I have a Doulbe Rifle in 9.3x74R and Ive been toying with the thought of a Ruger No1 also in 9.3x74R to pair up with my DR. My idea is that I would scope the No1 for longer shots and just use the irons on the DR. The idea is for a two gun battery for Afrika.

Having common ammo seemes like it would be worth the duplication and 9.3x74R is clearly capable of reaching farther than I can with iron sights alone. I know some countries frown upon two rifles in the same caliber but one of the PH's I spoke with said it shouldnt be a problem as in this situation; in any case the approval would be resolved before I head out.

Two 9.3's -- what do you think?

I guess it would be okay, as that is what I have right now...a DR in 9.3x74R, and a Ruger No. 1 in the same chambering. Both of mine are scoped, but the scope is a QD on the DR.

To tell the truth though, I'd rather have my old WR hand-detachable box lock in .450/.400 back, to match my Ruger No. 1 in that chambering. With a litle bit lighter mono-metal X bullet spitzers in the Ruger, that would handle any game shots as far away as I'd feel like taking them...after all, that is just the rimmed version of the .404 Jeffery (which I also have at the moment) and which is a perfectly good rifle out to 300 yards.

(That's my personal ethical distance limit for anything that breathes and can feel pain.)

I too have a 9.3x74R in a #1 Ruger. Find the barrel much too heavy. It has poor ballance specially for off hand shooting. Don't know what to do about it.
Wasw thinking of milling the barrel octagopn. That would elliminate the open sights and the sling holder. Lots of work for very little gain. Does Ruger make a lighter weight barrel?

Once thought that to be a good idea and took a 375 Mdl 70 and a 375 Heym 88B double to Zimbabwe. Made sense to me until I got off the plane in RSA to overnite. SAP took a very narrow minded view of 2 rifles of same caliber and thought I was going to have to turn around and go back on the next flight. SAP finally gave me a 24hr permit,a GOOD lecture about knowing the law and a promise not to stop over on the way home. Had a good hunt and enjoyed having both rifles. Really didn't know it was a problem as I had taken 2 identical Mdl 70's in 375 a couple of years before with no trouble at all.

Zimbabwe is correct, you are not allowed to bring 2 rifles of the same calibre into South Africa.

On my first trip to Zim through SA, a fella and his son had a Plains game hunt in SA. They were in forn of me in the SAPS office. They both had 30/06 rifles, but his sone was too young to get his own rifle permit...

It took some careful discussion and "reasoning", to get them their permits.

However if you will just scope your 9,3x74R double rifle, you will find that it will do anything in Zim that you could do with a scoped No1.

I know because I have used a scoped 9,3x74R double on all of my Safaris to Zim.

quote:

Originally posted by ZERMEL:
I too have a 9.3x74R in a #1 Ruger. Find the barrel much too heavy. It has poor ballance specially for off hand shooting. Don't know what to do about it.
Wasw thinking of milling the barrel octagopn. That would elliminate the open sights and the sling holder. Lots of work for very little gain. Does Ruger make a lighter weight barrel?

Yes, it is more like a club in its profile and balance than a handy sporting rifle.

I had hoped Ruger would bring it out with a slim 25" or 26" barrel, but they didn't. So far as I know, they do not yet offer any slim barreled alternative in that chambering, with or without sights.

I've been thinking of taking mine to someone local to have the barrel turned down, but with it only 22" long, don't think I will.

Damned shame they didn't bring it out in the No. 1-S model. I suspect sales potential would have been 2 or 3 times as great as for the No. 1 Tropical that they did market.

My opinion, YMMV.

This might be a solution to the unbalanced Ruger: The 9.3 in the Ruger International (RSI) model. I have one in 7 x 57 and it haqndles like a shotgun, plus is very handy in the bush due to its total length of 36". I don't know if they ever chambered them in that caliber, though.

I dont believe they make the 9.3x74R in the full stock "International" model. I too, would love that; but I think the longer barrel serves the 9.3 well especially with a scope. While I havent hunted with a 375H&H or fired one, I have handled one in my dealer's shop several times. If the 9.3's are anything like the 375's; I could get used to it. You guys surely know more than me; but I think Id prefer the extra weight AND the barrel profile of the heavier iron sighted barrel.

I could scope my DR if I wanted; but I like the "clean" lines of a traditional open sighted double, even in the smaller bore sizes.

I added some weight in the stock of my Ruger No.1 9.3x74R. The weight improved the balance of the rifle and reduced recoil.

Everyone has his own preferences, and that is good for all of us and for the market.

I would prefer a lighter and longer barrel on the 9.3x74R than it has, mainly because I like my guns to be attractive to MY eyes, AND to be well balanced. I personally see short-barreled No.1s as very unattactive compared to what they WOULD be to me when fitted with a longer tube, and poorly balanced.

Used to, when I bought Ruger No.1s for the purpose of rebarreling to cartridges they weren't offered in, I usually found better bargains in the No.1As and No.1ABs because apparently a lot of other folks found they didn't hold their favor as long with those short tubes.

As I was going to throw the barrels away anyhow, it was kinda nice to use the "ugly" ones to make "pretty" ones.

Of course, that doesn't make my long barreled No.1s "better" guns intrinsicly...just "better" for me. At the moment I have somewhere over 15 of them, with only 1 short-barreled one in the bunch...a .30-40 Krag in the No.3, which isn't a No.1 anyway...obviously.

I do not see any advantage to the weight of the heavy barrel. The 9.3x74R is already an absolute pussycat when it comes to recoil...nothing like the .375 H&H rimless belted magnum which, in itself, does not recoil to any remarkable extent.

The extra barrel length of a 26" barrel also allows the same velocity to be reached as in a 22" barrel, but with very slightly less pressure & powder. I am not a fan of getting every ounce of velocity out of a cartridge that one can safely obtain, but I am a fan of the inreased brass life and throat life that lower operating pressures can yield.

Y'all have fun now.....

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:

quote:

Originally posted by ZERMEL:
I too have a 9.3x74R in a #1 Ruger. Find the barrel much too heavy. It has poor ballance specially for off hand shooting. Don't know what to do about it.
Wasw thinking of milling the barrel octagopn. That would elliminate the open sights and the sling holder. Lots of work for very little gain. Does Ruger make a lighter weight barrel?

Yes, it is more like a club in its profile and balance than a handy sporting rifle.

I had hoped Ruger would bring it out with a slim 25" or 26" barrel, but they didn't. So far as I know, they do not yet offer any slim barreled alternative in that chambering, with or without sights.

I've been thinking of taking mine to someone local to have the barrel turned down, but with it only 22" long, don't think I will.

Damned shame they didn't bring it out in the No. 1-S model. I suspect sales potential would have been 2 or 3 times as great as for the No. 1 Tropical that they did market.

My opinion, YMMV.

I find this strange...

I've a friend in Yellowknife who owns a 1-S in the 9.3 X 74R, and he loves it! He bought it a couple of years ago as he loved my 1-S in .45-70! And it's listed on the Ruger website as a 1-S, using the same pic as for the .45-70!

Have they changed that to a No.1 Tropical?

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

Edelweiss - great minds think alike. I have done exactly the same thing. I have a Chapuis 9.3x74 double on the way from Ken Buch and a Searcy stalking rifle to match. Photos of the Chapuis are posted under "French Seduction" in the double rifles section, and photos of my Searcy in the Dakota 10 posting in this section. they make a great pair!
Mangwana