I carried my CZ 550 American in 9.3 x 62 opening day of Pennsylvania rifle season this year..

I was fortunate enough to bag a nice 8 point buck in Potter County Pa...

I could not help but wonder if any other deer were killed in Potter Co, or, for that matter, in the entire state of Pennsylvania, with this cartridge....

I also took an 8 pt buck in Potter county just north of Galeton. He had an 18 1/2 inch spread. Took him with a 7mm Rem Mag. That was the first time I hunted Pa. I was very favorably impressed. Vry nice area.

Mac

Mac...Congrats on a fine Pa whitetail...

There were some beauties taken down there this year... I saw several bucks taken in the 18"-20" range..It used to be mostly mostly spikes and forkhorns, but the quality of the deer has improved lately, and hopefully will continue to improve with the new 3 and 4 point regs...

Pygmy,

what loads do you shoot in your 9.3x62 American ??

Have you tried the Nosler ballistic tips in this caliber ??

What made you choose the American model over the other variations ??

my friend and I have enquired into getting 9.3x62's CZ's into Australia, it may take around 6 months (CZ Australia do not import all calibres). I am interested in the American model while my friend has his heart set on a battue model. At the advice of others I have lost a little interest in the battue, I liked the Full stock model but it would be a pain to look after I reckon. The Lux model may be a compromise. I do not really need a 9.3 as I have a .375 on lay buy, but I can not have my best mate having a cool calibre I do not have

Anyway the 9.3 I think will be for Nosler BT's and the .375 for woodeligh's.

PC.... I chose the CZ 550 American because I prefer a plain barrel( no sights) and I prefer the straighter "American Style" stock...

I AM glad they left the single set trigger on the American, because it is a nice feature.. The single stage feature of the trigger also works well and is quite adjustable...

The load with which I killed my Pa whitetail, plus two Alaskan caribou is the Barnes 250X bullet , Lapua brass, Win LR primer and 59.0 grains of RL-15...Velocity according to my Chrony is 2500FPS...All three animals dropped in thier tracks..This load prints 3 shot groups in about half an inch at 100 yards.

I have tried the Nosler 250 BT with the same components as the Barnes, and it is accurate, but not as accurate as the Barnes...

I have also had good results with the 270 Speer and IMR 4064....

Pygmy,

Have you had it bedded ??

and what scope do you have mounted on it ??

I was thinking a 2-7x33 leupold Vari X 11 would suit it nicely.

Pygmy, also who makes 230 grain bullets, I see data in my manuals for 231 gr bullets for the 9.3 but do not know who manufactures bullets in this weight, I know thye do not do a nos BT in 231 only the 250 gr varient.

I am still debating a bit as I have .375 coming, but I figure the 9.3x62 will be a little handier and have a bit more everyday use ?? I am having trouble in justifying two rifles of the same power level.

Barnes bullets are very expensive in our country, woodleigh's are the same price as sierra's and speers for us.

How flat does it shoot in comparison to the 30/06 ??

[ 12-19-2002, 02:47: Message edited by: PC ]

Congratulations on the nice buck.

As per the Nosler BT's ... I shoot them in 308 and never had a problem at 2500 fps. Shot a little deer with a 375 H&H with a BT loaded to 2500 fps. Little fella was only at 25 yards ... projectile detonated at the surface on a followup shot and made a mess. Going to Barnes to get that high BC and studier build.

Pygmy,

Congrats on the buck. When I lived in Cambria county in the late 60's/early 70's, Potter County was one of the THE places to go for bucks, but I don't recall seeing many big racks. Quality Deer Management works.

My buddy killed a 5-point Arkansas buck last year with his 9.3x62 Steyr. His load was a 270 Speer over 59 or 60 grains of RL15 in Norma brass.

The deer died mighty quick, but he was surprised at the damage whitetail bones did to that Speer and the pair of relatively small exit holes. He'd hunt deer with that bullet again, but not larger stuff.

Next time a deer falls to his 9.3, it will be to a Nosler B-Tip. We're both interested in how that bullet will work - we expect good things.

BigIron

PC...My CZ shoots sub-MOA right out of the box...No bedding, no tuning, no NOTHING...I adjusted the single stage pull on the trigger and that was it...

My scope is a Leupold M8 fixed 4X...I've had excellent luck with that scope on several rifles and it is the epitome of simplicity and dependability...It is also amazingly BRIGHT at dawn and dusk...I think the Leupold 2x7 would be an excellent scope also, however...

I've only shot 3 animals with this rifle so I am no expert regarding its performance..However I can make these observations..
It is much more pleasant to shoot than the .338 Win mag I owned previously...

It is quite accurate with all bullets I've tried, and EXTREMELY accurate with the bullets it favors..

All 3 animals I shot with it dropped in thier tracks..Meat damage was minimal...Exit holes were appx 1.25"-1.50" in diameter and there was not a lot of bloodshot meat...I know this because I butchered all 3 animals myself..

Thanks Pygmy, sounds like you have a real shooter there !!

Any ideas about 230 gr bullets in the 9.3 ??

Pygmy,
Congratulations on the nice buck with the 9.3x62. I know what you mean about being the first on the block. I often get the "...it's a nine point what???" from guys at the gun club. Not many of these in South Carolina either.

PC,
I have the same CZ550 American as Pygmy and (like his) mine is straight out of the box with only the trigger pull lightened to about 3.5 pounds. I followed some of Pygmy's loads when I was working mine up for a Zimbabwe trip and had the same excellent results with the Barnes X, 250gr. Ballistic Tip (my rifle's favorite) and 286gr. Partitions. Topped mine with a Leupold 2.5-8 and it performed extremely well on plains game from impala to eland using the Partitions.

PC...One of the European manufacturers makes a 231 grain, I think.....Norma, I believe...One of our European members should be able to help us out here....

Pygmy I am sort of thinking I can justify a .375 and a 9.3x62...

I have a couple of the Magnum CZ 550's & a little 527 hornet and I would like to try one of there medium length actions. Is your rifles action nice & smooth, feed well etc. ?? The more I shoot my CZ's the more they impress me !!

Thanks 1894 !!

I wonder if anyone in Australia sells them !!

What is the BC & SD of these bullets like ??, it should be better than .375 cal 230 gr bullets you would think.

Thanks for backing me up, 1894...

Britain has always been one of our most dependable allies... ....

PC....My CZ 550 has functioned flawlessly...I have had no problems with it..

This fall was the first time I hunted with it...It replaced a .338 Win mag as my "heavy" rifle, to be used for bigger game like moose and elk or for ANYTHING in GRIZZLY country....I took it deer hunting in Pennsylvania just to get in some more hunting time with it....

It's an impressive round..I was surprised and pleased with it's accuracy in that CZ rifle...It delivers a heavy bullet at a reasonable velocity without kicking the snot out of me...It's probably a better dangerous/heavy game cartridge than the .338 Win mag at close range because of the heavier bullets available...However it's still capable of reaching out to 300 yards if need be, and it kicks more like a 30-06 than a .375....

It's also fun to see the PUZZLED expressions on the faces of locals when they ask me what caliber my rifle is and I tell them it's a " nine-three by sixty two.."... ......

[ 12-20-2002, 00:04: Message edited by: Pygmy ]

Thanks heaps Pygmy for answering all my mundane questions !!

Wouldn't you agree that CZ rifles are just a bloody great bargain for what you get ?? I really like there actions, they have a very solid feel to them.

PC.

Pygmy,

just one more question. Does your "American style" 9.3x62 have the crossbolts behind and infront of the mag box as pictured in the lux and othet models ??

Thanks mate.

Yes it does have the crossbolts...Perhaps I can send you some pictures via email...A friend of mine is scanning some photos of me with the rifle ...

And I agree it is a good value for the price...When I bought mine I got it for $450 from the dealer in Arizona to my home in upstate NY...

I also have the CZ 550 American in 9.3x62. I love it! I have not yet killed a deer with it but the season's not yet over...

PC, I agree, it is a bloody great bargain, no question about it! The scope rings were a bit too high for me so I replaced them. If that's a concern then factor that into the price but still...what a bargain! (Oh, but shhhh! Let's keep this amongst ourselves...)

Oh, and yes it has the double cross bolts in a beautiful quarter-sawn wood stock.

And the caliber? Mmm, mmm! I love it! I consider it the only caliber I'll ever need.

In terms of performance it's not too far behind the .375 H&H yet it recoils like a 30-06. Yes, obtaining ammo is a bit of a problem, but it's not too bad. I have it shipped to me and that's worked out fine.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, consider me a part of the 9.3 fan club.

Pygmy,

I would love some photo's !!

I have decided I do not care if it is to close to my CZ .375 I just have to have a 9.3x62, you guy's are having all this fun with a great caliber I have to be a part of it It will take around 6 months for my CZ 9.3x62 to arrive so cash supplies will be up again after the .375...I can't let those cash resreves get up to high

Wismon I agree with you on scope mounts, but most rifles do not have them so I do not factor those in to cost. I have a set of warne Fixed mounts here I will use on the 9.3, these were on my .585 and they work !! so they will handle the 9.3 no worries. I just wanted QD's on all my big stuff with irons.

After the 9.3x62, I will need CZ's in;

.458 win mag
6.5x55.
30/06.

GSF1200, I have a both a 30-06 and a 9.3x62 in the same model rifle and I can't tell much difference in the recoil. And by the way, I shoot 180 gr. and 286 gr. bullets in them, respectively.

Now what I didn't mention is that the 9.3 has a Pachmeyer Decelerator recoil pad on it (that's the way it came from the factory) whereas the 30-06 does not. So maybe that's the difference.

[ 12-20-2002, 23:36: Message edited by: Wismon ]

Wismon,

you probably don't need a Pachy on a 30/06. It would be a nice touch though. I would like to see some pics of peoples 9.3x62 cz's. There pretty well decked out with the cross bolts and Pachy pad. The 550 magnums should have the cross bolts were the 9.3x62 has them not one little bolt through the pistol grip which I fail to see the purpose of.

PC, I don't have a digitial camera, though I might get one some time soon. If so I'll take and post a picture.

Yes the 9.3 has the Pachy pad and crossbolts while the 30-06 has neither. Also, the 9.3 has very pretty wood while the 30-06 is somewhat plain.

By the way, the crossbolts don't protrude from the stock/forearm but rather look more like two slightly counter-sunk Philips screw heads. I think they look nice but if you're expecting some type of ornamental crossbolt they aren't quite that.

Wismon,

I just hopw with the one I get that I get the cross bolts and Pachy pad as they will just look nice on such a nice caliber as the 9.3x62.

Looks as though I am in for a 6 month wait for my 9.3x62

PC, I'm sure you'll love it and it'll be worth the wait.

I waited at least that long but much of it was my own doing, going back and forth on whether or not to buy it. Finally I felt that it was the right thing to do so I ordered it and have never regreted it.

You should have seen the man at the store trying to figure out what it was - it was quite funny.

That would have been funny,

and it will be the same here as your average shooter in Oz has a .270, .308, 30/06, .222 & 22/250.

You have something different that is in mamny repsects also a better performing caliber than some others. Hopefully by buying it your frineds etc. will be also keen to get one and you will encourage more people to buy 9.3x62's which might eventually lead to more components being produced !!

Have you tried the woodleigh's in your rifle yet ??

I bought the CZ-550 in 9.3 x 62 for a couple reasons......primarily, the mountains where my family and I do most of our backcountry recreation contain numerous black bears that are recalcitrant in the extreme. The San Bernardino Mtns. (east of Los Angeles) was for many years the "dumping ground" for pest bears from Yosemite and Kings Canyon Nat'l Parks. This continued into the 1960's, and the bears here have a strong affinity for trash dumpsters and very little fear of humans, thanks to both tree-hugging weed eaters that FEED THEM and to intermittent moratoria on hunting them--this year was closed, for example.

This year while picking berries in an abandoned apple orchard, we had a "near-miss" with one of the furry freebooters (John Muir's term--pretty succinct). The Redhawk was along, but I sure missed having a good stopping rifle for the trip.

Secondarily, my collection had a gaping hole in hunting arms between the 30-06 (scoped M-70) and 45-70 (Ruger #1 w/irons). I've tried a couple 338's, but they aren't real good with cast bullets, and the 9.3.x 62 looks like a PERFECT cast bullet rifle.

Now, if I could only find a mold......

Deputy Al

From what I have read about the 9.3x62 it is a well balanced round with 30/06 recoil & .338 win mag power.

I have enjoyed reading everyones experiences with this round.

My old 98 mauser in 9.3x62 seems to love every load I try in it,from 230gr plain base cast over 12gr red dot or 26gr of 5744 to the loads with 286gr norma rn over a good charge of rl-15 and everything in between.the cast bullets I got were sized only .364" but shoot great in my rifle,haven`t slugged the bore,but,NO leading yet.I ordered 300 of them and am having a ton of fun plinking,planned a dec. elk hunt but after working up a sub .75 moa load I broke my foot a week before opening,well I`ll save some of those loads for another year(if I ever draw another permit)the barnes 250gr x-bullet over 58gr of rl-15 shoots like it was made just for my rifle.been using re-formed rem 30-06 brass (some of us are poor)and having great to better results.I`m very happy that I re-barreled to this caliber,my other 3 barrels just sit in my cabinet,I never thought this could happen as I really loved my 6.5x55 barrel,and now it just collects dust(with my 308 and 30-06 barrels beside it)

Bigbelly,

you and others are going to make the 6 month wait for my 9.3x62 very hard with all this talk of how great this round is

Bigbelly--

Use of cast bullets was another big factor in choosing this caliber. I kind of assumed that it would be a plain-based design, since there is no such thing as a .36 caliber gas check--just .35" and .375". No sizer dies, either--but Stilwell in TX can make them pretty reasonably.

Deputy Al

PC -
Don't know if you can order from them or not, but Graf & Sons http://www.grafs.com/ carries the 232 Norma Oryx's. I just picked up a couple more boxes from them. $35.00/100 US. Its reputation for performance on large game in Finland, Sweden (or one of those other funny shaped countries over there where they shoot moose all the time) is excellent.

58 I4895 in Lapua brass gives around 2550 FPS from my CZ550, with excellent accuracy.

As to recoil, I don't know about some of the claims - it's definitely on the healthy side. I'd rate it on par with my 350 RMag; certainly less than full power 250 grain 338 WMags.

Good job Pygmy. Mine got carried a good bit, but, no shooting.

R-WEST

R-West,

do these bullets expand quickly/slowly

what can you compare them with perfromance wise ?? I am thinking about 9.3 bullets for pigs and Aussie thin skinned stuff and These Norma Oryx, the woodleigh 250 gr & the Nosler Ballistic Tip 250 gr are all bullets I am considering.

Thanks for the link to Grafs.

PC,
Try Frank O'Reilly's in Melbourne for Norma and RWS products, both projectiles and cases. I've got a sneaking suspicion they may stock them or be able to order them, price would probably be higher than Woodleighs though.
Cheers...
Con

Con,

if prices are higher than woodleigh's I suppose you might as well use the woodleigh's then !!

Thanks for the tip !!

Regards PC.

PC, I would LOVE to try some Woodleigh's. Unfortunately, I don't yet reload.

(I know, for that reason I probably should not have the nerve to show my electronic face around here...)

[ 12-25-2002, 09:21: Message edited by: Wismon ]

Wismon,

do not be guilty mate !! maybe you could buy one of those little lee hand reloaders so you can try some different stuff for your 9.3x62. Woodleigh's my friend are just supurb bullets, try them and you will be hooked.

You can even get 320 gr woodleigh's for the 9.3x62 and others have said on this forum that penetration wise these are the ticket !!

PC: The new oryx in 286 gr are a bit softer then the ligther one, and are made more to the pigg hunters. You shood trie them too!