You gotta remember that topics are going to be repeatedly re-hashed as the firearms industry ain't exactly making much in the way of innovations (not that we'd ever get the latest toys anyhow). Be a pretty boring place if all the members ever did is search up the old threads.
375 H&H vs 375 Ruger vs 9,3x62
- Thread starter Omenator
- Start date
404 Jeffery was a very good caliber also in that department and if that caliber is gaining again the success there is a reason.
i met two PH in SA that was saying high words on that caliber.
back to the topic, i remembered a good story about ammos and leftover in hunting camp.
we had in our hunting camps in CAR only 300 win mag, 458 win mag and 460 wea mag because that was the license the company had. and as we tried to avoid to pay for nothing we didnt have any extra calibers. oh yes you can find extra rounds somewhere as there is always a poacher using it but will i take a bet on that no way even if this is africa there is some game you do not play when you are living there.
Angus: you have to see the 9.3x62 in action to believe it, paper numbers mean nothing. that caliber was the most used before wwII in the bolt actions first it was not a proprietary one and second mauser action fitted in that caliber were cheap and last it was working, a boring way for sure but working. it was due to shortage of ammo that it went down and of course with winchester flooding the market. read the link i provided from an experemineted guide and hunter.
when Kenya was still open for big game the mini caliber for big five was .375 except that if a hunter can provide experience the 9.3 was accepted.
i do not know about american forums and the legend of the 9.3 i heard more about the 375 than anything else, when we arrived here 10 years ago components for 9.3x62 were scarce now we re flooded nothing i will not complaint about for sure ....
we had in our hunting camps in CAR only 300 win mag, 458 win mag and 460 wea mag because that was the license the company had. and as we tried to avoid to pay for nothing we didnt have any extra calibers. oh yes you can find extra rounds somewhere as there is always a poacher using it but will i take a bet on that no way even if this is africa there is some game you do not play when you are living there.
Angus: you have to see the 9.3x62 in action to believe it, paper numbers mean nothing. that caliber was the most used before wwII in the bolt actions first it was not a proprietary one and second mauser action fitted in that caliber were cheap and last it was working, a boring way for sure but working. it was due to shortage of ammo that it went down and of course with winchester flooding the market. read the link i provided from an experemineted guide and hunter.
when Kenya was still open for big game the mini caliber for big five was .375 except that if a hunter can provide experience the 9.3 was accepted.
i do not know about american forums and the legend of the 9.3 i heard more about the 375 than anything else, when we arrived here 10 years ago components for 9.3x62 were scarce now we re flooded nothing i will not complaint about for sure ....
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In Namibia my 9.3x62 arrived without my main bag that had the ammo. So off we went to the local store in Outju (sp?) whereupon they let me into the walk into the gun safe in a little village store. I was like a kid in candy store....404, 9.3x64, 375HH...416 Rigby, 458 win, (30-06 and 308 by the crate)....even the 500 Jeffrie and 470, 500 NE and others..they had to ask me several times to come out of the safe.
My host bought a few boxes of basic round nose 286gr PMP 9.3x62 and off we went to hunt for the next few weeks. I was happy in that I went to a cull and over 2 days used the 9.3x62 on dozens of kudu and gemsbuck with great effect. Mostly under 100 yd shots but some say 200-250 yds.
That and its double flanged round the 9.3x74 are favorites. My 9.3x74 with Norma Oryx or Partitions have never let me down on big antelope or big cats.
Even though I do have .375 HH that I like a lot, I have never used one overseas. I used my 375 Weatherby (Sako Fibreclass) on a medium sized bull moose and a 300 gr went stem to stern at about 150 yds.
Both great rounds with a slight edge in range to the 375.
My host bought a few boxes of basic round nose 286gr PMP 9.3x62 and off we went to hunt for the next few weeks. I was happy in that I went to a cull and over 2 days used the 9.3x62 on dozens of kudu and gemsbuck with great effect. Mostly under 100 yd shots but some say 200-250 yds.
That and its double flanged round the 9.3x74 are favorites. My 9.3x74 with Norma Oryx or Partitions have never let me down on big antelope or big cats.
Even though I do have .375 HH that I like a lot, I have never used one overseas. I used my 375 Weatherby (Sako Fibreclass) on a medium sized bull moose and a 300 gr went stem to stern at about 150 yds.
Both great rounds with a slight edge in range to the 375.
nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Try this again, last time a windy post got deleted.
If you have any of the three, for the game animals listed in the OP, then you dont need the others. I have seen that others have added calibers, which make the thread more about ammo availability and dangerous game. If one assumes that reloading is happening then ammo availability is a mute point. It is simply performance. The 9.3 is sometimes called the "poor mans 375" but really it shares more in common with the 35 Whelan in this regard than the 375's. Leaves two choices, the Ruger and the H&H. Simply pick one. In reloaded ammo, performance and projectile is a wash. Big deal one has a belt, the other not. Others will state that the Ruger fits in smaller actions, again how does this matter? If you are going after truly large and potentially dangerous game, can handle the recoil of the 375's, a extra 2 oz of rifle weight matters exactly how?
Pick one, get good with it. Go kill stuff.
If you have any of the three, for the game animals listed in the OP, then you dont need the others. I have seen that others have added calibers, which make the thread more about ammo availability and dangerous game. If one assumes that reloading is happening then ammo availability is a mute point. It is simply performance. The 9.3 is sometimes called the "poor mans 375" but really it shares more in common with the 35 Whelan in this regard than the 375's. Leaves two choices, the Ruger and the H&H. Simply pick one. In reloaded ammo, performance and projectile is a wash. Big deal one has a belt, the other not. Others will state that the Ruger fits in smaller actions, again how does this matter? If you are going after truly large and potentially dangerous game, can handle the recoil of the 375's, a extra 2 oz of rifle weight matters exactly how?
Pick one, get good with it. Go kill stuff.
saskgunowner101
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- near Prince Albert
Using a 286 grain bullet with a 24" barrel, 2,400-2,500 fps realistically all day long. The barnes data in post #31 is a gross example of too slow/wrong powder.
sorry but the 35 whelen is not a 9.3x62 ...
Lol, how the table have turned for the 9mm owners.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Agree with you fully on the 9.3 being extremely effective on game, as it will kill anything the .375 H&H will once inside the animal. Trajectory is a good deal more (half) pear shaped, but inside the typical ranges, it's more than flat enough. Only place we don't agree is on it being greatly different than the .35 Whelen, I see the two as American and German convergent evolution; heck they can both even be made from the same case and differ by only .008" and twist rate. A lot easier to say the .35 Whelen is an American 9.3x62 than to say the 9.3x62 is a German .375 H&H in my eyes.
This said, any of these will kill whatever you shoot with them. Then again so would a .30-06 99% of the time, we enjoy the 1% and write endlessly about the what ifs and obscure situations where more power matters. For me, it's not about power and ft-lbs, I don't choose .300s over .308s because they hit harder, Ichoose them because they get there much flatter with the bullet weights I prefer. .375 H&H vs 9.3x62 is more of the same, and given the .375's better bullet selection seals the deal for me. Effectiveness once in the animals I have zero doubt is identical, the .375 mags just allow it to happen from further away if necessary.
Last thought is recoil, I don't find an H&H to be at all objectionable, and a Model 70 in .375 H&H weighs what the 9.3s generally do as it uses a standard long action. So I'm not saving weight, couldn't tell the recoil difference between the two because neither is a handful, and in the end wonder why adopt another chambering that has lower limits than my already well practiced and used .375s... And I push that line of thinking on others!
I bet factory 35 whelen loads intended for twist rates optimized for 200 grain bullets have nothing on a 310 woodleigh fired from a barrel with the appropriate twist rate...
As for the magnum action vs standard long action: while some make the argument for losing a few ounces, shorter bolt throw etc, I think the real advantage is for manufacturers. Like Kudu said a few times, the .458 is cheaper, one of the reasons or this appears to be the rifles it is offered in. On the other end of the spectrum we may see more manufacturers like Mossberg coming out with .375 rugers on standard actions when they do not have the tooling or demand to pump out full magnum actions for more $$$$$
As for the magnum action vs standard long action: while some make the argument for losing a few ounces, shorter bolt throw etc, I think the real advantage is for manufacturers. Like Kudu said a few times, the .458 is cheaper, one of the reasons or this appears to be the rifles it is offered in. On the other end of the spectrum we may see more manufacturers like Mossberg coming out with .375 rugers on standard actions when they do not have the tooling or demand to pump out full magnum actions for more $$$$$
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Agree with you fully on the 9.3 being extremely effective on game, as it will kill anything the .375 H&H will once inside the animal. Trajectory is a good deal more (half) pear shaped, but inside the typical ranges, it's more than flat enough. Only place we don't agree is on it being greatly different than the .35 Whelen, I see the two as American and German convergent evolution; heck they can both even be made from the same case and differ by only .008" and twist rate. A lot easier to say the .35 Whelen is an American 9.3x62 than to say the 9.3x62 is a German .375 H&H in my eyes.
This said, any of these will kill whatever you shoot with them. Then again so would a .30-06 99% of the time, we enjoy the 1% and write endlessly about the what ifs and obscure situations where more power matters. For me, it's not about power and ft-lbs, I don't choose .300s over .308s because they hit harder, Ichoose them because they get there much flatter with the bullet weights I prefer. .375 H&H vs 9.3x62 is more of the same, and given the .375's better bullet selection seals the deal for me. Effectiveness once in the animals I have zero doubt is identical, the .375 mags just allow it to happen from further away if necessary.
Last thought is recoil, I don't find an H&H to be at all objectionable, and a Model 70 in .375 H&H weighs what the 9.3s generally do as it uses a standard long action. So I'm not saving weight, couldn't tell the recoil difference between the two because neither is a handful, and in the end wonder why adopt another chambering that has lower limits than my already well practiced and used .375s... And I push that line of thinking on others!
Angus please read the link i provided.
John Taylor, Kevin Roberston and Don Heath cant all be wrong on the 9.3x62 and i dare to add our whynot? on the balance ...
I have 2 35 Whelens and one 9.3x62. My one Whelen is one I built off a Savage action. I used a 22 inch semi bull barrel and I will easily get 2600 fps with 225 gr Barnes TSX bullets. I could go hotter but my rifle shoots this load at well under a half inch for a 3 shot groups. I took my cow elk (dressed 285lbs) at 230 yards this fall. One shot one kill. I love my Whelen. My other Whelen is one I got off the EE. It is a Rem 7600 carbine NIB.... Not new anymore. Shot it last weekend... Lots of fun.... Not near the accuracy of my bolt action but haven't done any loading for it yet. My 9.3x62 is in the Ruger No 1. Only got this rifle a couple months back and have not shot any of my handloads yet. This is an action one can certainly heat up! Not really sure why I would though. The 9.3x62 is really the European Whelen. There is nothing wrong with that. Both are lovely cartridges to shoot. A little more powder in the 9.3 due to the slightly shorter neck. All I know is that there is no bear that would not go down hard with a 225 grain Barnes in .358 or .366 calibre at standard velocities. My pick... The 35 Whelen!
... Lots of fun.... Not near the accuracy of my bolt action but haven't done any loading for it yet. My 9.3x62 is in the Ruger No 1. Only got this rifle a couple months back and have not shot any of my handloads yet. This is an action one can certainly heat up! Not really sure why I would though. The 9.3x62 is really the European Whelen. There is nothing wrong with that. Both are lovely cartridges to shoot. A little more powder in the 9.3 due to the slightly shorter neck. All I know is that there is no bear that would not go down hard with a 225 grain Barnes in .358 or .366 calibre at standard velocities. My pick... The 35 Whelen!
Are you actually getting those velocities? Because frankly I'm skeptical. The old factory load for the 270 gr. Winchester Power Point was listed at 2740, later dropped to 2700. The Barnes data is a 200 fps jump using a bullet with a longer bearing surface.
Second issue is you're comparing bullets of a similar weight. If you compare bullets of similar sectional density, 285/9.3 & 300/.375, the difference in velocity is only about 200 fps in factory loads, and if you start handloading both to the same pressure, the gap will stay roughly the same.
A quick visit to the Nosler website has their factory ammo listed at 2,750 for the 260/.375 bullet, and 2,550 for the 250/9.3mm. Again, roughly 200 fps for bullets of similar s.d.
I have 2 35 Whelens and one 9.3x62. My one Whelen is one I built off a Savage action. I used a 22 inch semi bull barrel and I will easily get 2600 fps with 225 gr Barnes TSX bullets. I could go hotter but my rifle shoots this load at well under a half inch for a 3 shot groups. I took my cow elk (dressed 285lbs) at 230 yards this fall. One shot one kill. I love my Whelen. My other Whelen is one I got off the EE. It is a Rem 7600 carbine NIB.... Not new anymore. Shot it last weekend
The Whelen is my choice too.
As for the 375 Ruger it brings nothing to the table, my 375 H&H is on a standard length action same as my 375 Ruger, performance is equal.
To say the Ruger is king of anything is a figment of ones imagination.
Bigfoot 870
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
The Ruger is just a young impersonator. Decent round, but not, nor ever will be, the King of anything except Gatehouse's bathroom magazine rack. Lol
Well, as I said I have both and truthfully I really like both but seriously no animal being hunted could tell the difference.
Currently my present use of the 375 Ruger is to use some of the brass to make 28 Nosler brass, reason being the significant price difference between the two..
