I want a relatively heavy, 35-9.3 caliber to use on an intermediate (48) mauser action. I have considered 9.63x57, but I will be hunting smallish whitetails and am afraid that there are not enough light bullets. I have considered a 35x57, but wonder if it woulden't be easier to go with a 358 Winchester. I have also considered 9.5x57 and swedging .358 bullets to .356, but have no ides what this intails. Any thoughts? I like the nostalga of the later two. thanks, capt david

Isn't there a 9x57 Mauser? And the good old 9.3x57. Lots of bullets for each, and lots of brass that could be used. I'm really starting to like that basic Mauser case; I now have a large herd of 8x57's, a 7x57, and am looking at something a little lighter to match.

That is a good idea too, re: the intermediate action. Compact guns with decent horsepower are very cool.

Good luck,
Todd

Edited: RE: bullets for small whitetails, there are 9.3 bullets in the 230 grain range; a big slow(er) bullet will kill well without destroying the meat that even something like a 243 would -- my worst blowups have been with that round, admittedly not since I started using better bullets.

[ 12-25-2002, 18:57: Message edited by: Todd Getzen ]

Lothar Walter offers a barrel prethreaded & chambered in 9.3x57 for the 98 Mauser in two barrel contours. Just needs to be headspaced to your receiver. A very economical way to go.

I shoot "trophies for trophies", through a shoulder. On my meat shots I shoot behind the shoulder. My friend has a 35 Whelan. He's gotten every thing he's shot, but with everything except the 200gn Hornadys and Corelocks everything, 4or5, he's shot, behind the shoulders, has run off. Some have run up to 200yds, with little blood trail. We've found them all dead, but Iv'e been under impressed with "heavier" bullets. I assume that the're made for bigger game. I would dearly love a 9.3, but there is only that one 232, gn bullet. with a 35 there are many more to choose from. How hard is it to swedge 358 bullets to 356(9.5) Again a 358 Win still might be my best choice. thanks again, capt david

Don't over look the 338-06. There is a wide selection of bullet weights & brands available.

capt david I have shot quite a few deer and pigs with a 9.3X74R. I have used the Speer 270gr with good results. Many on this form say it is too fragile in the 9.3x62, but at "x57" velocities you should not have any problems. However the best [meaning the one bullet I have used in my 9.3 that has knocked every deer and pig to the ground, none have run off] is the 285 gr Hawk with the .035jkt. I have also used Hawks [300gr. with the .025jkt] in my 450/400. None of the pigs hit with it have run off either. These Hawks expand to a VERY large mushroom and really anchor the game. In a 9.3X57 a 285 Hawk .025jkt at @ 2050fps should hit deer like Thor's hammer.
I have found that a heavy bullet that expands to a large diameter seems to anchor game better than a lighter higher velocity bullet. You can also get Hawks in a lighter weight if that is your preference.

Since you are building a custom gun, why is it necessary to use a .356" barrel? Just chamber using a .358" barrel and use your choice of .35 caliber bullets without modifying them. But in answer to your question, it should be no problem to swage any .35 caliber bullet down by .002" to fit an odd-sized bore.

If I were looking for a dependable expander with a lot of punch in this caliber, I think I would try the Nosler 225 grain Ballistic Tip.

oops!

[ 12-27-2002, 01:10: Message edited by: Bear Claw ]

I've been thinking about having a military 98 in 8x57 rebored to 9.3x57 as an experiment. Near as I can tell, you just neck up 8x57 brass, which is cheap, common, strong and has 7% more capacity than the 308 family. 98 actions are meant for one round and one round only, and an action meant for the 8x57 won't feed a round based on the 308 case reliably without action work. (Been there, done that, took the loss.) But most of the cheap high-quality surplus 98's out there were built from the ground up for the x57 case, and should take the 9.3x57 AS IS. All we should have to do is rebore--even the original chamber might work. These 98's also have a longer magazine than most 308's, so you don't have to seat bullets into the powder space to make them feed. With modern brass and powders, I'd guess that 232 and 250 gr. slugs might go around 2,400 fps and the 270 gr. Speer might do around 2,200. The various 286 gr. bullets might even break 2,000, but I don't know how much sense they make in the x57 case.

It would not be a long-range rig, but with peep sights a lightly-sporterized 98 in 9.3x57 would make a cheap, slick hog rifle. With a scope, it could probably hit at 200 yards with authority.

My only concern is the shoulder, which is slightly smaller than that of the 35 Whelen and could cause headspace problems if you got overly enthusiastic with the sizing die.

Does anyone have experience with this round? Or any ideas?

Thanks, Okie John.

capt david, per Cartridges of the World, the 9.5 Mannlicher-Schoenauer takes a .375 bullet. I don't know if it would feed in a Mauser action, though...

Okie John.

Captain David. A 9.5mm caliber bullet is .375" A 9mm bullet is.356". The suggestion to just use a .358" barrel has merit. Frankly, I'd just go to the .358 Winchester and forget about it. It'll do everything the 9mm mauser will and a bit more.
As to the comments that rifles originally made for 57mm cartridges have to be reworked to handle the .308 Win. based rounds? Horse pucky! I have two rifles, 1912 Chilean Mausers that were originally 7x57 that have been rebarreled to .308 Win. Both feed just fine and no extra action worked was necessary. In fact, I'm considering rebarreling one to .358 Win. myself and expect no problems.
Paul B.

There is 9.3X62MM for sale on GUNS AMERICA for
$695. Check the Mauser section.

Paul B: I posted that in my experience, 98 Mauser actions built for the 8x57 do not reliably feed cartridges based on the 308 without action work. You posted that your rifles were 7x57's. As well as having a different bore diameter, the 7x57 is smaller at the head and shoulder, and shorter through the body. This is a question of a few thousandths here and a few there, but thousandths can gang up on you and cause trouble. Also, if your rifles were converted in Israel (Star of David in the stock, Hebrew proofmarks), the feed rails were altered before you got them.

I have had two (a small sample, I admit) 8x57 98k rifles rebarreled to 308; neither fed reliably from a fully-loaded magazine until the feed rails had been adjusted. After that, they were rough but reliable.

I hope this clears some things up. Okie John.

sir david, consider please the 9.5x57 Mannlicher-Schoenauer. Back in the day, it reportedly had a good reputation as a meat getter, but was unreliable on dangerous game, and so lost favor. Also, there is the potential of headspace problems, but careful reloading and what-not should help take care of those concerns. With 225 grn Hornady Interlocks, it would be one hell of a meat gun. As far as fitting an intermediate length action, the COL for this cartridge is 2.94 inches. COL for the 8x57 is 3.17 inches. Methinks you wouldn't have a problem here: in fact, you could load your bullets a little farther out than suggested. You may, however, find dies in short supply. Also, I have heard that this caliber is NOT the 8x57 case necked up, but that there are some minor differences. I do believe, however, that the person who told me this assured me that one could make cases by necking up and fireforming 8x57 brass.