I'm contemplating adding another Steyr to the safe. I ran across a model M luxus fullstock, Mannlicher^2? in 9.3x62. 20" bbl.This is the online 3 rd version, not the rotary mag. Single set trigger. It's wearing a S&B 2.5x10x56? in EAW pivot mts tapered post reticle. This is a military member bring back. Only been shot 30x's, still has the brass/ ammo and a bullet recovered from a boar! Boxes for gun/ scope. It's immaculate. The stock is attractive but nothing to write home about, the grain is appropriate for a heavier kicking caliber. I'm seriously tempted. Anyone have experience with the heavier calibers with the Steyr? How about the 9.3? Biebs, I read you bought a Steyr Pro a few years ago, but I didn't find any range reports. Thoughts?

Rear lugged actions are a minor concern for reloading, eg case stretch. however this is likely not a high volume prospect. I love my Model L .243, although it's semi-retired as I've moved to Sakos. Rear lugs haven't stopped me from owning 3 rem 788's, either. This rifle would closely duplicate my Sako .338 carbine, but the want is strong.

Best,
Gary

Gary, that Steyr ProHunter I bought was in 308, and it shot .267" groups with Hornady Light Mag 150gr Interbonds. Best $500 rifle I ever owned :-)

To me, Steyr rifles are a relatively undiscovered jewel among rifles...most folks are unfamiliar with them.

Though the barrel is short and more noisy, the 9.3x62 should have excellent expansion values - so why not?

I'd change to a smaller scope, though, as that one is not only more than you need power-wise but the big objective's vulnerable to bumping. My little Zastava 9.3 has a great old B. Nickel Supralyt 2.5x21 in Burris Signature mounts - but you'd be a bit lucky to find another like it.

A favorite caliber of mine, but its weakness if it has one is velocity!! I settled on a 24 inch barrel and found the 26 was best on that account. My present 9.3x62 is a sweedish Huskvarna, and I really don't know the barrel length, It looks about 24". Guess its time to measure it?, but nothing will change if I do!! .

The Brno mod 21 comes in a 20" barrel but they are rare to come by and expensive..Most that are available are 23 plus, The European version of 24"s

A 20" feels good, and its still a killer and the question one has to deal with is its a trade off, some will love it and others will not..

I have a little cut down Husqvarna 46 in 9.3x57. It did not shoot well due to pitting in the last 4-6” of barrel. I decided what the heck and took it down to 17” and reinstalled the front sight and moved the barrel band sling swivel back to make it look correct. The little rifle shoots great. I’m shooting very old stock 258gr H-mantle bullets at 2200fps with deadly effect on Texas whitetails. The last doe I shot I took on the run with this little rifle. It carries and shoots like a dream. I only wish it were full-stocked!

I say go for it. You will be able to get at least 2400 with a 286 out of that rifle and that will do a lot!

quote:

It carries and shoots like a dream. I only wish it were full-stocked!

Why would you want to change it to a full stock

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

It carries and shoots like a dream. I only wish it were full-stocked!

Why would you want to change it to a full stock

Lol, one of the silliest questions I've seen asked.

Hi,

To me, all BG rifles should have no les than 56 cm and better 60 cm, roughly 22" and 23,6" respectively. Specially the 9,3x62!!!
My 9,3x62 is an original BRNO ZKK 600 with that 60 cm barrel length. I get, easily, at least 2800 f/s with 220/225 gr bullets, 2650 f/s with 250/258 gr and 2500 with 285/286 gr bullets. With barrel of 22", may be 30 to 50 f/s less. Nothing to worry about.

Waht are your loads sir; Im always interested in specific loads for my Huskvarna 98..My dark timber elk rifle..

quote:

Originally posted by PatagonHunter:
Hi,

To me, all BG rifles should have no les than 56 cm and better 60 cm, roughly 22" and 23,6" respectively. Specially the 9,3x62!!!
My 9,3x62 is an original BRNO ZKK 600 with that 60 cm barrel length. I get, easily, at least 2800 f/s with 220/225 gr bullets, 2650 f/s with 250/258 gr and 2500 with 285/286 gr bullets. With barrel of 22", may be 30 to 50 f/s less. Nothing to worry about.

Your 286-grain loads sound full up, PH. I get 2400 from mine with a moderate load of AR2209 (H4350?) but am considering dropping back a little, to be sure, since Winchester factory loads are at least 150fps slower.

PS: that's AR2209 as amended, not 2206

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Waht are your loads sir; Im always interested in specific loads for my Huskvarna 98..My dark timber elk rifle..

Hey Ray
I load for a 20" barreled 9.3x62, I use 286 grain PRVI bullets and Norma Alaskans with Ramshot Big Game powder. I started at 54 grains and got up to 58 but recoil was becoming a handful for a light short barrelled rifle. In my gun 56 was about right for accuracy.

Here is my 21 inch 9,3x62 on a Mosin Nagant. 2425 with Barnes 250 TSX and 3/4 inch groups.

I think validity of the concern about the short barrel depends on the use you want to put the rifle to.

If it's for a heavy-brush hunting rifle (which that caliber is really suited to already), I don't think it will impact terminal performance meaningfully.

However, my first "high power" hunting rifle was a Ruger M77RSI in .30-06. 18.5"-barrelled full-stocked rifle. It worked pretty well until I stuffed up the accuracy, but man was that thing loud! Short barrels make a huge difference in the gas pressure at bullet exit, which is an important factor in the noise generated. And silencers just don't look right on pretty little full-stocked carbines. But maybe 20" is enough. Buy it. If it doesn't ring your bell, sell it again?

With regard to rear locking, a friend has a Sauer 90, which is not only rear locking, but has complicated retracting locking lugs as well. Makes for a fantastically smooth bolt. His accuracy is on par with any other wood-stocked hunting rifle (better than MOA but maybe not quite 1/2 MOA), he is able to load reasonably hot and his cases seem to be lasting fairly well too.

I use a Ruger #1S in 9.3x62 that has a 22 inch barrel. I am really happy with it. I have not recovered many bullets, but did get a 250 gr. Barnes TTSX from a waterbuck. It was shot at about 150 yards and penetrated 4 feet in the animal. He ran about 15 yards and was dead when I got to him. Also killed eland, nyala, and sable plus some smaller critters with the same load. Here in the US I have taken 7 whitetails. All kills were one shot except the eland, which took 3. I see no problem with a short barrel in the 9.3x62.

Im not surprised when one gets more penetration, slowing down a bullet will generally do just that, and its not always a bad thing, a big 320 gr. 9.3x62 Woodleigh is pretty impressive on Buffalo, Hippo, and elephant and does the job of Impala as well...the best all around loads in the 9.3x62 for me has been the 300 gr. swift spitzer, the 286 Accubond, or partition..Most bullets are very effective and slowing them down is usually an decent option in big bores and gives straight line penetration..depends on circumstances.

I've got a custom 9.3x57 FN Mauser, 20" barrel. My favorite handload so far is the 250 gr Swift. I've used in on hogs. The results are impressive. Complete penetration, of course. DRT.

I have a variety of bullets to handload, but haven't tried them all yet. Back when Nosler was still making the 250 gr with the green tip (I forget the name) I bought a bunch of them. The accubond is the successor with the white tip. I have some of those too. My intuition is that they will be near perfect for the rifle and the stuff I hunt.

I’ve two hunting buddies with 9,3x62 factory “dog tracker” rifles with 18 inch barrels with the swivel on the muzzle. Both have been blooded on sambar and are perfect for pushing through the crap vegetation that the deer love.
Neither have bothered trying to get them to spit a 250g Accubond at 2500+ for cross gully shots as they don’t need to to fill the freezer.
The 2.5-10 S&B are a great choice for shooting deer and boar from a highseat at midnight. The legalities of such practices in your hunting area will no doubt influence your views on their ergonomics. I’ve got two of them and one was on a rifle that fell from a 20ft stand and was only rezeroed because it had slid in the rings

Good stuff guys,

I'm going to call in AM, hopefully it's still available.
Thanks all.

Gary

quote:

Originally posted by GBE:
I’ve two hunting buddies with 9,3x62 factory “dog tracker” rifles with 18 inch barrels with the swivel on the muzzle. Both have been blooded on sambar and are perfect for pushing through the crap vegetation that the deer love.
Neither have bothered trying to get them to spit a 250g Accubond at 2500+ for cross gully shots as they don’t need to to fill the freezer.
The 2.5-10 S&B are a great choice for shooting deer and boar from a highseat at midnight. The legalities of such practices in your hunting area will no doubt influence your views on their ergonomics. I’ve got two of them and one was on a rifle that fell from a 20ft stand and was only rezeroed because it had slid in the rings

There apparently is a difference in the situations comparing Africa to the US or Canada.

I've never hunted in Africa and never will. But I've hunted in Alaska for several years as a resident, in the habitat of the coastal brown bear. So, I don't know if the differences comparing Alaska to Africa are realistic or not.

But, I do know that the 9.3x62 is adequate in Alaska.

quote:

…I'm going to call in AM, hopefully it's still available.
Thanks all…

Well, did you get it?



.

Nope, dilly dallied for too long. I guess my Sako .338 will have to suffice.

Im 0f the 338 Win cult, there is nothing it can't do and do well if one can shoot..Ive seen and used it on game of all sizes to one degree or another, it just does not fail..and if ever, God forbid, are we legated to one hunting rifle, it will have to be the .338 Win but with my 06 buried in a plastic pipe with a couple of hundred rounds of partitions in the bottom of my outhouse..

Short BARRELS ARE A TRADE OFF, TAKE YOUR PICK, i HAVE BOTH AND LIKE BOTH.

I also shoot a 9.3x62 Husky on a 98 action and all original with iron sights 2" high at 100 and shoots under 2" for 3 shots or 5 most of the time..Id hate to part with either, but the 338 Win beats it on paper and in the field all considered and takeing out the nostalgia...

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Im 0f the 338 Win cult, there is nothing it can't do and do well if one can shoot..Ive seen and used it on game of all sizes to one degree or another, it just does not fail..and if ever, God forbid, are we legated to one hunting rifle, it will have to be the .338 Win but with my 06 buried in a plastic pipe with a couple of hundred rounds of partitions in the bottom of my outhouse..

Short BARRELS ARE A TRADE OFF, TAKE YOUR PICK, i HAVE BOTH AND LIKE BOTH.

I also shoot a 9.3x62 Husky on a 98 action and all original with iron sights 2" high at 100 and shoots under 2" for 3 shots or 5 most of the time..Id hate to part with either, but the 338 Win beats it on paper and in the field all considered and takeing out the nostalgia...

Hi Ray,

We've had this discussion before, but since we're both too old to know better, we'd better stick to our guns come what may!

For me - and I've owned a bunch of .338s, including a Weatherby, I slightly favor my Tikka T3 Lite in 9.3 x 62 (22.4" barrel) over my first .338 Win (a SAKO FS in 20") since it gives better ballistics however measured: +2600 fps for the 286 Partition, +2400 fps for the 320gr Woodleigh and +2700 fps for the 250gr AccuBond - all from RL-17 in Hornady brass and WLRM primers. And I've been shooting those loads since 2011 and so far taken three bears. Recoil is UP THERE, but now with the brake is only about 33 ft-lbs from the 8 lb rifle all up and ready to shoot with scope and four cartridges.

Only my 340 Wby could SLIGHTLY improve on that as a medium. And my .35 Whelen can't quite keep up.

Take care my friend.

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

Makes since to me..I recently sold my 338 'win and my 375 'ruger and kept the Husky 9.3x62. Age and travel have changed my hunting to a cow elk and a deer or two..and Idaho allows us curmudgeons to shoot out the pickup window,for a buck and a half, much appreciated btw..For that matter I only use the 06 these days but I have a couple of nostalgic larger calibers to play with..

Would luv to get my hands on some of those 320 gr. Woodleighs. Going to use the 300 gr. A-Frame @ 2300 on my next Buf, and after that, the 320 gr.

Both are good bullets on Buffalo, I tend to prefer the 300 gr. Swift, and the 320s and Woodleighs in general are not going to be available for quite some time. You will love the 300 gr swift btw, and the 286s are always a reliable choice in the 9,3x62..

I saw some 320-grain Woodleighs in a shop near here a few weeks ago. Can't recall if they were soft-points, FMP or, heaven forbid, the PPs.

Since my buffalo-hunting days are probably done and that weight is more than needed for sambar, I could send them to you if they're still there and projectiles can be sent in the mail.

Husqvarna made some factory short barreled rifles on the FN 98 action in 9.3x62. Its a metric measurement but about 20 inches. I have one and it is just about the slickest little rifle in thick bush. It likely gives up a little velocity to a long barreled rifle but almost all shots in the bush are under 100 yds so a few fps make no difference. It handles so quick and smooth I will have that gun as long as I hunt in the bush

My choice of the 9.3x62 is not because its a short range bush gun, which it is, but its a dual purpose, loaded properly its a decent long range rifle based on my long range idea of hunting big game and thats 25 yards to 300 yards max, and the 9.3x62 fills the bill without ripping my shoulder off in my newly acquired feebleness, for ignoring the golden rule of use enough gun to handle any situation.

IMHO, there never has been short range bush gun worth a flip, thats an old wives tale and a serving of BS..A hunter should have one rifle that fills the bill for both in most territory. Where Ive hunted I made shots in thick stuff at up to 300 yards and shots in open country at under 50 yards on more than a few times, its just not a given except in magazines by experts., and its cost a lot of hunters a trophy animal, self included..

Ok, I'll throw my dog in..

I have four 9.3X62's I love that caliber that much.. From a 20" CZ full stock to a 26" Mauser & 22" Ruger custom.. Crazy as it seem's, the little CZ shoot's a avg. about 75fps faster than any the others Same load. Stinkin accurate too! Just sayin..

quote:

I have four 9.3X62's I love that caliber that much.. From a 20" CZ full stock to a 26" Mauser & 22" Ruger custom.. Crazy as it seem's, the little CZ shoot's a avg. about 75fps faster than any the others Same load. Stinkin accurate too! Just sayin..

Barrels are barrels they can do be different.

I have a 5.5 inch 44 mag that shooters faster then the 3 7.5s

Mike, that is the first 9,3X62 I have seen on a Mosin-Nagant action. How many cartridges does she hold?

I'd hoped that by now the "old" MYTH that the famed 9.3 x 62 was a very good big game cartridge to 250 yards, or possibly 300 (as a stretch), had been buried! But, alas, it does seem to take a very long time (since 1905) for traditional thinking to die before it can be buried!

Recently, in correspondence with a fellow hunter/shooter who likes his 9.3 x 62, I pointed out that the 250gr Nosler AccuBond with a .492 BC, and at +2700 fps was a very capable load for bull moose size game to 500 yards, easily. It still retains over 1900 fps/2000 ft-lbs at that range under my ambient conditions. At higher elevations, say 5000 ft, it's good for 600 yards! And the 286 Partition at +2600 fps is plenty for 500 yards with about 2100 ft-lbs.

How are those loads possible? Frome a new 22.4" Tikka with a Sako match grade barrel and RL-17, which shoots the 286 into sub-MOA and the 250 into sub 1/2 MOA, and has been doing that since 2011 from the same load in each at .338 Win Mag psi. The exact same rifle has been chambered by Tikka in .338 Win Mag, only with a 24" barrel.

And also the 320gr Woodleigh shoots +2400 fps using the same RL-17 - a compressed load for each to 109% load density at 3.37 COL.

The weak link is ALWAYS the brass - NOT the rifle! And Hornady brass easily handles such pressures.

But the main point IS that I wish shooters of the EXCELLENT 9.3 x 62 would get OVER their notalgia, and show what the venerable 9.3 x 62 is capable of in today's worldwide hunting.

I know some will balk at my results, and I don't expect everyone who shoots a 9.3 x 62 will take it to the limit, but please don't limit it to 200 - 300 yards in a public forum that will possibly influence potential buyers to turn away from the 9.3 in favor of something like a .338 Win Mag or .375 Ruger (all good cartridges, but give all their due respect).

No offence intended - just an attempt to set any future comments in a slightly improved direction, which the 9.3 is worthy of... and I'm certainly aware of it's historic record - but mostly all at modest to medium ranges. It's a worthy long-range contender for large game. Let there be no misunderstandings.

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

Hello Ray,

Sorry for the big delay in my response about the loads I use in my BRNO ZKK 600 9,3x62 with its original 60 cm (23,6") barrel lenght.
1-220 gr FOX monometal bullet(made in Slovenia)
NORMA-SAKO-REMINGTON cases CCI250 primers.
65 gr R15. 2790 f/s. With the RWS cases I have, much heaviers, I use 1 gr less for the same velocity.
2-250 gr bullets BARNES TSX,TTSX and Hornady GMX, same CCI250 primers, 63 gr R15. 2650 f/s. 62 gr with those heavy RWS cases. I use the same load and components for a same velocity with the great 258 gr H-Mantel bullet!
3-285 Hornady Interlock 68 gr W760 for 2480 f/s.
I must say I use a significantly longer than the standard cartrige lenght. Possible by the long ZKK 600 magazine lenght, and the very long non limiting CIP standard 9,3x62 free bullet travel neck chamber design.
The pressures are not over maximum in my rifle. I can use the same loads at least 7 times in the same cases without problem.

Best!

PH

Some pictures

By the way, I have tried W748 with 220 and all 250/258, and great performance! With the lots I have, the 748 is 1 or 2 grs slower.

For the 285 gr. Hornady you list 68 gr. of W760-----that sounds kinda high! Is that the correct amount of W760?

Hip

58 grs of 760 and H-414 is max in my guns, I tend to think we have misprint and you are shooting 58 gr.s My absolute max has been 60 grs in most rifles, I had one that liked 61 and 62 grs but it was hot to the hilt so I just backed of to 60 and called it good. Im shooting 286 and 300 gr..68 grs of 760 with a long throated bolt gun and a lighter bullet sounds awfully warm but warm ain't bad, hot is!!

I Need to try and work up a Barnes X or GS Custom if I still have some, should get some long range shooting and good killing power out there??? Worth a try.

I do know US shooters seem to cheat the 9.3x62 with mild loads because the Old Old timers shot it with mild loads, same with the 404...Africans load the dickens out of the 9.3x62 riveling the 9.3x64..My velocities are 75 to a 100 fps short of the 64 and that ain't nothing to worry about.

Hello,

It is not a misprint! I have used 58 gr but of R15 with 285 gr bullets for something less than 2400 f/s. This 58 grR15 is a little less than a published Rottweil maximum load with 286 gr and R903, the same poder as the R15 and N 203B as well.
With W760 my everyday 285 gr load is 67 gr. I get 2450 f/s. Not an overmaximum load IN MY RIFLE for sure. As I said, the cases donde show any abnormal stress and can be used 6/7 times.

Hi Ray,

Since I started the search for a 9,3x62 rifle, some 7 years ago, I collect some, really a lot, information about reloading this round.
Most interesting and up to date modern 9,3x62 loads are the ones published by John Barsness. I interchanged some correspondence and, when finally got my rifle, I started with his experiences. And found his loads behaves exactly alike in my rifle. This is a part of one of John writings:

"The standard factory pressure for the 9.3x62 is pretty low, somewhat less than the 60,000 PSI max pressure for the .30-06, which is 5,000 PSI less than than the top pressure SAAMI assigns any cartridge.

This is not because of weak actions (the 9.3x62 was developed specfically for the 98 Mauser action) but because the round was developed around 110 years ago when most powders were very temperature sensitive, especially to heat. Since the 9.3x62 was intended as cheap but effective round for German settlers in Africa, where temperatures could be very hot, pressures were held down to provide some safety margin. These days powders are far less temp-sensitive, but there are still differences between various powders.

We can safely load the 9.3x62 up to .30-06 pressures without risking anything, and a bunch of powders will work, but with heavier bullets powder space can be problem, as we can't get enough of many powders into the case to even reach .30-06 pressures. Thus dense double-based powders (which contain more energy per grain than single-based powders of the same burn-rate) definitely help produce more velocity with heavier bullets. I also much prefer the most temp-resistant powders in the 9.3x62, because I've used mine to hunt in temperatures from below zero in North America to over 100 degrees in Africa.

Because 250-grain bullets don't take up as much space inside the case, it's easy to get 2600+ fps and even approach 2700, depending on barrel and magazine length. I usually use either Reloder 15 (double-based) or Varget (single-based), but a bunch of powders will work. RL-15 seems to be pretty available these days, but if not Norma 203-B does the job, since it's apparently either identical to RL-15 or so close it doesn't make much difference, and 203-B seems to be everywhere right now.

With bullets from 286 grains up, powder room starts to become a problem, the reason I originally tried Big Game with 286's, since it's a very dense spherical powder (all of which are double-based) that had proven very temp-resistant in my own tests. It worked great, and has done exceptionally well in the field for me from Montana up through British Columbia and Alaska, as well as in South Africa and Tanzania.

H414/W760 is a spherical powder of about the same burn-rate as Big Game, so also produces top velocities with heavier bullets. However, in my tests its been more temp-sensitive than Big Game, the reason I don't use it much. But if your hunting doesn't take place in a wide range of temperatures then it would work fine. If you can't find either of those Accurate 2700 is also the same powder.

Reloader 17 also works well with heavier bullets, but I haven't found it as temp-resistant as Big Game. H4350 will get up to about 2400 fps with 286's, but in many rifles not much more because powder space runs out, especially with really long bullets like the 286 TSX."