New praise for the fat X62

Ted, and the rest of you with lots of 9.3x62 experience
Just how fast do you think a 286 grain bullet can be pushed by the X62? How fast it can be safely pushed, and how fast if you were somewhat deranged and wanted to see what it would do just at the point of blowing up in your face. I'm asking this because a guy I know is telling me his buddy is getting 2700 with a 286 gr bullet. I think his buddy's full of it. What say you?

I would bet $5 that Douglas (c-fbmi) could get to 2600 or 2650 with the .366 in a #1 action with a long throated 26" barrel and RL17 or N550. But it'd be wicked hot and pretty violent. He got some obscene speeds out of his 9.3-300WM which would burn about 10 grains more powder than the x62. I'm just not sure why you would want to go that fast except to send the 286 TSX out today are places to dummy elk. But why not just neck up the 300WM or neck down the 375 Ruger? You'd get there and the experience would be a whole lot less terrifying.
 
I would bet $5 that Douglas (c-fbmi) could get to 2600 or 2650 with the .366 in a #1 action with a long throated 26" barrel and RL17 or N550. But it'd be wicked hot and pretty violent. He got some obscene speeds out of his 9.3-300WM which would burn about 10 grains more powder than the x62. I'm just not sure why you would want to go that fast except to send the 286 TSX out today are places to dummy elk. But why not just neck up the 300WM or neck down the 375 Ruger? You'd get there and the experience would be a whole lot less terrifying.

Well, Douglas certainly is deranged enough to try that;)
 
It's hard to believe 2700 fts out of x62 shell , maybe your friends buddy has the x64 shell. Out of the 62mm shell max would be around 2500-2550.

Try RL-17, you will never get better results with any other powder. It's a relatively new high-energy powder in the IMR4350 class, but gives better results than IMR4350. In a .30-06 controlled test, using 180 Nos. Part., all of the "best" powders were given a try up to 64,000 psi. From a 22" barrel, a couple of the "best" gave about 2775 fps (give or take 3 - 4 fps). RL-17 gave an average of 2924 fps at 64, 000 psi ! That was from a modern factory rifle. Yeah, I know SAAMI says max avg. is 60,000. But that's in deference to old rifles still hanging around. If a .338 Win Mag can handle 64,000 or a .300 Win Mag, so can a modern rifle that chambers any of those in the same model. Same holds true for the 9.3 X 62. And modern brass can easily handle that as well. I use Hornady which is made in Euro by S&B.

And yes, there is a difference in case capacity between a .30-06 or .35 Whelen and a factory 9.3 X 62: A .30-06 is about 69 grs water to its mouth, the Whelen about 72 and the '62 is 77.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca
 
I've found that RL-17 produces amazing velocities but accuracy can be inconsistent. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But if you want lots of velocity, try it out and see if it works for the rifle you want. :)
 
If I want velocity like that I move to the 375 class, like my 375 ruger, like Ted mentioned above the 9.3x62 gained its reputation with a velocity of 2360fts and that's enough killing power for pretty much all game on this planet. There's no need to run such high pressures which can cause damage to the gun and to the shooter just for some extra few hundred fts as in the real world senerio the animal won't care and won't tell what hit it.
 
I'll gladly take a well placed shot on any critter within 100 yds. with a 6.5 mm. tossing a 160 gr. bullet (Of
appropriate construction for the job) at 2300 fps. and not have concern for the outcome.
 
If I want velocity like that I move to the 375 class, like my 375 ruger, like Ted mentioned above the 9.3x62 gained its reputation with a velocity of 2360fts and that's enough killing power for pretty much all game on this planet. There's no need to run such high pressures which can cause damage to the gun and to the shooter just for some extra few hundred fts as in the real world senerio the animal won't care and won't tell what hit it.

9.3x62 was loaded at first at 2150 todays 9.3x57 standard, this is a little later that they tried 2400, up to now you can see the most conservative practise are coming from Lapua and the finns know a little about the 9.3x62 too ... if it s working dont try something else just my opinion ... there is not that much differences at the end (between the bullet and animal) between a 9.3x62 and any 375hh or ruger it is just a matter of choice of what the operator want to use ...

what to remember about the 9.3x62 is that any bullet will work due to low velocity pushing it a little too fast and then problems start ...
 
I've had a 9.3x62 for about 20 years and shot quite a bit of game with it, but a 375 H&H it is not, nor is it intended to duplicate its performance. Any power that can be gained by using new powders in the 9.3 can also be done with the 375. It's a good caliber, but comparing it to a 375 is stretching it quite a bit.
 
If we read from Wikipedia,9.3x62 is having the same speed as with 9.3x74r. It is ridiculous as there are more than 10mm difference in case length.
Anyone using 9.3x74r is a fool?
 
I've had a 9.3x62 for about 20 years and shot quite a bit of game with it, but a 375 H&H it is not, nor is it intended to duplicate its performance. Any power that can be gained by using new powders in the 9.3 can also be done with the 375. It's a good caliber, but comparing it to a 375 is stretching it quite a bit.

the 9,3x62 was created for the german colons to fights against rogue animals like buffaloes, lion or elephant ... while they can not afford the proprietary british 375hh ...

there is not that much different in the field between the 9,3x62 and a 375hh, just because it was a german caliber and was forgotten for a while after the scond World War ...
wait for few old users of both the 9,3x62 and the 375hh to show up be honest and report what differences you find it with field experiences like to hear myself ...

Phil
 
If we read from Wikipedia,9.3x62 is having the same speed as with 9.3x74r. It is ridiculous as there are more than 10mm difference in case length.
Anyone using 9.3x74r is a fool?

9,3x74r are often less loaded than the x62 on the pressure side ... a very good caliber for sure too ...
 
the 9,3x62 was created for the german colons to fights against rogue animals like buffaloes, lion or elephant ... while they can not afford the proprietary british 375hh ...

there is not that much different in the field between the 9,3x62 and a 375hh, just because it was a german caliber and was forgotten for a while after the scond World War ...
wait for few old users of both the 9,3x62 and the 375hh to show up be honest and report what differences you find it with field experiences like to hear myself ...

Phil

I've used both calibers quite a bit and know all about their history. There are many discussions about the virtues of each, and I'll admit there's not much difference in effect on animals and the 9.3 hits harder than its number would indicate, but for the really heavy game using heavy bullets there's a difference. I'd think of the comparison something like a 308 Win vs 30-06.
 
I've used both calibers quite a bit and know all about their history. There are many discussions about the virtues of each, and I'll admit there's not much difference in effect on animals and the 9.3 hits harder than its number would indicate, but for the really heavy game using heavy bullets there's a difference. I'd think of the comparison something like a 308 Win vs 30-06.

That's a fair analogy, the flip side of which is if you can't do it with the .308, you won't be able to with the .30/06; the same goes for the 9.3 and .375, even though I prefer to own the '06 and a big case .375.
 
If we read from Wikipedia,9.3x62 is having the same speed as with 9.3x74r. It is ridiculous as there are more than 10mm difference in case length.
Anyone using 9.3x74r is a fool?

The x74 was designed to work in weaker break action rifles, hence it's rim and lower pressure. It's really no different than people debating whether the 416 Ruger, Remington or Rigby is superior to it's brethren (in case you are taking notes for the test, the Rigby is the king of the 416s...you may see a question like this). I'm a person that thinks that anyone using a non-rimmed case in a break action or falling block is a bit outside of spec, as I appreciate the positive extraction afforded by the rim. I do have a #1H in 458 WM but I would rather it was in 450 Nitro as the rimmed case seems "more right" in the falling block. I love the Wagner, but if I was getting a #1 and both the Wagner and Wagner Flanged were sitting next to each other I would buy the Flanged version every day of the week.
 
I've had a 9.3x62 for about 20 years and shot quite a bit of game with it, but a 375 H&H it is not, nor is it intended to duplicate its performance. Any power that can be gained by using new powders in the 9.3 can also be done with the 375. It's a good caliber, but comparing it to a 375 is stretching it quite a bit.

I bought my first '62 in the late 70s. Prior to that I had killed a lot of game using the 375 H&H and the 358 Norma Magnum. Some time after that I had Bevan King barrel me up a pair of 9.3X57s on Turkish Mausers. I have killed and seen killed many, many, tons of moose, big mountain caribou bulls, and both bears with these cartridges. For many years the 375 and the '62 had put about the same number in the freezer, but its easy handling and effectiveness eventually took the '62 to the front of the line.

Have never been to Africa or Asia, however for North American game, my impression is that anyone owning a 9.3X62 has a 375 with five in the magazine. At best, there may be 50 yards difference in effectiveness.



If we read from Wikipedia,9.3x62 is having the same speed as with 9.3x74r. It is ridiculous as there are more than 10mm difference in case length.
Anyone using 9.3x74r is a fool?

The 9.3X74R in a Ruger No 1 has also graced my cabinet and experience. While designed for the weaker break action rifles, in the No 1 it can be loaded far beyond comfortable.



Got to dash, but something to think about is that the 9.3X62 was the 30-30 of Africa, and that certainly makes it well-enough endowed for this continent. :)

Later,
Ted
 
Last edited:
I bought my first '62 in the late 70s. Prior to that I had killed a lot of game using the 375 H&H and the 358 Norma Magnum. Some time after that I had Bevan King barrel me up a pair of 9.3X57s on Turkish Mausers. I have killed and seen killed many, many, tons of moose, big mountain caribou bulls, and both bears with these cartridges. For many years the 375 and the '62 had put about the same number in the freezer, but its easy handling and effectiveness eventually took the '62 to the front of the line.

Have never been to Africa or Asia, however for North American game, my impression is that anyone owning a 9.3X62 has a 375 with five in the magazine. At best, there may be 50 yards difference in effectiveness.

My 9.3x62 is an old Austrian made Voere, nothing much to look at, but a reliable rifle. Current 375 is in a Blaser R93, so it handles much the same as if it were in the 9.3 and better than the old Mauser.

A lot of it is appearance I suppose. Just like the 308 looks diminutive compared to the 30-06, so does the 9.3 beside the 375, although they are close in performance.
 
Back
Top Bottom