At long last I had a chance to do some penetration testing with my 9.3X62. The rifle was a CZ 550 American and the test media was wet phone books at 50 yards. There was only one surprise. Here is what I discovered.

1. Oz is on the right track. Even at a more modest velocity, the 300 grain Swifts are hard to beat. I only shot one because that's all I had to. It shot clear through a cardboard box of wet phone books and was not recovered. If you are hunting heavy game like buffalo, this would be a fantastic bullet PROVIDED YOU COULD GET A SOLID SHOOTING TO THE SAME POINT OF IMPACT.

2. Performance of the 286 grain Woodleigh protected point was also superb. They penetrated almost all the way through the phone books and held together very well. This bullet combined with a 286 Woodleigh solid would be my choice in the 9.3 if I was only hunting buffalo.

3. Performance of the 286 grain Woodleigh round nose soft points was good. They penetrated quite well but expanded far more than the protected points. It is an excellent bullet but perhaps better suited for the more modest velocity of the 9.3X74R.

4. The 250 grain Barnes TSX bullets penetrated as least as well and sometimes better than the 286 grain Woodleighs. Two were recovered and they were picture perfect and my guess, had almost 100% weight retention. If I were taking one rifle on a hunt to shoot both plains game and buffalo, this and a 250 grain Barnes solid would be my go to bullets for my 9.3.

Now for the surprise. My buddy was with me and shot his wife's .375 into the box with a 300 Woodleigh PP, 300 grain Woodleigh RN, and a 300 grain Hornaday BTSP. THE HORNADY BULLET BEAT THE WOODLEIGHS! No kidding. It penetrated just as far and was a picture perfect mushroom. Go figure.

Dave

Interesting Dave, thanks for posting!
- mike

Okay, I had a chance to weigh some of the recovered bullets.

Both of the recovered 250 grain TSX bullets weighed in at about 249.5 grains... 99.8% weight retention!

The 286 grain Woodleigh PP weighed in at 275.4 grains... 96% weight retention!

The 286 grain Woodleigh RNSP weighed in at 269 grains... 94% weight retention.

All excellent!

One other thing to note. The 286 grain Woodleigh PP from my 9.3 was in better shape than the 300 grain Woodleighs from my friends .375 H&H. I don't know what his load was but I suspect that you get better bullet performance with the Woodleighs at the lower velocity of the 9.3. but then again, we 9.3 guys already knew that right?

quote:

the test media was wet phone books at 50 yards.

How thick were the stack of books? 12", 36" etc.

Doug:

I am not exactly sure. I'm guessing 18 to 24 inches maybe. The first Swift and Barnes bullets went through so we simply stood three or four more phone books up in front of the box to make sure we could capture some bullets. We weren't very scientific I am afraid.

Dave

Dave,

Sounds like you are getting some great penetration.
I have shot into wet phonebooks and water jugs for years. If I may make a suggestion, the next time you may want to roll up on old through rug behind the box and then place a 1/2" to 3/4" piece of plywood or OSB board at a 45* angle. If the bullet passes through the phone books, the rug and board will absorb the remaining energy and you should recover the bullet in the rug.

JD338

quote:

It is an excellent bullet but perhaps better suited for the more modest velocity of the 9.3X74R.

Nominal vel. for a 286 gr. bullet is 2360 fps, equally obtainable in the 9.3x62 and the 9.3x74R.

Dave, what velocity do you get with the Swift 300 grain bullet?

Wink:

In my rifle, 56 grains of Varget gives me 2260 with a 300 grain Swift.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by Will:

quote:

It is an excellent bullet but perhaps better suited for the more modest velocity of the 9.3X74R.

Nominal vel. for a 286 gr. bullet is 2360 fps, equally obtainable in the 9.3x62 and the 9.3x74R.

Will, most of the load data that I have seen for the 9.3X74R shows slightly lower velocity than the 9.3X62. Perhaps that is in deference to the mostly break open actions that the 74R is chambered in. I guess my suggestion would be if you want to shoot the round nose Woodleigh, slow it down to below 2300 fps at the muzzle. In fact, the Woodleigh web site shows a recommended impact velocity of 1800-2200 fps for the round nose bullet and 1900-2600 for the protected point. The protected points are designed to run a little faster and that was quite apparent in what I saw at the range yesterday.

Dave

Dave
This is very interesting information. Thanks for sharing.

Jeff, did you and Ron get the cattle checked?

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
Jeff, did you and Ron get the cattle checked?

Yes, most of my cows are retired show heifers, and they are always happy to be petted on. They usually come running when they hear my truck.

Them was some of the shinyest black cows I ever seen.

I have used the Woodleighs at 2520 FPS in my 26" 9.3x62 and found the 286 PP the better bullet, but for herd shooting the RN would be a good enough bullet coming to rest on the off side shoulder skin with regularity...The solid I have used is the GS Customs 270 gr. and its excellent and shoots to the same POI in my gun.

One thing I'm pretty sure of and that is the 9.3x62 is pretty easy on bullets and most bullets seem to perform very well in it.

I, Personally, have had very good results with the 300 Gr. Woodleighs in the .375, but my favorite 375 soft by far is the Woodleigh 350 gr. PP for dagga boys, and the 350 gr. RN for herd shooting...

I am of the opinnion that bullets start doing funny stuff at around 3000 FPS and faster if they are going to do something unspectacular...

Ray:

In my Blaser, the 250 grain TSX bullets are running about 2525 fps and the 286 grain Woodleighs in my CZ are running between 2350 and 2400 fps.

Dave

Dave,
You need more powder!

I use RL-15 but I also use a 26 inch tube and the 9.3x62 likes long barrels and with the excellent 320 gr. Woodleighs you need that long tube..According to Ganyana, he has trouble getting my near 2400 FPS in the short tubes, or perhaps he is using RSA powder, not sure..

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Dave,
You need more powder!

Ray, I have been using Varget. I think you are right that RL15 would probably give me a bit better velocity. I am not sure yet but I think that I am just going to switch over to the 250 grain TSX bullets for everything. These things penetrate like crazy. I will probably have an opportunity coming up in the fall to shoot a bison with a 250 grain TSX. I'll keep you posted on how they work.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
I am not sure yet but I think that I am just going to switch over to the 250 grain TSX bullets for everything. These things penetrate like crazy. I will probably have an opportunity coming up in the fall to shoot a bison with a 250 grain TSX. I'll keep you posted on how they work.

Dave

Dave, yes please. That would be interesting. I'm planning to use the 250 grs TSX as my do-it-all bullet...

- mike

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
Doug:

I am not exactly sure. I'm guessing 18 to 24 inches maybe. The first Swift and Barnes bullets went through so we simply stood three or four more phone books up in front of the box to make sure we could capture some bullets. We weren't very scientific I am afraid.

Dave

You're not sure! What kind of test was this anyway? I insist that you repeat this and pay more attention to the details!

Btw, I am planning to do similar testing with various calibers. I intend to measure distances, bullet weights, expansion etc...

Dave why use phone books you have all those cows standing around waiting to be come steaks.

Dave,
That 250 TSX should be in for a real test on bison, they are big tough animals and die pretty hard sometimes..Let me know...The only bison I have shot with the 9.3x62 was with the 320 gr. Woodleigh, it worked very well at near 2400 FPS, but it was a short range broadside shot..He stood there and rocked for about a minute or two I guess and then got on his knees, and decided to graze, and died with grass in his mouth..acted like he didn't even know he had been shot, typical of Bison....

quote:

Originally posted by J D:
Dave why use phone books you have all those cows standing around waiting to be come steaks.

The ranchers get real upset about that but it seems that every deer season some damn fool manages to shoot a cow!

Ray, I'll keep you posted on how it goes with the bison. I am going to line up a trip this fall to shoot two cows, one for my son and one for me. I am going to use my 9.3. He is going to use my .500 Jeffery. This should be interesting.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by Demonical:

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
Doug:

I am not exactly sure. I'm guessing 18 to 24 inches maybe. The first Swift and Barnes bullets went through so we simply stood three or four more phone books up in front of the box to make sure we could capture some bullets. We weren't very scientific I am afraid.

Dave

You're not sure! What kind of test was this anyway? I insist that you repeat this and pay more attention to the details!

Btw, I am planning to do similar testing with various calibers. I intend to measure distances, bullet weights, expansion etc...

Demonical:

I am going to repeat the test and this time I promise to be a better record keeper. I am only going to test the 250 grain TSX bullets against the 300 grain Swifts. I have to wait for the new phone books to come out in the next month or two and then I will scoop up all the old ones I can find. I'll keep ya posted.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
I have to wait for the new phone books to come out in the next month or two and then I will scoop up all the old ones I can find.
Dave

Kind of rare to find somebody anxiously awaiting new phone book editions... But I guess it does make sense in this case...

- mike

Penetration tests on rounds like this are almost a waste of time....

unless it is being used for something like elephants or rhino in africa, heavy and slow rounds like this, will give all the penetration anyone could ever desire....and then some...

kinda like my 338/06 with 250 and the old Speer 275 grainers..