Joined the 9.3 club!

Suther

Suther

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So I have officially joined the 9.3 club! I wanted a moderate velocity medium bore, something similar to 358win, and when Frontier had a sale last week I just couldn't say no to a cheap 9.3x57.

Im still waiting on shipping, so no pics yet, but it's a M96 and it's got a old school scope mount on it already (I think it's a side mount? Not sure yet). All in it cost me $235 shipped to my door. I know this is basically a reloader only caliber but that's fine, I'll pick up the dies, brass and bullets next pay.

I know these rifles have stock cracking issues, and I know the fixes. Are there any other things I should know about the M96 action, or the 9.3x57? (I am also aware of and have read the stuff written by Daryl S on this caliber, his info on reloads in a big reason I picked one up.)
 
medvedqc said:
we ve got one too. you will love it. i think Anthony of TRAADEX is using one and had good success on polar bear and muskox with accubond in 250 grains.
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Im cheap, and accubonds are expensive, so I'm going to start with the 270 speer hotcor. They have a very good reputation around here, particularly in the eyes of Why Not?

I do wish there was more options on the lower end of bullet weights though, the Norma bullets are expensive and there are not many other options below 250gr (and even at 250gr its mostly high end stuff like accubonds, tsx etc)
 
Ya, finding lower cost bullets for the 9.3’s can be challenging. Mostly I use Speer 270 gr($35.00/50), Hornady 286 gr($44.00/50) and Privi Partisan 286 gr($63.00/100). By the account I have read, the PP is an effective big game bullet.

Another lower cost option is available front The Bullet Barn. These are hard cast 270gr lead bullets that cost $78.00/200.
 
The cheapest bullet seems to be the 285 gr. Prvi round nose. When I had mine I was using 44 grs of 4064 and it pretty much shot to the sights. I tried the Speer 270 gr. but the accuracy wasn't that great (keeping in mind open sights), and the point of impact was several inches higher. There was really no way to adjust the sights, except with a file, so I stuck with the heavier bullet.
 
I've got two Tradex graduates which I'm very happy with. I cast my own 280 grain bullets, and with gas checks and powder coating I have no problems getting them to coast along at about 1800 fps with no leading issues. Loaded down to 1400 fps they shoot like a nice big .22. One circa 1927 rifle remains stock with open sights, while the other circa 1938 M98 action sports a red dot.
I have yet to shoot any commercial bullets but might try a box just for curiosity's sake. There is lots of fun shooting left in those classy old Swedes.
 
9.3mauser said:
The cheapest bullet seems to be the 285 gr. Prvi round nose. When I had mine I was using 44 grs of 4064 and it pretty much shot to the sights. I tried the Speer 270 gr. but the accuracy wasn't that great (keeping in mind open sights), and the point of impact was several inches higher. There was really no way to adjust the sights, except with a file, so I stuck with the heavier bullet.
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Did you ever Chronograph that load with the PRVI 285? I want to say I read factory loads were something like a 286gr at 2000fps? I'm assuming the sights would be set for whatever ammo was common back in the day?
 
Suther said:
Did you ever Chronograph that load with the PRVI 285? I want to say I read factory loads were something like a 286gr at 2000fps? I'm assuming the sights would be set for whatever ammo was common back in the day?
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I don't think I ever did, I just figured I was in the ball park if the sights were on. What little info I could find online indicated that load would duplicate factory ballistics.
 
Mauser98 said:
Ya, finding lower cost bullets for the 9.3’s can be challenging. Mostly I use Speer 270 gr($35.00/50), Hornady 286 gr($44.00/50) and Privi Partisan 286 gr($63.00/100). By the account I have read, the PP is an effective big game bullet.

Another lower cost option is available front The Bullet Barn. These are hard cast 270gr lead bullets that cost $78.00/200.
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Those bullets shoot very nicely in our 9.3X62 M96 and although I haven't done much shooting with them in our 9.3X57's the initial results are looking fine by my standards. I'm definitely a fan of the 9.3 caliber.
 
broadhead67 said:
Bullet Barn products are excellent
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Any idea how fast they can be pushed before leading becomes an issue? I haven't used lead cast before, although this caliber is likely a good place to start...

I'm assuming most people are using the Hornady dies with this caliber? Any issues resizing 8x57 brass with them? How many firings do you get before needing to anneal (if at all?)?

I hear necking up to 40cal then sizing allows you to create a false shoulder to control headspace and case stretch, as someone who doesn't have anything that big on my reloading bench, what would be the cheapest way to get that task done?
 
I use 30-06 brass and the hornady dies. Very rarely anneal, and have had several firings on some of my brass without issue. 8mm brass will work great as well.
 
Philthy1 said:
I use 30-06 brass and the hornady dies. Very rarely anneal, and have had several firings on some of my brass without issue. 8mm brass will work great as well.
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30-06 brass just needs a bunch of trimming? I can get that a lot cheaper (probably free from a buddy) than having to buy 8x57 brass...

I see Hornady sells an expander die for 405 winchester, for about $40 on Amazon. Would that work for expanding the necks to 40cal? Or do I need something more like the Sinclair expander/mandrel setup? The Sinclair setup looks like the better deal, it'll cost me more up-front but then I can just buy more mandrels down the road for cheap...

What powders do people like for this caliber? I was thinking about picking up some of the CanAm D4895.
 
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Suther said:
30-06 brass just needs a bunch of trimming? I can get that a lot cheaper (probably free from a buddy) than having to buy 8x57 brass...

I see Hornady sells an expander die for 405 winchester, for about $40 on Amazon. Would that work for expanding the necks to 40cal? Or do I need something more like the Sinclair expander/mandrel setup? The Sinclair setup looks like the better deal, it'll cost me more up-front but then I can just buy more mandrels down the road for cheap...

What powders do people like for this caliber? I was thinking about picking up some of the CanAm D4895.
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In my ;) 'inexpensive' full wood Zastava, IMR 4320 and IMR 4064 have worked WELL. Initially, with thoughts of doing a lot of load testing, I also picked up a 'fair' cross section of bullets. With the accuracy I obtained using IMR 4064 and the 285gr PRVI, :redface: I have yet to do any further testing as I'd be hard pressed to surpass my results with the for mentioned mentioned combo.
 
Johnn Peterson said:
In my ;) 'inexpensive' full wood Zastava, IMR 4320 and IMR 4064 have worked WELL. Initially, with thoughts of doing a lot of load testing, I also picked up a 'fair' cross section of bullets. With the accuracy I obtained using IMR 4064 and the 285gr PRVI, :redface: I have yet to do any further testing as I'd be hard pressed to surpass my results with the for mentioned mentioned combo.
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Any idea on the velocity of that load?
 
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