I always keep a firearm or two in the truck and on occasion at work I get the chance to fill a plastic jug or ten with water and do some shooting. Well last week I had the Merkel 9.3 and some Norma ammo I bought from a member on 24 hr campfire. Got a good deal on it and said what the heck, at least I will have some brass to reload when I get a chance so bought it all. It prints well on paper but the performance on water jugs (and hogs) is disappointing! I shot several 1 gallon jugs (not a milk jug) that are 4 inchs thick at 100 yards and they barely moved! I thought I missed! Further inspection of the jugs found several small holes in the back from lead fragments and the mushroomed jacket inside the jugs. This happened several times. Shoot the jugs at 50 yards and they blow up but the exit wound again indicates the bullet fragments. Oh well, I suppose they will work for turtles and snakes and once its gone I will reload with some real bullets! Now I know why that boar ran off at 4K this past January!

I had the 286 grs act real soft on some small deer. They did not track straight and caused two much damage on such a lite animal. The bullets must have opened up early and tumbled.

JD

Missipian

I have shot several deer and a few hogs with Norma factory 232 Vulcan in my Chapuis.

It has killed them very well. I have never recovered one.

However I do prefer 286gr bullets.
286 Woodleigh Softs and Nosler Partitions work perfect from small game to cape buff.

BUT I have bought several boxes of the RWS 293 TUG.

I was impressed with the one deer I shot with them.

Perhaps I have a bad lot? I cant see these bullets penetrating any deer, even those puny Texas deer if it wont even penetrate a 4" thick water jug. Didnt even knock it over! I already have several boxes of 286 woodlieghs and Noslers so when I get a chance I will be loading them.

I haven't used any of the current Norma bullets, but 15 years or so back I shot quite a few of the 9.3 Norma 232gn "PPC" bullets.
This was not in a 9.3x74R, but in a Lang .360 No2 NE double.
I had a load which regulated quite well and the velocity was 2625 fps.
The 232 PPC bullets worked very well at that speed, and they opened up nicely but also stayed together.
I once shot a good size billy goat through the chest at about 40 yards, and the bullet passed through him and killed another billy standing behind as well. I still have that recovered bullet here somewhere.
Perhaps these new 232 Vulcan bullets are a bit softer than the old PPC?

Mississipian - wrong choice of bullet- and why anybody in the USA would import a rifle regulated for the 232grn load is beyond me!

They are made for southern European tates in Bullet performance for shooting deer and boar. The bullets are designed to fragment and limit penetration. Not my choice at all

For Northern European taste we load the Oryx bullet which is a soft jacket and pure lead core (so quite quick opening and big expansion) but the core is bonded to the jacket. This bullet is more likely to give you the performance you are looking for. For those who live in or hunt in Africa, we load the Swift...

It is a matter of choosing the bullet that performs as you wish. Be aware that if you buy other European brands of Amo (Such as RWS) they also make bullets that are designed to come appart/fragment quickly, but also also bullets that are slower expanding/and or bonded cores for the Northern market.

quote:

They are made for southern European tates in Bullet performance for shooting deer and boar. The bullets are designed to fragment and limit penetration. Not my choice at all

The old 232 gn PPC Normas didn't ever fragment in my experience with them. Not at the sort of velocity you'd expect from a 9.3x74R or 9.3x62 anyway.
Like the Vulkan, the original 232gn PPC didn't have a bonded core either. Maybe the Vulkan is lighter construction than the PPC.
There is a bit of a write up on the 232 gn PPC in Wolfe's Big Bore Rifles and Cartridges, and a few recovery photos as well. Bullets which I have recovered from wild boar and goat look very similar to these. (pages 170 and 172)

quote:

Mississipian - wrong choice of bullet- and why anybody in the USA would import a rifle regulated for the 232grn load is beyond me!

I chose this bullet simply because I bought the rifle, didnt have time to reload and found a good deal on 8 boxes of this ammo in the classifieds on another forum. It was a quick way to go "BANG" with my new rifle and I knew worst case I would have brass left over which I needed anyway! I dont have the original paperwork on the rifle but Im willing to bet it was NOT regulated with any 232, but a 286 of some flavor which I have every intention of loading when I get time. Just so happens the 232's shot well so at least I can go BANG accurately!

The 232 is better for practice as the recoil is milder. You can hunt with the 286. Lapuas & Privi Partizans are also good game bullets & have done well on buffalo.

I have started a new post on test results for 9.3 bullets. PM me with your email id if you want the documents with pictures.