I'm going in the wrong direction - now I want a 9.3x62, and I've never needed it less.

In the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's, I was basically happy with my (then) high-velocity 270 Winchester with standard 130g bullets. The only premium bullets I'd heard of were Nosler Partitions, and I wan't sure I need them. Sure, I'd lost a few jackets, but the deer fell Dead Right There, so who needed Premiums?

Now, I have all the premium bullets I never knew I needed back then to span the high-velocity-close and low-velocity-far ranges. I have in my locker right now InterBonds, Accubonds, Triple Shock X, Partitions, and even some Interlocks, and I'm looking at the Midway site for some clearly needed Swifts. Okay, one way or the other, my premium bullet requirement is covered.

So what now? Now I'm rationalizing a need for a 9.3x62, which was invented probably because of the unreliability bullets at the time. That's flat backwards! I needed that cartridge in the 60's, etc., not today, when I can push my .277 and .308 bullets faster than ever before and still have assurance that they'll stay together.

I don't get it. Why do I think I need such a thing?

Jaywalker

quote:

Originally posted by Jaywalker:
I don't get it. Why do I think I need such a thing?Jaywalker

If you were a hunter in the 60s You must be at least close to 60. The only reason I can think of is that you like pain.

A ten shot work out on the bench with a heavy load in my light weight 30-06 is about all I can take.You are definitly going a step beyond???????? roger

quote:

I don't get it. Why do I think I need such a thing?

I used to like light bullets and now I like heavy bullets.....such as 180 grain for the old '06 instead of the 150s.....but the urge to start hunting deer with the 9.3 hasn't set in yet.....

You do however need a gun for the DG of africa even if you never go....and of course must practice with it!!!!!

Yes, I am approaching age 60 from the south, and am therefore able to resist all temptations - except those which tempt me.

To make the situation more ridculous, I just bought a 30-06 - an ultralightweight one, at that - to "take care of all my hunting needs, foreign and domestic." I think, personally, since you guys bought all my rifles but one - a SS M70 FWT 270 Win - to fund the purchase, I have this redundant action left and am thriftilly looking for a gap that needs to be filled that the '06 can't. (Tough job, right?)

But that's just me, and I'm not the only person I've noted interested in taking the 9.3x62 Giant Backwards Step. Why does anyone need to fling a thumb-sized chunk of lead or equivalent when we have premium bullets?

DG, right. Elk in tall, dark timber...

Jaywalker

JW, since when has it ever been about "need"?

I don't really understand the 9.3 fad. In America at least it has a dismal choice of expensive bullets. Very poor supplies of reloading data. Available in only a few riles unless you go custom.

Since you mention Elk in tall dark timber. My guess is all your shooting is going to be well under 200 yards if even a 100. My logic tells me under those conditions a 35 Whelen is going to be pretty hard to beat.

quote:

JJ: My guess is all your shooting is going to be well under 200 yards

Not me! I've already explained I have no need for it. I'm wondering what rationalization process others are using...

Jaywalker

Good grief man! You are sixty years old. The kids are out of the house (hopefully!). You've taken care of your responsibilities. The ONLY reason you have to give ANYONE to fill a want is simply that you WANT it. Scratch the d@#& itch!

Come to think of it, I WANT another shotgun. A 28. With nice engraving and upgraded wood. Hmmmmm.... Dutch.

If you were hunting in Europe or Africa where it seems to be a very popular caliber you could logically justify it. In America sorry you're going to have to rationalize. There are just too many guns that are as good or better with much better logistics.

J-W,

Beg the Question, because it works, especially with Vanilla-Flavoreld bullets!

When you make the move to a 9.3x62 and from what I'm hearing; you surely will and won't regret it on the Game Fields A shame it's so close to the lovely .375 H&H because I always feel I'm doing one or the other an injustice (I own & shoot both extensively).

J-J,

Global 9.3 fad - NO, for North America perhaps; and I have every understanding & sympathy for obtaining components that are as unavailable from one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other. Since the Center-Of-The-Universe thinking is so prevlant there and colllaborated by Remington, Winchester & Browning who globally expose different components, chamberings & rifles - when you leave our Continet and travel the World there is no shortage of 9.3 componets beacuse it is what many shoot.

When I do take the Giant Step to Elk in Dark Timber - by the way, what 's the differnce with Red Deer Stag's in the Odenwald? I'll have my 9.3x62 with me, not my trusty .30/06 Sprg. with premium 180' or 200's.

I think age and experience will move you away from light and fast and toward moderate speed and heavy weight. There are not many big game situations where a 9.3x62 isn't just pretty damn good. I even used mine on a 150+ whitetail year before last at a flat out run at almost 180 yards. He had been shot at by some hunters on a neighboring property, I thought he had been hit and tried to give him away to the other guys. The only problem was he only had one hole from a 250 grain North Fork in his shoulder. As I've gotten older, I have almost no push feed rifles except in varmint calibers, actually most of my hunting rifles are now FN Mausers that were built in the early 50's. I also use lower powered scopes, mostly 1.5-6x and 2-7x, 2.5-8s. Elmer may have been a little overboard in his love of big bullets, but it is telling to me that the African PH's even on plains game often will tell you they want you to use at least a 7mm with a 160 grain bullet, and don't seem to give a damn what rifle you shoot it out of. As a matter of fact one of Elmer's favorites is the .333 OKH(now a .338-06) and is also one of mine. My way of thinking is that I'll lose more big game trying to shoot offhand at 70 yards with a long range rifle and a 4.5-14x scope than I'll ever miss at 350-400 yards with a medium type bore and a 1.5-6x scope.

quote:

Originally posted by Gerry:
When I do take the Giant Step to Elk in Dark Timber - by the way, what 's the differnce with Red Deer Stag's in the Odenwald?

Two things: 100 Kg live weight and 2,000 M elevation! LOL! Dutch.

its a darn fine cartridge. and with exellent bullets you can use it for everything, for instance Rhino has a 300 grs for ranges up too 150 meters, grizzly i think that would be fine for. 300 grs woodleigh and swift also. 250 grs swift. allround flatshooting, a good solid for big game where its allowed, like Zimbabwe where its allowed.

What I can't figure out is why the devil you need justification? Hell man, go for it! In fact, to make life even easier for you, I'd bet Lothar Walter has a long chambered barrel for you for less than you'd expect. Give Woody at LW a call and see what they can do.

Also, since you're delving into the world of European cartridges, now may be a good time to start reloading if you don't already.

I think you'll enjoy this immensely.

quote:

Originally posted by Dutch:
Come to think of it, I WANT another shotgun. A 28. With nice engraving and upgraded wood. Hmmmmm.... Dutch.

Me too, Dutch!! Love those little 28's. Still have about a case of 1-oz Winchester shells (and a Ponsness Warren set-up in 28 gauge), from when I used to live in Southern Saskatchewan. Used the 28 for Greenheads, and a 16 for geese. Out on the barley field between the two ponds, and similar other ground, that was plenty. Shots were close and there were thousands of both birds, so a person could choose their shots.....

What kind are you lusting after?

------------------------

BTW, to get back to the thread at hand. I don't find 9.3x62 recoil at all fierce with 286 gr. Norma bullets and max loads. I think everyone needs either one of those or a .376
Steyr....if he isn't already owned by a sweet little .375 H&H...

A guy doesn't need a zillion different 9.3 bullets. The Normas work fine for thin-skinned stuff, and the Barnes X is not too shabby on thicker hides.

One or two good loads and you're maybe set for pretty much everything larger than 50-lb varmints, depending on the circumstances and your rifle skill.

Common guys.. when we start talking about 'rationally needing a firearm'.. all of a sudden we sound like our wives...

I don't really need 99% of the firearms I have owned in my life time...but that didn't stop me from having them at the time....

I personally like leaning toward a caliber no one else has around usually... I like to handload my ammo, and it makes me feel 'enlightened" or a 'handyman' to have what others around me don't have, or can't have...

I love my 6.5 x 57 for that very reason.. it is my favorite cartridge and rifle....( Winchester Model 70 with a Magnum weight 28 inch barrel on it.. so it is real heavy.. oh well... I wanted it, so I get use to the weight)....

A 9.3 x 62 also interests me if nothing else for historical reasons.. I see no reason for a 30/40 Krag or a 35 Whelan except for historical and nostalgic reasons.. I have the Krag but not the Whelan... that niche is filled with a 338/06.. which I 'think' is a better round... but probably isn't... but as long as I think so, I am the one hunting with it.. no one else...

I could see building a 9.3 x 62.. just to have something different.... it would be a very effective 200 yd rifle, and since 99% of most of the stuff people hunt, especially back east.. it would be just fine.. I own 2 338 Win Mags, but if the story be told, I think a 9.3 x 62 would probably be a better choice for the environments I'd use my 338 Mags...I wish the old Speer 275 grain and the old 300 Grain SPs were still available... I use my 4 boxes of 275 grain Speers quite sparingly... but slow and heavy, they sure do a job on what they hit!

So backwards is good in my book, especially in the middle of the short mag craze!

cheers
seafire

They all work man.
9.3X62 would be a great Elk round. Mt quirks are such that if I was building a rifle on a model 70 or a model 700 I would probably go with a whelen ,or a .338,06.
But if I were building it on a mauser I would go with the 9.3.
I bet you would also love , the marlin 45/70. Its a hell of a lot of fun.
I Agree with jstevens about scopes. I can not see where I would use anything bigger than a 3X10 and I prefer a 2.5X8. My 45/70 has a 1X4 in QD rings with a ghost ring back up. Great fun pacing for ELK.
This is America, justify not buying somthing.
I have a harder time jutifying selling a rifle then buying one.
get what ever you want and enjoy it, if you don't enjoy it sell it . in fact sell it to me ! Cheap ! ...tj3006

I commissioned my 9.3x62 from my smith in '99 and got it in 2000. I had to order brass from Germany and Speer 270s from the US. Most didn't know what I was talking about.

Now Most people have now heard of the 9.3x62 and getting supplies is easy, some even hold stock.

If you are recoil sensitive, like standard action and weight rifles yet want to hit quite hard without large amounts of powder being burnt and want to use bullets from 232 to 320gr then the 9.3x62 is for you! The fact that others haven't yet cottoned on is neither here nor there.

All this talking makes me want to shoot my 9.3 tonight!

Sometimes it's fun to do the same thing with a different tool. Hunting the same white tail with a nice 9.3x62 with a 1.5-6x42 whilst imagining you're after elk is not just fun it's darn good practice for when you do hunt elk.

It's not about need, it's about what makes you happy! If you want a 9.3x62 then get one! The 9.3x62 is a great round. It still works just fine, too. For North American hunting, think of it as a ".36 Whelen". Plenty of bullets and brass available for handloading and, in this age of the Internet and online shopping, obtaining them is easy.

Besides, I "needed" my 9.3x62 as a companion to my 8x57JS!! They keep each other company.

-Bob F.

quote:

BFaucett: They keep each other company. Big Grin

I've often wondered if other people were concerned about their rifles getting lonely...

Jaywalker

Ya know !
I never thought about it before but now that you mention it, I only have one europian cartridge. A 7X57 on a CZ full stock.
That is teribly unsensivie of me. it clearly needs a companion.
I know where there are a few old husky,s in 9.3X62. But mabye I should just get a .375 H&H.
Not realy to excited about the 9.3. But mabye a 6.5 swede? aw hell now I am stumped. anothr 7x57 would be fine too. Hey mabye seafire has a plan with a 6.5X57. That sounds ccool to me.
If I,m gonna go with a forigen round I should use a forgen action, Woow now. I think my smith has just screwed a 6.5 swede barrel into a Husky commercial action. I think 500.00 was the price.
Piece of cake to rechamber to 6.5X57, bluing and a stock and away I go.
I think I better take a long cold shower. ...tj3006

It's the internet forums that stimulate our thinking. You don't 'need' a 9.3 mm and I don't 'need' a .358 but now we want one.

I was looking for a lighter rifle a few years back than the M70 and M99 Featheweights that I have been using. So Ray Atkinson and others talked up the Brno 21/22's and I had some mad money and the new internet auctions so I now have two of them. They are not as good as the guns I already have but on the positive side they were fun.

Then a buddy who does not have the internet remimded me again of the Kimber 84M's and I finally bought a couple of them. They were what I wanted. Then the Montanas came out and I wanted them. It's a fever.

At the moment I am happy with the Kimbers and have stopped buying centerfire rifles and in fact sold one. I do need to do something about the air rifle my kid has as it's not just shooting well so it looks like another new gun may be bought.

My late dad was busy working making tools and fixtures for customers. He got by with five guns. That was before the internet.

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:


What kind are you lusting after?

I was looking at a svelte little Italian sxs the other day, 30" barrels, Sticky finger syndrome, for sure.

Oh, well. Back to the office. LOL! Dutch.

I think of the 9.3x62 as a "Bigger Than Deer" rifle. Most hunters in North America think all rifles are for whitletail or mule deer. If you are going for moose, I think it is perfect. Elk in timber would be good, as well as mountain grizzly or black bear, and bison.

What are you going for? If you just like to shoot a lot from the bench, get something else. With the higher-powered rifles, I shoot reduced loads for practice, offhand, sitting, kneeling, cross-sticks, etc. And, then I take the full powered loads with premium bullets hunting. It works for me.

BTB I am getting into air rifles. Cheap and no recoil.