9.3x62

[WAB]

I was very comfortable taking a [emoji[emoji6][emoji6]].x[emoji6] with loads that did meet the minimum energy requirements for my wife’s buffalo with CMS in Zim. CMS had no issue with it, our PH, Len Taylor, had no issue with it, the Zim officials who checked the rifle
Through in Harare had no issue with it, and the buffalo had no issue with it.

 

[One Day...]

I was very comfortable taking a [emoji[emoji6][emoji6]].x[emoji6] with loads that did meet the minimum energy requirements for my wife’s buffalo with CMS in Zim. CMS had no issue with it, our PH, Len Taylor, had no issue with it, the Zim officials who checked the rifle
Through in Harare had no issue with it, and the buffalo had no issue with it.

Yep, it all works until you bump into a local with a chip on his shoulder wanting to show who is boss...

 

[375Fox]

SHOULD YOU use 9.3x62 for elephant, hippo, buffalo in Zimbabwe. Is it technically ILLEGAL?

The first response to the OP is NOT the "official" regulation.

This appears to have been copied/pasted from a commercial website selected by Google AI Overview, and they screwed the pooch...

https://gamehuntingsafaris.com/hunting-in-zimbabwe-laws-and-licenses/#:~:text=The minimum required calibers for rifle hunting in Zimbabwe&text=Hunters must use a weapon,velocity of 3909ft per second.

As already noted in several responses, the official regulation by The Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Management Authority, requires the following:

>>> Minimum rifle energy requirement for big dangerous game (elephant, hippo, buffalo): 5,300 Joule. Equivalent 3,909 ft/lbs. A minimum requirement of 9.2 mm is required.​

​

>>> Minimum rifle energy requirement for very large plains game (giraffe, eland) and lion: 4,300 Joule. Equivalent 3,171 ft/lbs.​

​

>>> Minimum rifle energy requirement for large plains game (kudu, wildebeest etc) and leopard: 3,000 Joule. Equivalent 2,212 ft/lbs​

​

>>> Minimum rifle energy requirement for medium and small plains game: 850 Joule. Equivalent 627 ft/lbs.​

This mistake being corrected, what does it practically mean?

To take a few examples, the Swift High Grade Dangerous Game Hunting 9.3x62mm Mauser Ammo loaded with 286 Grain Swift A-Frame Bonded Round Nose produces 3,645 Foot Pounds at the muzzle. And a good load it is, but it is actually illegal for elephant, hippo, buffalo in Zimbabwe......

The same story goes for the Hornady Custom 9.3x62mm Mauser Ammo 286 Grain Hornady Interlock Jacketed Soft Point (3,537 ft/lbs); the Nosler Safari 9.3x62mm Mauser Ammo 286 Grain Nosler Partition Jacketed Soft Point (3,506 ft/lbs); the Federal Premium Safari 9.3x62mm Mauser Ammo Grain Jacketed Soft Point (3,537 ft/lbs); etc.

I have no doubt that one can reach and exceed 3,900 ft/lbs with responsible loads or reloads, (just crank up the speed a tad) but the question becomes: how do you demonstrate in the field that your reload meets the requirement, to a ZPWMA Game Scout who may have been instructed that 9.3x62 does not !?!?!?!?!?

Regardless of actual killing performance (as emphasized by Kevin “Doctari” Robertson, whom I speculate is doctari505 on this forum, and whom I deeply admire and respect), the classic 9.3x62 commercial loads are technically NOT legal for elephant, hippo, buffalo in Zimbabwe.

Right, wrong, or indifferent (definitely not right, definitely wrong, and far from being indifferent), hunting elephant, hippo, buffalo in Zimbabwe with a 9.3x62 exposes you to the potential furor of the law and there are enough law enforcement types with a chip on their shoulder, that it would be foolish to court safari disaster and endless legal trouble.

This is likely, I am speculating, why coreydb's PH, and some other (most?) PHs (I know at least one) decline the use of the 9.3x62 on elephant, hippo, buffalo in Zimbabwe.

To each our own, but in my opinion there are already enough opportunities for regulatory problems in flying with firearms to Africa, to not add a layer of potential trouble. My own experience with law enforcement in Zimbabwe ended up almost in jail when my PH was briefly arrested because the LED light bar at the front of his Hilux was 1 inch too high or some foolishness like that. There may (?) be a specific tolerance with ZPWMA regarding the 9.3x62, but do not count on me to volunteer for the test case

A potential answer could be to use commercial ammo like the Buffalo Bore 9.3x62mm Mauser Ammo 250 Grain Barnes TSX Hollow Point load that indicate on the box a Muzzle Energy of 3976 Foot Pounds

View attachment 674037

You’ll find many 375 H&H loads barely make the minimum as well or come slightly under it. I’ve never once been asked by a game scout what rifle I’m using and I never expect to. It’s up to the PH.

 

[375Fox]

I was very comfortable taking a [emoji[emoji6][emoji6]].x[emoji6] with loads that did meet the minimum energy requirements for my wife’s buffalo with CMS in Zim. CMS had no issue with it, our PH, Len Taylor, had no issue with it, the Zim officials who checked the rifle
Through in Harare had no issue with it, and the buffalo had no issue with it.

I think the buffalo had a very big issue with it!

 

[WAB]

Yep, it all works until you bump into a local with a chip on his shoulder wanting to show who is boss...

Not sure what the issue would be. Don Heath clearly championed cartridge and its acceptance in the regulations to ensure that it would be legal for dangerous game. It is widely regarded as legal in Zim.

 

[sgt_zim]

You’ll find many 375 H&H loads barely make the minimum as well or come slightly under it. I’ve never once been asked by a game scout what rifle I’m using and I never expect to. It’s up to the PH.

Yup. At 2400 fps, a 300 gr pill is just over 3800 ft lbs - so not legal.

Never put a factory 375 H&H over a chrony, but I imagine they're as prone to over-stating MV as every other cartridge.

 

[Frederik]

I used the 9,3 x 62 mm on Zimbabwe buffalo extensively.
My favorite load was 300-grain Stewart Hi-Performers at 2300 fps. These bullets had 2mm thick bonded jackets and a flat nose and they killed with authority.
I purchased the rifle in 1982, a Brno ZG4 from an oldtimer who had been the crop protection officer for Triangle Suger Estates and he conservatively estimated he had shot 600 buffalo with it without any problems using only solids in those times.
When I sold the rifle, it had at least 650 buffalo 'scalps' to its credit.
The 9,2 x 62 mm is a caliber/cartridge combination that punches well above its weight and when placed correctly, even its 286 grainers work well if of good quality.

From the horses mouth as they would say.
Very nice to see a post from you Kevin @doctari505 are you planning any future books?

Back to the post I would not hesitate to hunt an old buffalo bull with a 9.3x62 with proper constructed softs. There is so little difference between the 9.3 and 375 H&H.
But like the 375 H&H its not a real get yourself out of crap situation calibre.

 

[baxterb]

Yup. At 2400 fps, a 300 gr pill is just over 3800 ft lbs - so not legal.

Never put a factory 375 H&H over a chrony, but I imagine they're as prone to over-stating MV as every other cartridge.

Yup. The Federal 300gr Trophy Bonded is listed at 2400 fps.


My 9.3 shoots a 286 North Fork at 2505 - that gives 3985 fpe at the muzzle.

 

[Cheesehead]

There may (?) be a specific tolerance with ZPWMA regarding the 9.3x62, but do not count on me to volunteer for the test case

A potential answer could be to use commercial ammo like the Buffalo Bore 9.3x62mm Mauser Ammo 250 Grain Barnes TSX Hollow Point load that indicate on the box a Muzzle Energy of 3976 Foot Pounds

It may be one of those things where it isn't really enforced and no one cares, uniltil something goes seriously wrong.
If I was worried about it, I'd use that buffalo bore load so I could point to the box and say it meets the minimum, if needed. I'm not sure if the 250 grain TSX is the best choice for buffalo, but I doubt it would bounce off them.

 

[sgt_zim]

Yup. The Federal 300gr Trophy Bonded is listed at 2400 fps.


My 9.3 shoots a 286 North Fork at 2505 - that gives 3985 fpe at the muzzle.

My 286 gr A Frames are at 2475, just under the legal minimum at 3890 ft lbs. The buff I shot with it last August didn't seem to notice.

As I mentioned a page or 2 earlier, 375 Flanged doesn't come anywhere near 3900 ft lbs, more like 3300 or 3400 ft lbs.

If "your" 450/400 3" regulates below about 2100 fps, it doesn't meet the lawful minimum on energy, either.

Original 404J factory loads just barely get over the line, too.