I am in the process of starting up a big bore for the wife. She uses a pair of MK II rugers ( .308 rsi & 77/22) currently and is content (demanding) we stay with the ruger 77. I built a .376 steyr on a HVA for customer a while back and it works well, I have no experience with the other 2 thou I can read and know of there ballistics. A good 300 at 2400fps will obviuosly do what needs doing.
An alternative of a 250X or Hawk will be nice as well. The ruger is not a variable, that is what she wants. She is interested in a Lion/Eland/Oryx.
Her health will not allow 10 miles a day for Buff.
It will be more of a heavy to take up where the .308 lets off. The .375 idea is to make minimum for legal caliber/joule requirements.

ED

I would build her a 9.3x62..I can get 2520 with a 286 gr. Woodliegh or Nosler...I can get a easy 2400 FPS with a 320 gr. Woodleigh RN and that is Lion medicine. I have a rather light 26 inch barrel and you can figure on roughly 25 FPS less for every inch you wack off...RL-19 and H414 are the powders for the 9.3 x 62 and IMR-4320 for the 9.3x64, which is another option and it just more of the same with about 100 to 150 FPS increase in velocity..I like the 62 myself as brass is easier to find when I need it...

The 9.3x62 is legal in Zimbabwe with the above handloads, but noone checks anyway...Tanzania has a 375 limit but no one knows it...

I have built 9.3x62 for several of my lady hunters and they have killed Buffalo and Plains game with them, with about the same result as one would expect from a 375 H&H...

I suppose the 376 would be a good option but holds 2 less in the magazine...

Hey Ray,
Thanks for your imput. I was hoping for an old african hand to answer. I have plenty experience with the H&H and am sure that either of these 3 will work well. I am not a wildcatter anymore but the Hawk has the theoretic advantage of bullets. I am sure the 9.3 will suffice and that is probably the way I will go, unless I stumble over a MKII Express .375. I am not overly worried about the .375 or larger requirement stuff, and wasn't aware that Tanzania had a requirement. I have clients who have used there .338 in zam. and tan. for buff. It will be used in Namibia and S.A.

ED

I forgot, my reservation with the .376 is I don't see it being around much longer. Ruger had threatened to pick it up but it is not looking like it will happen. I am just not sure that I want to "put up" with having to work with a 9.3.
I am a plain guy and the 5 or 6 calibers that I load for now is enough for me.

ED

While I have a 375 Hawk that my 16 year old daughter has been shooting this fall beginning with a nice Black Bear, I would agree with Ray and get the 9.3x62.

Snapper

I have both 9.3x62 and .376 Steyr rifles. Come to think of it, I also have 9.5x57 and .375 H&H rifles.

The 9.3x62 is a factory original Husqvarna and is a very accurate rifle. The .376 is a Steyr and is also very accurate.

On paper, at least, the 9.3 is not quite a match for the power of the .376. It is also much easier in North America to find a large variety of bullets for the .376 (it uses .375 dia. slugs), including a goodly variety of premium bullets.

In my particular instance, my Steyr is also a handier rifle than the 9.3x62, at least in the two rifles I have. That "feels" to be the situation at least partly because the bolt throw seems shorter. Whether it actually is shorter, who knows? The .376 case is only 2 m/m shorter, so that may be just the way the Steyr rifle "feels" compared to the Husqvarna...

My .375 H&H is a Magnum Mauser actioned custom, with a Shilen barrel, 3-leaf express sights, and a fantastic English Walnut stock. It has no scope, nor is it tapped for one. I hand-filed the leaves to be dead on at 75, 125, and 200 yards with 300 gr. solids. It is a splendid rifle, but would be my third choice of the four for an all-around rifle.

My 9.5x57 is a Paul Marquart-built piece on a Ruger #1 action. A nice rifle to play with, but not in the power class of the other three.

Personally I wouldn't worry too much about how long, or whether, the .376 lasts in the market. Hornady makes the brass, which it sells in boxes of 50, and it is relatively inexpensive. Buy a case (6 boxes, 300 rounds) and never worry about it again. RCBS and numerous others make dies, and they are not in one of the expensive "groupings".

You can get circa 2,900+ fps from 225 gr. bullets in the .376, and about 2,600+ fps with 270 gr. bullets. It is likely possible to get 2,450-2,500
fps with 300 gr. projectiles, with the proper powders. That is not far, if any, behind actual velocities of commercial .375 H&H 300-gr. loadings.

My 9.3x62 has served me well for years, so I will not be getting rid of it anytime soon. But, if I was starting from scratch today and had to choose between one or the other, I'd take the .376, would limit barrel length to not more than 22" or 24", and would never look back.

AC

[ 11-10-2003, 04:45: Message edited by: Alberta Canuck ]

E.O.,
The 375 H&H is tried and true and one could simply load it down or have someone custom make loads in the 2300 FPS catagory using a good 270 gr.Bridger solid and a 230 gr. GS Customs bullet or even a 270 failsafe and that should more than surfice on any cape buff or Lion...I wouldn't hesitate to use those loads on Lion and buff....

That would be the logical approach...you can load a 375 down better than loading a 375 Hawk up....

Ray,
RL19 for the 9.3x62? Heck, that's slower than the 4350 I use in my 9.3x64. RL15 perhaps?
Bob

I love the .376 Steyr and it is an efficient medium bore round, but the cheaper (rifle that is) CZ 550 does a great job in a readily available ".30-06/.35 Whelen" class case. It pushes a 286 grain Barnes X @ 2360 fps from a 20.5 inch barrel, using 58.0 grains RL-15. Using a 270 grain, the .376 Steyr and 9.3x62 are equal in performance, more weight favors the .376 Steyr, less weight gives more efficiency to the 9.3x62. My .376 Steyr Pro-Hunter gives 2450 fps with 300 grain Swift A-Frame bullets. Magazine capacity is the real issue to me. The CZ550 carries four in the magazine. The .376 holds three, unless you can find the high capacity magazines. These are very pricey and hard to locate. It took me two years and several hundred dollars for the conversion kits and magazines for my Pro-Hunter.

[ 11-29-2003, 07:17: Message edited by: Carson ]

Just picked up a CZ 550 in 9.3x62 a few weeks ago. Just today while shooting a few handguns in the backyard I decided to shoot up a few of my lower velocity 250 grain BT starter loads. My wife shows up so I ask her to shoot the 9.3 just as an experiment. She is NOT very recoil sensitive but is also NOT testosterone riddled enough to be afraid to admit if something hurts or is uncomfortable. She shot the 550 and ended up shooting all of the four rounds I had with no problems. She usually shoots a 7mm-08 or one of my .280's, so the 9.3 WAS a bit of a leap for her.

I agree with Ray and I'd get the 9.3x62. Shorten the stock as needed BUT add a good soft recoil pad. Then use good bullets and she should do fine.
FN in MT

Just in case anyone is interested, my .376 Steyr shoots well under 1" groups with the Speer 235 gr. bullet and 57 grs. of Tu 2000 powder, from Hornady cases with F 215 primers. I have done absolutely no modifications to the rifle, except to add a Weaver V-7 scope which is older than many of the people reading this post.

But, the really fun load with virtually no bothersome recoil is 40.0 grs. Varget behind the 265 gr. Ly 375449 cast bullet. I use LBT blue lube, Hornady GC's, straight lino for bullet metal, and size to .379". Haven't had a chance to chrono the cast bullet load yet, but it's average size for 4 groups at 100-yards last Sunday was in the mid 0.9"s. (Didn't chrono because it was only +36 F degrees, and raining like H---.)

AC

[ 12-04-2003, 09:47: Message edited by: Alberta Canuck ]

I have located a SS action in a factory walnut stock barreled in .376 steyr. With some tune up and L.O.P. adjusted this will suit her fine.
The barrel contour is alittle heavy which I will lighten and it will be cut back to 22".
Thanks for all the imput.

ED

As you are going with the .376 Steyr (which I think is a GREAT choice), here's another tried and proven load for MY gun...

60.5 grs. H-4895, 235 Gr. Speer bullet, F-215 primer. all in Hornady brass. Shoots nice round, tight, sub-1 MOA 5-shot groups from my Steyr Safety-Bolt Pro-Hunter. All the usual caveats apply when loaded by you for your rifle.

Nice thing about the 235 gr. bullet is the low recoil level. So, even if you use 270 gr. or heavier bullets for actual hunting, it's a good introductory load for your wife. Makes it possible to "learn" the rifle without taking punishment.

Good luck,

AC

[ 12-04-2003, 09:51: Message edited by: Alberta Canuck ]