9.3x51, .366-08, 9.3Fireplug

Has anyone tried making a 9.3mm cartridge based on a .308 Winchester that would work through a short action?

How'd that turn out?

Rick

....358 winchester....
jeffe

drat! what would be the point of making a wildcat if there was a factory cartridge equal or better to it? ?

I've made up a dummy by running a .308 into my 9.3X62 sizer and then seating a Speer .366 to 2.7".



9.3X62 9.3X51 .308

It's cute, that's the only way to describe it.

Cute



Rick

[ 05-30-2003, 00:52: Message edited by: Rick R ]

On another forum this was discussed briefly. I would think that performance would be the same as the 9.3x57, no? Sean

Lone Eagle, Exactly a 9.3x57 on a short action with a readily available case..... However if you are going to the trouble, just leave the 308 a 308, it is a great cartridge, get a long action and build a 9.3x62.
Or better yet keep the 308 and get a 9,3x74R Double Rifle.

I think it would be kinda neat, 232 gr @ 2500 fps, 286 gr @ 2000 fps. Peronally, and since I'm a 35 nut I'd go for the 358 win and save the premium payed for custom dies and reamers.

But, if you really want to have some fun, you could take one of the new Montana 1999 short actions and make a 9.3 WSM on it.

I've got two 1999's on order. One will be a dedicated .416 WSM, and the other a switch barrel 9.3 WSM with a spare barrel in .400 WSM. Not much difference between the two, perhaps, but then its just an old guy's toy anyway....

AC

After a bit more thought, I'm still liking this idea. That's a bad thing, I can see the purchase of a chamber reamer and custom dies in my future. Readily available brass, better bullet availabillity than the .35's.

I'll bet a Ruger M77RSI in this would be the perfect "heavy" to compliment my RSI in .308, then if I could only get one in .223.

Mr. Canuck,
Has someone actually made a 9.3WSSM? or is too still in the pipe dream stage?

Rick

Well, Rick, as a "wildcat for wildcatting's sake", a 9,3 x 51 would certainly be a cute idea. Of course, you'll get nothing that the .358 Winchester does not offer as well, but you have the gratification of more effort, additional work, and (in the USA) less common bullets. :-)

Incidentally, the Norvegians did speculate about a hypothetical 9,3 x 55 in the Vapenjournalens Ladebok, but I don't know whether any enterprising tinkerer ever built one in a row of long, idle midsummernights...

Regards and good shooting,
Carcano

Hi ! what about a 35/284 based on 284 Win case ?

I do not know if anyone has made a 9.3 WSSM. I was refering to a WSM, not a WSSM.

There is a difference between a pipe dream and a plan. If you look at the list of M1999 Short action numbers on this forum you will see that #'s 291 and 292 are committed to the same person. That person is me.

One action is intended for a friend of mine in northern Idaho and it will be chambered/fitted by me in .416 WSM. The other is intended for me and I will make it a switch barrel gun as I do with most of my rifles.

I happen to have several thousand (more like 5,000) Norma 9.3 bullets on hand, so plan to chamber one barrel for 9.3 WSM and the other for a .40 WSM. I live less than 100 miles from Dave Kiff and less than 60 miles from JGS, so reamers are not a problem. Barrels are a bit more difficult, but C Donnelly is less than 60 miles away from my place and Dan Lilja is fairly close to my friend in Idaho, so that's not a big thing either.

Object for both my friend and I is to end up with a moderately short, medium calibre, 8 to 8-1/2 lbs with scope up, woods rifle for each of us. He has a "thing" for the .416 bore, while I prefer 9.3 and .400 bores.

I already have a .404 Barnes Supreme, a Musgrave .404 Jeffrey, and a .405 Winchester (on Springfield' 03 action), as well as a number of still larger bores so don't need a super thumper. Also have a 9.3x62 Husqvarna of G&H quality and a double 9.3x74R, so this is just additional of the same thing, more or less. He and I are both approaching 70, so these are just "toys" for us.

Practical? I have no idea. But, I enjoy barreling rifles and making them feed reliably and shoot accurately. I hate stock work, but started as a stockmaker in 1959, so that is just the work one pays with to get the barreling and accurizing fun. He likes odd-ball stuff, shooting both jacketed and cast bullets.

So, by the end of summer, we should have them both perking. Probably the toughest part could turn out to be feeding those fat bullets, but that's why we ordered the M1999 actions both with the WSM bolt faces and magazines.

AC

[ 05-30-2003, 23:34: Message edited by: Alberta Canuck ]

Rick R, what if you Ackley improved it and changed it from cute to SEXY!!

Mr. Canuck,
Sorry I added too many S's , is the 9.3 WSM an established wildcat?

VIP,
Yes, I'd thought of either Ackley Improving the case or just imitating the neck and shoulder from the 9.3X62. That would make her a bit more voluptous wouldn't it

Edmond,
I was trying for a case that fit in a short action and was universally available. I'm expecting my Mauser in 9.3X62 this week. I'll play with that for a while before doing anything more.

Rick

[ 06-01-2003, 18:01: Message edited by: Rick R ]

Hi, Rick -

Didn't mean to sound abrupt. AC will do fine for a name, BTW. My dad was the last one of my family to deserve "Mr." and he's been gone to better, freer hunting fields for 20 years.

Actually, I don't have any idea if the 9.3 WSM has been built by anyone yet. It certainly isn't a "standard" by any factory (as you likely already know). I don't know of any reamer-maker who lists it as one of their "on-the-shelf" items.

That's the nice thing about using Dave Kiff of Pacific Grinding...he often charges nothing extra for a "custom" reamer to your specs. That is definitely NOT true of JGS, for instance, which charges about an extra $50 or so for a custom reamer. Dave is also two or three times quicker on delivery, so far.

If you want to get the dimensions straight for ordering, the easiest way I know is to go to "RCBS Load" software somewhere on line, and use its cartridge drawing capability.

It won't produce every single dimension a reamer-maker will need, but it will produce all the major dimensions in a line drawing. He can calculate the rest from those main dimensions.

A nice touch to the RCBS Load drawing tool is that it will automatically calculate case capacity for you as you establish or change any dimensions.

Good luck,

AC

Oh, one more thing...if you get a reamer from Dave Kiff, I personally recommend also getting a centering rod...can't recall what Dave calls them, maybe a range rod...anyway they are a rod of slightly larger than bore diameter with one end on a loooonngg taper. You put it in the barrel when centering the barrel in the lathe, prior to threading and chambering. Allows you to center on the bore rather than the outside of the barrel, and you don't need a long armed measuring device to do it. Very handy.

[ 06-03-2003, 02:04: Message edited by: Alberta Canuck ]

AC,

Thanks for the info. Just now I've got too many irons in the fire to start this project but I'll look up the RCBS software and get a price quote from Mr Kiff.

It doesn't hurt that Douglas barrels is only about ten miles away from here (well maybe it does hurt my pocketbook). I'll have a plan if a nice short action drops in my lap by way of deal.

No offense taken, I'll freely admit I dont' know a thing about the Winchester WSM & WSSM line. Lately, I've been going through an oldies but goodies stage that started with the purchase of a .45-70 and led to a rebarrel job in 9.3X62 on another rifle. What really got me thinking on this cartridge was nothing more than boredom and some new loading components laying on the bench.

Rick

[ 06-03-2003, 03:50: Message edited by: Rick R ]

Rick,

Actually, I like the idea too.

(Remember the mantra ...

I Don't NEED another rifle,
I DON'T need another rifle.
I don't need ANOTHER rifle.

etc.)

Ain't it the truth