Hi folks,

I've recently returned from a trip to SA and had a grand time, it's been far too long a time away!

I used my friends bolt guns out there, a 308 and 9.3x62...and was impressed by the authority of the 9.3. As you might expect it put tough game down quickly with little fuss.

As a result I've been contemplating a double rifle in 9.3x74R, for general hunting excluding anything dangerous.

My budget is £8-10,000, although If i can spend less that would be preferable. In this price bracket I think the only option to me is a Krieghoff, unless I'm mistaken? I've approached Heym, Merkel and Krieghoff and of the three Krieghoff have been the only ones to get back to me (with some excellent advice and quick replies).

My question therefore for the smaller bore Krieghoff owners...what do you think of your rifles?!

The one aspect I'm wondering about is frame size, are the Classic doubles produced in a range of frame sizes or will a 9.3 be made on the same action used for 500 NE. I'm concerned it'll be heavy and lack the handling a double should have.

Let me know if I should be looking at other makers, Chapuis perhaps?.

Chapuis as well.

Thanks Todd, I'll give Chapuis another look. Some used ones for sale around here.

I just recently returned from a hunt on Humani Ranch down in the Save Conservancy with Guy Whittall. I drug along my old veteran .416 Rigby as well as a trim little Chapuis 9.3x74R double. The Rigby never even came out of the case to check the sights!

As this was a hunt for a true "scrum cap" dagga boy, I'd questioned Whittall from the start of our planning about whether he felt comfortable with the little rifle on buffalo and his answer was an unqualified "yes". While I liked his answer (because it was what I wanted to hear!), buffalo ARE buffalo..and the Rigby went along "just because".

The first morning, my little "two pipe" (loaded with 286 grain Partitions) dumped an old impala ram for staff rations. Over the next ten days, we hiked LOTS of miles and looked at hundreds of buffalo...but ultimately came up empty on a scrum cap so I didn't get to put the 9.3 up against buffalo.

I did, however, drop a handsome nyala bull with a single 286 Partition and I don't believe he'd have died any better with my .375. As well, I took a pair of zebra stallions for bait for a leopard survey and I got my eyes opened a bit about my "concerns" about that slender little cartridge. The first zebra was broadside at 80-90 yards and I stuck him through the shoulder with another 286 Partition. He went down on his chin, tried to get his front feet under him, but failed and stayed down after kicking a few times. The slug was poking halfway through the hide of the off shoulder. OK, no real surprises here.

The second stallion was a duplicate shot presentation of the first, but this time I used a 286 grain North Fork Cup Point solid. The crosshairs of the little Leupold 1.5x6 were right where I wanted them when the gun went off...and when my brain identified a striped form on the ground in a cloud of dust, I went about the business of reloading the fired barrel. Halfway through my reload, I realized that the trackers and the PH I was with (Petrus Kok) were all laughing. "Alright" I asked, "What did I miss?". The stallion had been broadside, facing left at the shot. The North Fork took him in the center of the shoulder and he went down hard on his right side. He rolled over onto his left side and then up onto his chest, where somehow (possibly with a reflex kick) he rolled BACK onto his right side. My little Chapuis had turned a mature zebra stallion a complete flip! Needless to say, THAT bullet wasn't recovered.

I'm considering the possibility of a lion in my future, and a baited cat at 40-60 yards would be right in this little two-pipes wheelhouse. In fact, I believe that Todd Williams has taken lion with a 9.3x74R. They are a joy to carry and seem to punch well above their weight. I'm sold!

Thanks for the nod Bee.

Yes, back in 2012, I took 2 doubles on safari with CMS in the Dande Safari Area. One a 577NE the other my Chapuis 9.3x74R.

I shot various plains game animals for bait with that 9.3 double including an impala at 220 yards or so, several Kudu cows, warthog, various smaller animals, culminating in a great old male lion missing a portion of his tail.

I was using CEB bullets, taking the lion with a 250gr Safari Raptor, back then referred to as "Non-Cons". I hit the cat just behind the shoulder on the first shot, crumpling him upon impact. As he rolled down the hill, I hit him again in the shoulder before he dropped into a dry river bed, where we found him stone dead.

My opinion of the 9.3x74R from that safari is it's a very capable caliber. I didn't get to use it on buffalo but Buzz told me it's plenty effective in that role, very similar to the 375 Flanged Mag.

Hunt report here:

https://forums.accuratereloadi...941017181#9941017181

The lowest price for a 9.3 DR used to be the Chapuis. I have one of those (had 3), and I also have the Krieghoff 9.3; both of them have adjustable barrels, although both also shoot well within 2 inches at 50 yards so I have never used the adjustment feature.
My goal since age 8 was to kill a Cape buffalo, and I have 9 double rifles up to 500 NE, but I never was able to go.
Oh, another 9.3 double is the Baikal; they are clunky but are accurate. I have had 3 of those; still have one. Restocked of course because the wood is terrible.