Hey guys, i am thinking about turning my Ruger m77mk2LR in .30-06 with a 22" barrel, into a 24" barreled 9.3x62. I figure that if i get a .270 WSM in a mauser, then the 9.3x62 could handle the stuff from elk up to the big brownies. What do you all think? I would stick with 286 grain bullets.
NH_Hunter
Posts: 97 | Location: New Hampshire | Registered: 12 October 2003
MStarling and I took our 9,3x62 rifles to South Africa last month they killed everything but the Kudu with one shot (he refused to give up after taking a very good first hit). We didn't recover any bullets from any of the animals. Our ammo was loaded with the 286gr Nosler partition except I shot one impala with a 286gr Barnes X.
I think you'll be pleased. The only drawbacks are no U.S. factory rifles or ammo and the lack of the word "Magnum" in the cartridge's name. Mine has become my "go anywhere, shoot anything rifle".
hth
Rick
Posts: 1912 | Location: Charleston, WV, USA | Registered: 10 January 2003
I used a 9.3x62 with 286-grain Nosler Partitions at an average velocity of 2335 fps at the muzzle on my recent trip to Zambia and South Africa. From my rifle it produced 0.5" groups at 100 yards off the bench. I shot a sable, two waterbuck, and two impala with it. It struck them down like Thor's Hammer. Only one of the moved from the spot where it was hit, and it only made 20 yards.
Posts: 1079 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 26 May 2002
It is a 30-06 on steroids! It will do just about anything that you ask of it and in a package that is easy to shoot.
I have one custom built on a Mark X action with a Montana Rifle Works barrel that is incredible. I fired a 3 shot group at 300 yds the other weekend that you can totally cover with a nickel. Such accuracy is not unusual. It is the most accurate rifle that I own, and I have some real good shooting rifles.
I believe the reason is that the #5 profile is very stiff and it was put together and bedded right. I hardily recommend their barrels. I get good velocity out of mine: about 2600 for 250BT (what I used for the grp described above), about 2500 for 270gr Speers, and about 2400 for 286's. I would recommend that you use the longest barrel you feel comfortable with. It seems to be able to use an extra long tube to get increased velocities better than some calibers. It is probably because of the relatively large bore relative to case capacity.
I have taken a bunch of animals with mine, and it is a killing piece of work. I knocked a bushbuck clean off his feet as he ran by at about 15-20 yds using the 250BT; the bullet penetrated fully; and we put the off side to the camera for trophy photos. Tough bullet. The 250BT will shoot about the same ballistic curve a 180gr 30-06 will shoot. I believe that the BC is over .400 for the 250BT. The only animal that I have shot that didn't go down right now was a red lechwe. I employed a Texas heart shot at about 200 yds and the bullet entered just along side the rectum. The bullet core penetrated the animal and exited the animal's chest, but he kept going. I could not believe it. We recovered the bullet jacket in the stomach.
Today, brass and bullets are readily available. Nosler makes a 250BT and 286 Partition. Barnes makes a solid and X. And Speer makes the 270 soft point. Graf, Norma and Lapau make brass that is available through various outlets. I load hot and I get about six or seven reloads before I have to junk my brass.
My favorite powder is 4895, but I am working up some loads with 414 and Varget right now. People report good results with RL 15, but I haven't been able to reproduce their results in my shorter barrel. Some of the Norma and Vitavori powders look promising, but pricey. The round seems to be easy to reload and not very picky. RCBS makes dies. My rifle shoots several bullet weights fairly close together considering you generally don't use solids at much over 100 yds.
If you don't reload, you will have more difficulty, but you will find Lapau, Norma, S&B and now another Yugoslav company's ammo being sold here. The last co's offering is 286 SP and sells for 20USD/box. Graf sell this ammo.
I believe you will love your rifle in 9.3x62. I wouldn't trade mine for any other. It is one of two making the trip to Tanz next year for the hunt of my life time. Ku-dude
If still aren't convinced by all the glowing reports of the 9,3X62, take a look at the 9,3X64. 9,3X64 Brenneke offers 375 H&H performance in a standard lenght action.
Everything is a trade off and one is not really better than another.
The 9.3x62 ain't no .375 H&H but then the probable increased magazine capacity can be a plus. I don't see that either one is needed to kill an impala, but they sure work!
I built a 9.3 x 62 on a Mark X action with 26 in barrel and took it elk hunting last year. No luck! I put on a Burris Fullfield II with Ballistic Plex. By using 286 gr Nosler Partition bullets with 58.5 gr of Re 15, and manipulating the zero point, I was able to work out trajectories to 400 yards. This means I felt comfortable hunting big bulls feeling I had precise aiming points out to 400 yards. That covers a lot of ground. The lowest aiming point (normally considered to be 500 yards) would have been on at about 450. Thus I did not feel limited by range in terms of hitting and killing the game. I'll try again as soon as I can. Great choice in caliber.
Posts: 58 | Location: Plain City, Ohio, USA | Registered: 07 July 2002
Ive read praise of this round being everything from low recoil to the equal of a 375 H&H and flat shooting as well. Somehow I find this all a bit hard to swallow.
After reality sets in I think that youll find that it is much more of a specialized round than a multi tasker, not that great of a bullet selection and a varitable PITA to get brass for. But having said that, Im sure that its virtues are many and it is still one of the few all time greats. If your sure that its what you want then endulge by all means.
Posts: 10189 | Location: Tooele, Ut | Registered: 27 September 2001
Quote: After reality sets in I think that you'll find that it is much more of a specialized round than a multi-tasker, not that great of a bullet selection and a varitable PITA to get brass for. But having said that, I'm sure that its virtues are many and it is still one of the few all time greats. If you're sure that it's what you want then endulge by all means.
That is, I believe, just a touch pessimistic . . . but only a touch. Though I had a 9.3x62, I sold it because it really isn't a terribly good Southwestern cartridge and I live in what is, for hunting purposes, the Southwest. Here in deer, blackbear, pig, antelope and (if you're very lucky) sheep territory, a lighter, flatter shooting round is a better choice. However, we do have elk and if someone was to choose to be a concentrated elk hunter, then the 9.3 is the bee's knees. Where it will shine in North America is farther north where elk predominate, moose are common and the bears are both large and touchy. I can see the 9.3 as just the ticket starting in Maine, going along the Canadian border, down the spine of the Rockies and into the Cascades. The game in Northern Europe is similar and that's what the cartridge was designed for, I think, and for export to Africa. For the traveling hunter who has a PH (or a good double NE) for backup, it would be hard to beat. Shot well, it will do anything on the planet . . . and this is me who is willing to make that statement. I'll likely get another when I finally decide on which new super-heavy I go with and must admit that I don't have any trouble with brass because I have friends in Europe who send it to me. Still I really don't have any cause to get one because I won't give up my . . .
Posts: 2690 | Location: Lakewood, CA. USA | Registered: 07 January 2001
Ain't the 9.3x62 pretty much a .35 Whelen with a German accent?
I looked into it years ago and went with the Whelen mostly on the availablity issue. Taking a second look 'cause I dearly love CZ rifles, and that's a stock caliber. (You can buy the CZ for not much more than a rebarrel job.)
Wound up giving the Whelen to a brother in law in Alaska because it's more gun than there is any need for in Virginia. He and his buds have killed truckloads of stuff with it. 9.3 looks like the same, but more so.
Posts: 1570 | Location: Base of the Blue Ridge | Registered: 04 November 2002
Quote: Ain't the 9.3x62 pretty much a .35 Whelen with a German accent? 9.3 looks like the same, but more so.
And that's exactly why I changed over from the .350 Rem Mag and .35 Whelen to the 9.3x62 (and .376 Steyr as well). I wanted to have the option of bullets heavier than the 250 grains at which the .35s generally top out.
Posts: 1079 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 26 May 2002
I'm not sure why the 9.3x66 Sako was created, other than for proprietary interest. If I'm correct, its velocity falls between the 9.3x62 and 9.3x64 Brenneke, so anything it can do the Brenneke can do better (assuming "faster" is "better" of course; I'm not sure it'll kill any better than the 9.3x62).
Posts: 1079 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 26 May 2002
The 9.3 x 62 is a very capable game cartridge, and comparisons to the 35 Whelen have some validity. Mine has not been used on larger game yet--that will happen this fall. An elk hunt may be in the cards in a few years, and it will fit nicely in that venue. With 9mm Makarov bullets or cast 270's, it makes a comprehensive mess out of varmints.
I bought the CZ-550 for two reasons--as a cast boolit shooter, and as a bear-stopper. Black bears get crappy attitudes when you trespass in their berry patches and they didn't get the memo about my wife and I harvesting therein. Its use as a varmint rifle with the Mak bullets was a fun way to reform 35 Whelen cases into 9.3 x 62 hulls, and the cast boolits REALLY shoot well in my rifle.
Posts: 299 | Location: Yucaipa CA | Registered: 21 December 2002
Quote: Ain't the 9.3x62 pretty much a .35 Whelen with a German accent?
I think you need to take a closer look at the two cases side by side. The 9.3x62 is less a .35 Whelen with a German accent than a .35 Whelen on steroids! The neck is shorter and the shoulder is pushed forward. Even the body of the case is a tad larger. There is a significant difference in powder charge and the bullets are generally heavier. I'm not suggesting that the venerable Whelen has any flies on it,at all, but the Euro-version definitely has the edge.
Posts: 2690 | Location: Lakewood, CA. USA | Registered: 07 January 2001
Quote: There is a significant difference in powder charge and the bullets are generally heavier. I'm not suggesting that the venerable Whelen has any flies on it,at all, but the Euro-version definitely has the edge.
According to the Barnes manual, the 9.3x62 case capacity is 74.87 grains of water, and the Whelen is 72.63 grains, around 3% difference.
In my 26 inch barrel 9.3x62 I can get 2520 FPS with a 286 gr. Nosler: 2450 FPS with a 300 gr. Swift; darn near 2400 with a 320 gr. Woodleigh; 2650 FPS with a 250 gr. Barnes X; and an outstanding 2750 FPS with a 230 gr. GS Customs HV monolithic bullet...
That compares favorably to my 375 H&H and I have killed more than a few Buffalo with the 9.3 and 320 gr. Woodleigh and the a few with the 286 gr. solids and Nosler partitions and darned if I can tell much difference in it and the 375 H&H in the field..and the 9.3x62 has bettered all my old Whelans by enough that I sold the Whelen....
Also I found that there is an 8 to 10 gr. difference, depending on the brass used, between the Whelen case and the 9.3x62 cases unless your using 30-06 cases formed to 9.3x62 which is a mistake except for practice rounds IMO....I would think that equates to more than a 3% difference.
I would be hard pressed to choose between my 375 and my 9.3...that said I still prefer the .40 calibers for buffalo, and if I use anything less than a 416 I would prefer a flat nose solid.. in either the 375 or the 9.3x62.
Posts: 42230 | Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Registered: 04 June 2000
I got a 9.3x62 because I wanted more bullet weight than is available for the 35 Whelen without going to expensive custom bullets. For bullets up to 250 grs. the Whelen is probably a better way to go, but in reality, it's like trying to decide between a 270 and a 30-06. All I've shot with mine were some feral cattle and a small hog -- they went down fast. The loads I used were about like Slingster's, but ones I shot with a 30-06 and Federal's 180-gr. Trophy Bonded load only went down a little bit slower.
"Ain't the 9.3x62 pretty much a .35 Whelen with a German accent? "
Thats�s one way of looking at it. From a moore international point of view the .35 Whelen would be an American version of 9,3x62. The 9,3 is by far the moore available. Yesturday when I bought some practice ammo for my 9,3 I had a look in the ammo locker of the store. I fond five different brands of factory ammo for the 9,3, several of them were offered with different bullets (by the way there was a box of Wnichester loaded with 286 gr Nosler PT�s), but not a single round for the .35 Whelen.
I seriously doubt that any moose would be able to tell if he was hit by a 9,3 or a .35.
Posts: 6 | Location: Sweden | Registered: 23 September 2003
Quote: "Ain't the 9.3x62 pretty much a .35 Whelen with a German accent? "
Thats�s one way of looking at it. From a moore international point of view the .35 Whelen would be an American version of 9,3x62. The 9,3 is by far the moore available. Yesturday when I bought some practice ammo for my 9,3 I had a look in the ammo locker of the store. I fond five different brands of factory ammo for the 9,3, several of them were offered with different bullets (by the way there was a box of Wnichester loaded with 286 gr Nosler PT�s), but not a single round for the .35 Whelen.
I seriously doubt that any moose would be able to tell if he was hit by a 9,3 or a .35.
I've never seen 9.3x62 ammo forsale in any retail store, most carry .35 Whelen.
Posts: 3097 | Location: Louisiana | Registered: 28 November 2001
I wish I can walk into a gun shop and have 5 different loads for the 9.3x62, most have locally PMP 286 grain in Otjiwarongo (Small town in Namibia) if you go to windhoek and look around you may be able to get like RWS, Norma, PMP and Sako but not much else, The other day I heard some good news from the gundealer in Otjiwarong when I bought my 9.3 in 1994 there were 2 people using it me and another guy, he told me since PMP started making ammo things turned around, they are currently selling more 9.3x62 ammo than before, he sais it is giving the 375 H&H a real go for its money. Sounds good to me
Cheers
Flip
Posts: 931 | Location: Nambia | Registered: 02 June 2000
Have had mine for something over 30 years. Love it. One of the most accurate factory rifles I ever bought.
But, am a little confused by all the comments in this thread about how difficult brass is to obtain. For over 30 years I've used cases formed from U.S. military brass (RA, LC, SL, etc.). I've simply opened up the necks to take the 9.3 bullet, seated the 286 gr. Norma bullet out far enough to bear strongly against the lands, and fire-formed with full loads. Seems to work perfectly for my dear old Husqvarna sporter.
Have I been living in dangerous, ignorant, bliss?
AC
Posts: 9685 | Location: Cave Creek 85331, USA | Registered: 17 August 2001
I'm no gunsmith but what you're doing sounds perfectly safe to me. That's basically what I do with my .318 WR. The only thing that I think you may be doing is losing a bit of efficiency. My understanding, and Ray will be the one to confirm this with, is that blown out '06 cases have just the teensiest bit smaller case capacity than the originals. Otherwise, I, too, can't imagine what the problem on brass might be. Has someone never heard of Huntington's or Graf?
Posts: 2690 | Location: Lakewood, CA. USA | Registered: 07 January 2001
Quote: Ain't the 9.3x62 pretty much a .35 Whelen with a German accent?
Nope!
The 9.3 x 62 was invented in 1906, so in the 1920's Col. Whelen just re-invented the wheel, but made it a little worse as the 35 Whelen has 10% less powder capacity.
Further, the 9.3 can push a 320 grain bullet past 2300 fps. Try that with a 35 Whelen!
Posts: 18352 | Location: Salt Lake City, Utah USA | Registered: 20 April 2002
Quote: Ain't the 9.3x62 pretty much a .35 Whelen with a German accent?
Nope!
The 9.3 x 62 was invented in 1906, so in the 1920's Col. Whelen just re-invented the wheel, but made it a little worse as the 35 Whelen has 10% less powder capacity.
Further, the 9.3 can push a 320 grain bullet past 2300 fps. Try that with a 35 Whelen!
Just for the record, Howe designed the .35 Whelen while the good Colonel was off on vacation. (I know what it says in "Pet Loads", but I also saw the correction in Handloader that did not make it into "Pet Loads."
But to prove I am easy to get along with, I'll concede that the 9.3x62 is the .35 Whelen's older weightlifting German cousin.
Posts: 1570 | Location: Base of the Blue Ridge | Registered: 04 November 2002
The 9.3x62 was a means to an end. In 1905, Herr Bock set out to develope the most powerful cartridge that would fit into an unmodified Mauser 98 action. It was a near perfect design that is still being improved with better powders and bullets.
The .35 Whelen, on the other hand, was an end to a means. Mr. Howe noticed that there was lots of surplus .30-06 brass and Springfield actions, along with .35 Remington bullets. If he didn't combine the three, somebody else surely would have. However, I don't think it has much to offer over a 220-250 grain .30-06.
I would also be led to believe that Herr Bock seriously considered making his cartridge a 9x62 instead of a 9,3. However, both Mauser (9x57) and Mannlicher-Schoenauer (9x56) were developing 9mm bores at this same time period. They both were cursed by a disparity of bore sizes that ranged from .352 to .358. I believe Herr Bock had the foresight to avoid these problems and decided to use the 9.3, which had already been in use for several years with the 9.3x57. It also allowed for a slightly heavier bullet.
Quote: Ain't the 9.3x62 pretty much a .35 Whelen with a German accent?
Nope!
The 9.3 x 62 was invented in 1906, so in the 1920's Col. Whelen just re-invented the wheel, but made it a little worse as the 35 Whelen has 10% less powder capacity.
Further, the 9.3 can push a 320 grain bullet past 2300 fps. Try that with a 35 Whelen!
Cartridges of the World 7th Edition has data for a 300gr Barnes in the 35 Whelen, 57grs of BL-C2 gives 2500fps for 4164ftlbs of muzzle energy!!!!
Posts: 3097 | Location: Louisiana | Registered: 28 November 2001
Quote: Cartridges of the World 7th Edition has data for a 300gr Barnes in the 35 Whelen, 57grs of BL-C2 gives 2500fps for 4164ftlbs of muzzle energy!!!!
Gentlemen
The publication Major Caliber is refering to shall be read with a very large doze of salt. I guess they also publish the pressure of the load since it all seems to bee soo scientific?
A 358 Norma Magnum and a 310 grain Woodleigh will do 2600 fps with a good handload. This is a cartridge with much larger case volume....
Anything that can be killed, or any shot that can be taken with a 9.3X62 can also be done with a Whelen. The capacity difference is actually more like 7%, not much more than you get by making the Whelen an AI. Whoop-tee-do..
9.3 brass can be resized and fireformed, true. From the 35 Whelen brass you can buy at the store.
Bullet availability?
(not counting pistol bullets that a Whelen can use)
Speer makes 4 for the Whelen, 1 for the 9.3
Nosler, 3 for the Whelen, 2 for the 9.3
Sierra, 2 for the .35, none for the 9.3
Hornady, 5 for the .35, none for the 9.3
So far thats 14 for the .35 and 3 for the 9.3
You get the picture.
Posts: 10189 | Location: Tooele, Ut | Registered: 27 September 2001
Quote: Anything that can be killed, or any shot that can be taken with a 9.3X62 can also be done with a Whelen. The capacity difference is actually more like 7%, not much more than you get by making the Whelen an AI. Whoop-tee-do.. 9.3 brass can be resized and fireformed, true. From the 35 Whelen brass you can buy at the store.
Bullet availability?
(not counting pistol bullets that a Whelen can use)
Speer makes 4 for the Whelen, 1 for the 9.3
Nosler, 3 for the Whelen, 2 for the 9.3
Sierra, 2 for the .35, none for the 9.3
Hornady, 5 for the .35, none for the 9.3
So far thats 14 for the .35 and 3 for the 9.3
You get the picture.
That's why I bought the Whelen, cheaper brass, more bullet's available, and more versatile!
Posts: 3097 | Location: Louisiana | Registered: 28 November 2001
It absolutely infuriates me that Winchester loads 9.3x62 ammo -- with Nosler Partitions, no less -- and will not sell it in the US. A little over a year ago I wrote and asked them to start making the M-70 in 9.3x62, or at least to sell the ammo in the US. I told them a great deal about my hunting conditions and why I was interested in the 9.3x62 and not in a high-velocity magnum. A month later they wrote back suggesting that I buy a 300 WSM. I can forgive them for discontinuing the S/S Featherweight in 308 to keep people from rechambering them to 300 WSM, and I don't mind if they ignore the 35 Whelen, since it's pretty much Remington's baby, but THEY'RE ALREADY LOADING 9.3x62 AMMO! Why not sell it here?
I bought a CZ 550 in 9.3x62 a few weeks later, and I'm not the only one -- CZ-USA sells more rifles in 9.3x62 than in any other cartridge. I like Winchesters, and I would love to hunt with a M-70 in 9.3x62. But I'm afraid they still think they're in the few years after WWII when they could ignore the market without consequence. For example, their new catalog really talks up their new recoil pad. It seems like USRAC is proud to have ignored forty years of shooter compaints about recoil pads before putting something kind of like a Decelerator on their rifles. On the other hand, when the C-clip problem came up with CZ 550 rifles, they got it squared away on a global basis in about 3 months. It would be a drag if USRAC were to kill themselves like Colt did, but they seem intent on doing just that.
Major Caliber, COTW takes load data directly from manuals without any verification or testing. You want to be careful with data from Barnes. It's ahhh, optimistic. I have never been able to match their top speeds in any rifle I owned.
Unless you want lots of flack 
I guess Ray Atkinson will try to chew you for this 
