andrew in safaris past. This year, the closest we could get was 100 yards, so I handed off my 404, and took my scoped 375 H&H in hand. The scope was appreciated and all went well. One shot was all that was needed.

Years ago (2005?), the same thing happened in Zimbabwe. I had just purchased a 458 Lott and was excited to take a Buff with it. As luck would have it, again the closest my PH and I could get was 100 yards in the wide open field. I still put my new 458 Lott up on the sticks, hoping the Buff would 'look' close. It did not. Very reluctantly, I passed off the 458 to the PH and took my scoped 375 from my wife's hands and shot the bull with only one shot from the 375. Each time I drop a Buff with one shot from my 375, I have to ask myself why I am carrying my 40 calibers! I guess because I like hunting with them (and open sights), and as we both believe, they just have to be better...

I am thinking of replacing my 375 in the future with my 9.3 for the reasons stated above. But when one has had 100% success with a 375, it's hard to let go. But to paraphrase yourself, in 'my heart of hearts' I know the 9.3 will do the job!

Surefire,
that pretty well mirrors my experience, I had my 505 gibbs, but the buff was in some really thick Jess, My PH said take your .338 and shoot through that hole he is standing with his shoulder in that hole!, I did and he expired after a very short run..I shot a .338 solid..

I tried to convince my nostalgic self to prefer the 9.3x62 over the .338 and events just couldn't back that up, the 338 always won..But the unsung 9.3x64, now there is a honey but again the .375 bested it a bit..decisions, decisions!