More thoughts on 9.3x64

[grand veneur]

I also reload the cartridge 9,3x64, but I always had the best ballistic performance with the 19g TUG factory loads from RWS.

At the moment I am mainly working at a load with the 220gr TUG Nature bullet and another for the 320gr PP SN bullet from Woodleigh.

 

[Luederitz]

I own a couple of 9,4x64 rifles, great and versatile caliber.
For medium/heavy game, including plains game, I prefer bullets like the Accubond or other lead-core bullets with 250gr weight. Most of this bullets offer a high B.c. which last in high energy also in 300 m distance with flat ballistics.

If you intend to hunt buffalo with the 9,3x64, which is possible, you should focus on real premium bullets as heavy as possible like A-Frame, North Fork or check if the 320gr bullets from Degol or Woodleigh are available.

For our European game, especially if lead-free is requested, bullets like the 230gr Aero ( http://www.styriaarms.com/aero.html ) can be recommended, good ballistics due to good B.c. makes the caliber versatile.

The 9,3x64 is in my eyes a very precise caliber and so far I did not had any disappointments regarding non-precise bullets...

 

[CBH Australia]

I had shot many Brenneke cartridges, including 7X64, 8X64S and 9.3X64. I felt the 8X64 was redundant and sold it off keeping the 7mm & 9.3mm... if I had been sharp that day, I would have went the other way around and kept the 8mm and sold the other two. However, I love my Ruger M77 Brenneke's... shot a lot of game with them, mostly with S&B TUG's.

The 7x64 and 9.3x64 sound like a nice combination.

 

[PerH]

Brenneke TOG is one to look for also and with Northfork in Sweden , some to look for there also .

 

[hoytcanon]

The 7x64 and 9.3x64 sound like a nice combination.

The bottom rifle pictured is the 7X64 Brenneke.

 

[RayAtkinson]

I opted for a 9,3x64 at one time, but for 100 -150 fps according to my chronograph over my 9,3x62 both handloaded to max and more blast and recoil I sent two 64s down the road. If I need more than the 62 I will opt for the 375 Ruger or 416 Rem..Components for the 9,3x64 are hard to come by these days and it has little to offer...

 

[Luederitz]

Successful hunt with my 9,3x64
August 2024

 

[MS 9x56]

The 7x64 and 9.3x64 sound like a nice combination.

Sound like more than needed of a good thing on both counts to me. Why must we always try to improve on what already works perfectly, until we make it not perfect anymore? In my non-magnum crazed opinion you cannot improve upon the 7x57 or 9.3x62 without making them less than perfect, at least for a meat eater. Just a meat eaters humble opinion. If you have to shoot more than 300 yards, you don't need a magnum. You need to work on your stalking skills.

 

[John Wasmuth]

^ That!

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Sound like more than needed of a good thing on both counts to me. Why must we always try to improve on what already works perfectly, until we make it not perfect anymore? In my non-magnum crazed opinion you cannot improve upon the 7x57 or 9.3x62 without making them less than perfect, at least for a meat eater. Just a meat eaters humble opinion. If you have to shoot more than 300 yards, you don't need a magnum. You need to work on your stalking skills.

I might feel the same way if I was in New York and naive about the demands of hunting in big, steep, open country, or dangerous African big game. Please don't tell me about Bell killing 1,000 elephants with a 7x57. Just because something can be done does not mean it is a good idea.

 

[MS 9x56]

I might feel the same way if I was in New York and naive about the demands of hunting in big, steep, open country, or dangerous African big game. Please don't tell me about Bell killing 1,000 elephants with a 7x57. Just because something can be done does not mean it is a good idea.

Well we do have common ground. I whole heartedly agree with your last sentence.

 

[rookhawk]

I might feel the same way if I was in New York and naive about the demands of hunting in big, steep, open country, or dangerous African big game. Please don't tell me about Bell killing 1,000 elephants with a 7x57. Just because something can be done does not mean it is a good idea.

A couple of slide comments:

1.) Bell chose 7x57 (and 6.5x54) for elephant not because they were the best, but because A.) they can work, and B.) He had reliable ammo for those calibers at a time when most ammo was unreliable.

2.) 7x64 is certainly not overkill. It’s a slightly more powerful 7x57, virtually identical to 280 Remington. One of the primary reasons to select 7x64 is the rifles tend to be custom/vintage/european and attractive which is often not the case with many other calibers.

3.) Just a general comment that caliber and optimal accuracy are not particularly important factors I consider in rifles at the start, the quality of the bullet and reliable feed are the first things on my mind.

 

[C.W. Richter]

Use more gun. A 375 is much more powerful than a 9.3 and even with the Magnum nomenclature it is a mid-4 gun and quite pleasant to shoot. I have absolutely never ever fired a 375 that was unpleasant. I think it was Kevin Robertson that compared the 9.3 to the necked up 30 ought 6 cartridges like the 35 whelen 33806 etc. I've used them in Africa on PG and do not recommend it and especially not on any DG.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I might feel the same way if I was in New York and naive about the demands of hunting in big, steep, open country, or dangerous African big game. Please don't tell me about Bell killing 1,000 elephants with a 7x57. Just because something can be done does not mean it is a good idea.

Wow, I didn’t know that about Bell killing that many elephants with a 7x57. Crazy! But I guess he used what worked at the time? Didn’t somebody back in the day kill a number of lions with a .30-30 Winchester?

 

[rookhawk]

Use more gun. A 375 is much more powerful than a 9.3 and even with the Magnum nomenclature it is a mid-4 gun and quite pleasant to shoot. I have absolutely never ever fired a 375 that was unpleasant. I think it was Kevin Robertson that compared the 9.3 to the necked up 30 ought 6 cartridges like the 35 whelen 33806 etc. I've used them in Africa on PG and do not recommend it and especially not on any DG.

The 9.3x64 with a 293gr factory load is literally 99% of the energy as a 375HH with a 300gr factory load. Whatever nod we give the 375HH for that miniscule amount of extra energy (both are over 4300 foot pounds), we have to give the nod to the Brenneke for the better B.C. And subsequent penetration.

If you’re comparing a 9.3x62 to a 375HH, then yes, the 375HH has a lot more oomph. (Nonetheless, my pre-teen son used a 375HH loaded with lighter 260gr bullets at 9.3x62 velocities for DG with no ill effect other than pleasant 26lb felt recoil)

 

[CBH Australia]

Sound like more than needed of a good thing on both counts to me. Why must we always try to improve on what already works perfectly, until we make it not perfect anymore? In my non-magnum crazed opinion you cannot improve upon the 7x57 or 9.3x62 without making them less than perfect, at least for a meat eater. Just a meat eaters humble opinion. If you have to shoot more than 300 yards, you don't need a magnum. You need to work on your stalking skills.

There are probably a lot of Meat Eaters here.
A lot of vegetarians , vegans, snags and Hipsters would probably feel uncomfortable among the meat harvesters and meat eaters here.
And the Man Bun crowd probably don’t fit in among us dinosaurs of the site.
There are a few members younger than me but not all that many..

 

[C.W. Richter]

There are probably a lot of Meat Eaters here.
A lot of vegetarians , vegans, snags and Hipsters would probably feel uncomfortable among the meat harvesters and meat eaters here.
And the Man Bun crowd probably don’t fit in among us dinosaurs of the site.
There are a few members younger than me but not all that many..

Probably. LOL "Use More Gun." Don't be a Pussy. You'll be back to camp with gustatory delights and libations prior to the others! lol

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Wow, I didn’t know that about Bell killing that many elephants with a 7x57. Crazy! But I guess he used what worked at the time? Didn’t somebody back in the day kill a number of lions with a .30-30 Winchester?

I don't know about lions with a .30-30, but Jim Corbet killed several man-eating tigers with a .275 Rigby (7x57). For all I know, our own hunters habit might have as well. Maybe he'll tell us. Anyway the exploits of "Karamojo" Bell are well.dacumented. I believe he killed over 1100 elephants, most of which were with a 7x57.

I would not try to accomplish either of those things with a rifle that light even if it was legal. Those who say that cartridge doesn't matter at all and only shot placement counts are living in a dream world. There who live in flat, wooded country where any shot over 100 yards if long range and likely have never seen a game animal bigger than a white tall, really need to get out more before they lecture other hunters that "magnum" rifles are not useful and only Eastern hunters know anything about stocking.

 

[grand veneur]

I very much doubt the experience of the people who claim that neither Magnum nor bigger bore cartridges are of any use. Sure, the most important thing is the shot placement, but after that comes the so-called terminal ballistics and there are huge differences depending on how big and heavy the bullets, and how high the impact velocity of that are. This also applies to the cartridge 9,3x64 Brenneke. This cartridge is a significantly step up compared to the cartridge 9,3x62, what is a big advantage when it comes for example to shooting at longer range than is it usual with such cartridges caliber 9,3mm. I speak from personal experience with the cartridge 9,3x64, among other things when shooting Elks at longer range.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Wow, I didn’t know that about Bell killing that many elephants with a 7x57. Crazy! But I guess he used what worked at the time? Didn’t somebody back in the day kill a number of lions with a .30-30 Winchester?

Wally Johnson.