Is there a noticable difference between the 8x57 and the 9.3x57 on heavy game (moose,grizzly)?
I currently have two 8x57s and believe it to be a great cartridge for general hunting but I'm thinking a larger bore might be better suited to the larger game found in Alaska.

Can't say I have made a side by side comparison but in Sweden (homeland of the 9.3 x 57), 9.3 rifles show far less use than 6.5 rifles. Seems that the 6.5 is "good enough". Sort of like the .308 Win vs the 358 Win.

I would guess that in your part of the woods, a good 200 or 220 gr 8MM bullet will do anything you could ask of a 286 gr 9.3 bullet when shot from the same case. I have shot 9.3 x 57 a good bit (and love it) but that is the heaviest bullet it will shoot to a really practical velocity.

Will the 9.3x62 fit this action or is the action to short. What about the 376 Steyr?

quote:

in Sweden (homeland of the 9.3 x 57), 9.3 rifles show far less use than 6.5 rifles. Seems that the 6.5 is "good enough".

Can’t really say that that is the truth anymore. Due to the increase in the bear population and the spreading (and increasing) wild boar population, used 9.3’s are more and more hard to find and the price has gone up. That goes for all the common 9.3’s – 9.3x57, 9.3x62 and 9,3x74R.
//K9

I've used the 8x57 on caribou and black bear and deer here in Alaska. Works fine. It would though be on the light side for Moose and brown bear. I assume your 8x57 that you are considering changing is a Mauser. In this case you have no reason not to go to the 9.3x62 and with a little work on your action you can get a real boost and go to the 9.3x64. All of these cartridges were designed for the Mauser action.

AKshooter,
The rifle is a Yugo 24/47.This is a shorter action than than the standard length mauser by about .25in.
What i'm trying to find is a more powerful cartridge that can be used in this action.
I too have used the 8x57 in Ak.and find it to be more than enough gun for everything but brown bears in thick cover.My son uses an 8x57 as his only rifle.Our loads are 200gr nos/par at 2500fps and 250gr woodleigh at 2300fps.
I also have a cabin on the Yentna river that we use quite a bit and there seems to be more brown bear every year.The 8x57 is probably all he needs but would still like to know what my options/limits are with this action.

.376 Steyr

yentna river
This is more subjective than you may think. Bottom line it will be between you and your gun maker. I have seen standard Mausers opend up to accept .378 weatherby. Probably not a good Idea but some gun maker choose to do it and has so far gotten away with it, I saw that rifle take a 69" moose and two large caribou out of my camp so at least for a time it served its purpose. Some gun builders argue that a standard Mauser is too short even for the 69mm cases such as .300 & .375 H&H. I doubt that their is much of a problem with it (properly done) becuase companys like Browning were doing it on there FN mausers way back when. Right now I'm looking at a FN action .375 H&H built by Westley Richards. I think they know a thing or two about building magnums.

With all this in mind I don't think your out reach of the longer 9.3x62 even with your shorter mauser. The key is for your gunmaker to relive as much metal as possible from the back of the mag well before removing any from the front to make room for the longer cartridge.

Of course this will come at an added expence and if you simply want to rebarrel your Mauser your going to have to do some measuring. a simple test would be to put a 9.3 round in your magazine and see were your at. If it fits you should be fine. Feeding won't be garentied but you'll be darn close. If you have trouble getting your hands on a 9.3 round (they don't grow on trees in the North west) then any 63mm round will do like .35 whelen or even 30-06.

Last of all there is any number of short rounds no longer than 57mm that will work fine. tsturm had a good recomendation with the.376 steyr a real performer but your back to modifing the action. .358 win dose well with good hand loads as well as a 9x57.

One other thing. My cabin is at Lake louise. I know what a great feeling it is to get away from the world in your Alaskan retreat.

A decent standard sized mauser action can be had for close to $100. A commercial FN action for maybe $300. For all of the money you would put into that short Yugo to lengthen it you might just as well purchase a regular lenght 98 action and put a 9.3 x 62 barrel on it.