I need a larger bore rifle. I have a friend who feels the 375H&H is the best chambering in the world and uses it to hunt everything imaginable. Another feels it is a good caliber but offers nothing but increased recoil and the bad habits learned from such a gun when compared to the 9.3x62 Mauser. He offers up many articles of Africian hunting to back up his story. I am a little torn between the two, but must admit the recoil issue is worthy of thought. I just want the opinions of the more learned here who have shot both as to which might be best. My hunting use for it would be from bore and bear up to elk. thanks for the advice.

I've shot both but only own a 375 H&H. The recoil was not so different but the 9,3:s I've shot have been less heavy than my 375 (CZ 550 Mag = over 10 pounds with scope).

I would look for a rifle first and consider the cartridge second. The 9,3 can be had in a trimmer rifle, the 375 can produce a bit more "thump" ...

I'm just now considering a 9,3x62/64 as a complement, in a synthetic and rust-proof but above all handier rifle.

[ 10-27-2003, 23:24: Message edited by: Wachtel ]

I have owned about a half dozen rifles in each caliber. I eventually settled on the 9.3x62 as being more versatile. If you decide later that you would like even more power, you can easily rechamber to 9.3x64.

I simply love the 9.3X62, the 9.3X74R, the 375 H&H flanged Magnum, and the 375 H&H Belted mag. They are all very well designed cartridges, and fully capable of doing in Elephant if need be. None are what I'd choose for stopping a mad Ele at close range, but if they were the only choice I had, the 375 H&H Belted Mag would be my choice of the bunch! However, I wouldn't hesitate to hunt Ele with any one of them if that was all I had! My real choice for the above sittuation would be a 450 NE 3.25" up to 500 NE double!

I own cz rifles in both calibres and recoil is the same I feel due to the fact that the 9.3x62 cz 550 is lighter and trimmer than my .375 H&H cz 550.

That being said I love both rounds and they both have there place, I would not feel undergunned just because I was carrying the 9.3 and not the .375.

I feel where the .375 may shine is if one wants to utilise say a 270 gr bullet and use it to shoot something a little further out, I reckon the .375 loaded full tilt in this situation has more legs for this job. Bullets and brass allthough not a problem in 9.3 is not as common and you will get better selection with the .375 H&H.

If I could only own one or the other it would be the .375 H&H due to bullet selection and the ability to load down to 9.3 speeds if you so choose. With a 235 gr speer you can get 2900 there abouts and recoil is not that bad and that load is fairly flat shooting for lighter game.

One could also commission the building of a .375 in a trimmer package if they so desired, there was a thread on this. Take a win M70 action add a light contoured barrel and add a McMillan stock and I reckon you would ahve a supurb easy to tote .375.

I myself do not mind the weight of the cz .375 H&H as when it comes time to shoot it balances well and I seem to hit what I am aiming at with it.

What ever you decide check out a cz rifle at any rate once you get one and get it home and examine what you get for not much $$ you will be suprised.

PC

I have both and one kills Cape Buffalo about as good as the other, but the 375 H&H is probably the better caliber and does have the range factor in its favor by a good deal...So for elk at least, it is a better round...Components and such are easier and cheaper to come by...

I love my 9.3x62 and it does recoil a little less, but in the end I would always choose the 375 H&H...It is more versatile and its simply more powerfull.....The 9.3x62 is just one step down the power scale and that ain't all bad.

As has been stated a 9.3 is easier to make in standard dimensions.

I happen to like the fact that someone could mistake my 9.3x62 for a 243 and yet it is buffalo capable.

At range days I can generaly shoot it better than my colleagues can shoot their heavy African style 375's.

You'll never guess my vote...

With the advent of the 250 Nosler, you can have a surprisingly flat-shooting number with a 9.3x62. My own have barrel lengths in the 22.5-24" range. It is not too difficult (using H414 or Re15) to get 2600 fps or so out of the 22.5" barrel. This load shoots almost exactly as flat as a well-loaded 308 firing a 180 gr. Ballistic tip.

I have found the 9.3x62 to be capable of amazing accuracy, all of mine are honest 5-shot MOA rifles with their preferred loads.

The average 375 offers about 500 foot/lbs more, but only 3+1 rounds, whereas the 9.3x62 offers 5+1 rounds.

I like the 375, and find it has a great history, but if I am gonna tote around a true big bore at 10-11 lbs scoped, etc., I'll probably skip to the 416 bore instead. My 22.5" barreled 9.3x62 weighs in at about 8.6 lbs scoped. Pleasant to carry and plenty powerful for anything in NA.

Just by two cents...

I own both a9.3 and a 375 H&H (plus a 350 mag.) Similar ballistics.
BUT if your out in the sticks and you lose or use up your ammo you can find 375H&H ammo almost any where.
IF I'm flying to a far away place I'll take my MOD.70 375H&H Q.D. leopold mounts with 2 zero 'd in scopes also leopold.

Hi,
I was wondering if the 9.3 is legal for use on dangerous game in all jurisdictions? I know that it is allowed in RSA and Zimbabwe, but does this rule apply to Tanzania/Namibia etc?

9.3x62,

there is just one thing to add cz make a high capacity .375 5 down and one up the spout

PC:

There are also quite a few upper-scale 375s that have been floating around for quite sometime that are customized for the larger mag capacity. One such as that would probably make a very nice rifle. However, most 375s are 3+1. Besides, if you had room for 5+1 375s, think how many 9.3x62 cases you could fit in that dimension...

My 375 with a 26" barrel weighs 9-1/2 lbs, my 9.3x62 with 26" barrel weigh a few oz. less at a bit over 9-1/4...The 375 has a drop box, so the hold the same...Recoil with my loads is about the same as far as I can tell...I love them both.

But the 375 has the edge any way you cut it for someone who isn't really specializing and just wants one big rifle..

The 9.3x63 is not legal in Zimbabwe unless handloaded to the hilt, It is illegal in Tanzania where the .375 is required for DG...In RSA it is illegal in a couple of locations...

All that said one can get away with using a 9.3x62 in both Zimbabwe and Tanzania if the game scout will allow it and he can do that, but he will charge you a bit for the favor if he even knows...He probably won't...

For a stomper in a nice light package consider the 9.3x64,use a standard action,synthetic stock,21"-22" barrel keep it around 71/2 lbs.Chuck 286 noslers @2500-2600fps.Easy to carry-easy to shoot enough power.Availability aside it might be the world best all around caliber!

Why anyone other than a few of us gunnuts would pick oa 9.3 over a 375 is beyond me and most of you know how I love the 9.3s, but in reality thats my nostalgic side croping up..I have even used the 9.3s to shoot Cape Buffalo and I think they are capable of that but the bottom line for all you 9.3 cultest is the 375 is more powerful and has a bigger cross section of bullet and that counts on big animals...

The 9.3x64 is some better than the 9.3x62 by about 100 to 150 FPS in my guns. It's a great all around caliber, probably the best of all, but brass is still hard to come by and expensive and it certainly has nothing over the .375 from a practical standpoint...

Wake up you guys, get real, but don't sell your 9.3s

Everyone who has seen my signature knows how I feel on the subject. Personally, I got a 9.3x62 to hunt moose with some day but I can't help but feel that I ought to take it to Africa at least once, just on general principles.

If I go for a plains game hunt in the next few years it will be a toss up between the 9.3x62 & .375 H&H (both cz's) for which one gets the trip. At the moment it would be the .375 mainly due to thefact I reckon it might have a little more range on it's side for a longer plains game shot. I would probably load a 270 gr or 300 gr woodleigh protected point for this purpose.

PC,
Thats always an agonizing decision to make isn't it??, Sometime I lay awake at night thinking about which gun to take to Africa or on a deer hunt...but I wouldn't have it any other way...

The 9.3x62 is a great Buff gun, not a stopper but one does not need a stopper if he puts a hole in the right spot, at least most of the time....And a pretty good stopper is a 9.3 or 375 in the brain...