Hi all

I've just ordered a Tikka T3 in 9.3x62, mainly for Sambar. I'm now chasing reloading components. What suitable projectiles are available locally and who might actually have stock?

Sofar I've only discovered the following options, not sure what else might be out there.

Woodleigh 250 & 286gn PP
Speer 270gn (though some suggest this is not an ideal projectile)
Lapua Mega 285gn

Cheers

Ian

hard to beat the woodliegh 286gn for sambar.

Ian fine choice of both rifle and round first off I have never shot a Samber with my rifle but i believe the 270gr speer would work very well it is soft but I think it would be a very good choice for deer
the woodlieghs I have used 286gr RNSP they shoot incredible well in my rifle I have a packet of the 250gr PPSP to try they look a very nice bullet and they are made here in Oz
I have not seen the Lapua bullets but think they to would be very good
I have used the 250gr Nosler Ballistic tip it shoots well and just loks mean the only thing hit with one far is a fox it died!!!!
really with these bigger calibre bullets become less of an issue than the modern day magnums the 9.3x62 made its name in Africa shooting a 286gr bullets at around 2300fps with modern powder 2400-2500fps is quite possible I have found both AR 2206 and 2208 to work very well for me in my rifle a Mark X mauser action with a sprinter barrel with good loads it will group into an 1" at 100 consistantly

stick with the woodleigh 286 gn KEEP AWAY FROM THE 270 GN SPEER...iminent failure
daniel

Yep, go with the Woodleigh 286gn, the only use I had for the 270 speer was to fireform 30-06 brass into 9.3x62. Some friends also use the speer on pigs, with good results.
But for those shots at big deer, I'd take the Woodleigh.
JMHO

what about the 258gr h mantles, they are a good pill in that round.


cheers cc

I have used the RWS 258 grn H-Mantels and 293 TUGs with good results on game both in Aus and Africa but would recomend the 286grn Woodleighs.
Another great 9.3 projectile is the 300grn SWIFT-A-FRAME.
I recommend LAPUA and RWS brass for this calliber.
Regards
Adam

Thanks all for your thoughts. I'll try the 286gn Woodleigh first & if it shoots OK I will be set. Then I just have to find the sambar, saw a couple on the last trip. Had one in the scope but too dark to take the shot - couldn't see the crosshairs.

Cheers

Ian

I also just purchased a 9.3x62 in a sako stainless laminate and was just wondering if anyone has used norma ammo?? particularly the Oryx or vulcan.

Cheers

Probably not what you want for sambar, but dont forget you can use the Woodleigh 320gn 360 No. 2 bullet in any 9.3 cal.

Also, the latest SSAA mag lists Vic Arms as the agents for Norma Oryx bullets in Aus.

The speer is fine for pigs and small deer but for big Smabar load the woodleigh..........they even make a 320 gr woodleigh in 9.3 which would penetrate forever !

Ian,

You've received some good counsel here on 9.3 bullets.

I agree almost wholeheartely with the vast majority of the responses above. My favorite for the 9.3x62 is the Woodleigh 250 gr. Weldcore; they're an outstanding bullet.

Having said; there is considerable banter and bashing of the 270 gr. Speers. O.K.; my opinion is they are probably (please name another?) the only non-premium grade bullet available in this caliber, so they tend to get a bad rap. My opinion is the Speers shoot accurately and are up to pretty much every task you could ask of them. I've shot countless Red Stags and Wild Boar withtout hickup using them.

Does that mean I'd use them on a Deer as large as a Sambar? Yes, if they were what my rifle was loaded with at the time but I'd rather use a "premium" as a dedicated large Deer projectile.

9.3mm - 286 gr Woodleigh PP's kill buffalo OK and expand sufficiently. Probably do very well on sambar too.

Hi guys, sure Norma is Swedish as can be, the Vulcan is a straightforward RN old school, when pushed it will fail with unpredicable effects.

Oryx is bonded and awailable in 232 and 286 grains will shoot with great precision in most rifles.

However when there are Woodleighs nearby why cross oceans?

Still Norma brass might be the real target and that I can attest to is some of the best there is. RWS, Laupa, Norma and then there is the rest when it comes to brass.

Best regards Chris. Ps sorry about the spelling Ds

quote:

Originally posted by 350 Rem Mag:
I also just purchased a 9.3x62 in a sako stainless laminate and was just wondering if anyone has used norma ammo?? particularly the Oryx or vulcan.

Cheers

GERRY
dont confuse SAMBAR with red deer, reds are soft and the terrain you hunt them in is relativley easy, with sambar your hunting country which
is not hunter friendly, and then your hunting an animal with a much higher IQ , AND LAST AN ANIMAL WHICH IS REAL TOUGH!!! you need bullet weight, mass and weight retention, and GOOD SHOT PLACEMENT.....and even then they still go a good distance.....a part from the spinal shots , the sambar i have shot ,not one has dropped on the spot .....i think that speaks for it self
regards daniel

quote:

Does that mean I'd use them on a Deer as large as a Sambar? Yes, if they were what my rifle was loaded with at the time but I'd rather use a "premium" as a dedicated large Deer projectile.

Daniel,

Apologize if there was some miscommunication here but thought I did qualify the same point you are making with my last sentence; yes, I know the difference between Red Deer & Sambar.

An additional option: Talk to Martin Bester martin@smartbest.co.nz in NZ about GSC HV bullets for the 9.3.

Gerad if yo uwant to try your bullets you suggest us Aussies to buy them from New Zealand

PC,
Is that a problem?

My Tikka was supposed to take a couple of months to arrive from Finland but it is already here. Apparently customs processed the most recent documents rather than the ones that had been in the system for the longest. However it happened I'm happy, now just have to wait for the permit to acquire.

The 286gn Woodleigh PPs are also due in any day, along with some brass.

Ian

Woodleigh PPs in 9.3 are a lot slower to expand than the RNs. If you like to keep the velocity down around 2200fps you may find the RNs better.

regards,

mike

Ian
I think Clayton have the RWS proj's in stock

They have some Woodleighs unsure about 9.3 though.

Last I heard Nosler was making a 9.3mm 286gr Partition, and Barnes were making TSXs in 250grs and 286grs.

Ed

M98 said[Quote]"GERRY
dont confuse SAMBAR with red deer, reds are soft and the terrain you hunt them in is relativley easy, with sambar your hunting country which
is not hunter friendly, and then your hunting an animal with a much higher IQ , AND LAST AN ANIMAL WHICH IS REAL TOUGH!!! you need bullet weight, mass and weight retention, and GOOD SHOT PLACEMENT.....and even then they still go a good distance.....a part from the spinal shots , the sambar i have shot ,not one has dropped on the spot .....i think that speaks for it self..regards daniel"

daniel,

A couple of points;

1. Sambar are tenacious of life, and also cunning adversaries, but they are still thin-skinned game and are not in the same ballpark as some of the larger Afrikan plains antelopes, in terms of 'toughness'...you don't really need dangerous game calibers and bullets to kill them!

2. Red Deer may be easier to kill than Sambar, but the terrain they inhabit in parts of Germany is at least the the equal of your Sambar habitat, so you should not be so patronising, in my view.

Ed

I have shot quite a bit of gane with my 9,3x74R double rifle.

The 286 gr Woodleigh Soft is the bullet I would recommend. Even if you were not in OZ.
I have taken game from deer to zebra to cape buffalo.

It is one of if not the best Soft in the 9,3.

I will get the hang of this damn machine. Woodliegh work well in my double 93.64 but I prefer Barnes X in my single shots. Dont mix them. doubles dont like bronze solids of any description. For cardboard shooting Tiapan up in gympie make a far 9x3 pill. Mr Bone ussually has a fair range of reasonable projectiles. I havnt used any for hunting as yet, I found that for general shooting in Aus Taipan seemed to do a good job. Used to use a 35whelen but much the same as 9x3. My son nailed a couple of water buffs with it using Hornadys so who can bloody know. M,DHala

I have shot two deer with my Chapuis 9.3x74R (before I sold this rifle to Mdhala!!!) - both with Woodleigh 286gn projectiles. The first was a sambar stag taken in full flight (with the afterburners lit) at about 75 yards and was a quartering shot. The projectile finished as a perfect mushroom in the off-shoulder and the stage piled up fairly quickly.

The second was a red hind at about 160 yards with a 286gn PP and she went down so fast that I lost her in the recoil and thought that I must have missed. But when I walked up to where she was standing, to see if there was any blood trail, there she was - stone cold dead!

I like the Woodleighs and will continue to use them in my Merkel 9.3x74R when it gets here. Why use anything else - they are Australian and they bloody well work!

Bwana Bobs right. I was there when he flattened the Hind. Stick with woodlieghs. Punch paper with something cheaper.

ED
how many sambar have you shot
daniel