Short Barreled 9.3x62 rifle

[PaulT]

Jayjay,
i'm not quite sure of your fixation in shooting at 300yds.

Will the cartridge/rifle do it, well most certainly if it is pointed in the right direction and the slug lands in the right spot it WILL no doubt kill.

Should you attempt it ???

Do you have the skill, confidence, knowledge of the trajectories ?

Only you can answer that.

I'm sure that you, like all other ethical hunters, have a deep seated moral and ethical commitment to making sure that any attempted shots on game are taken with a serious commitment to avoiding losing wounded animals.

If and when you are unsure whether to get closer or pass the shot to me that alone suggests enough doubt to do both, pass or try get closer.

An unalarmed animal that has not been fired at lives to be hunted another day.

 

[Jayjay]

Jayjay,
i'm not quite sure of your fixation in shooting at 300yds.

Will the cartridge/rifle do it, well most certainly if it is pointed in the right direction and the slug lands in the right spot it WILL no doubt kill.

Should you attempt it ???

Do you have the skill, confidence, knowledge of the trajectories ?

Only you can answer that.

I'm sure that you, like all other ethical hunters, have a deep seated moral and ethical commitment to making sure that any attempted shots on game are taken with a serious commitment to avoiding losing wounded animals.

If and when you are unsure whether to get closer or pass the shot to me that alone suggests enough doubt to do both, pass or try get closer.

An unalarmed animal that has not been fired at lives to be hunted another day.

Hi Paul.

I prefer shorter rifles to carry when hunting. I have also decided that I want to go with a 20 inch 9.3x62 rifle. I wanted to ask AH members who have the same or similar hunting set ups on the limitations of these rifles. The 300 meter distance is from all the articles I have reading that said that the 9.3x62 caliber should be limited to this range. I would like to know with the available lighter weight of bullets if this is still the maximum effective range or this can be stretched farther. If so, how far can the bullet be used to ethically take game.

Unfortunately, I do not have the intention of buying different rifles for different kind of game. This will probably be my one and only hunting rifle here in the Philippines. I really do not see myself hunting mountain sheep or goats where I have to shoot very far. But if I have the option of taking wild boar or African plains game at distance. I want to ask everybody who has had experience with this caliber and barrel length how far I should limit my shots.

Thank you and best regards.

 

[Jayjay]

Rifle is not mine, I was just testing it for a firearms magazine.

The 9,3x62 is not a long range cartridge, so I only tested it at 100 meters and it grouped fine, as far as I can remember.

Thank you Nyati.

 

[Jayjay]

@Jayjay a 250gr accubond at 2470 will easily kill at 300 yds. With it 2" high at 100 yds it will be 12.5" low at 300 and have 2259 ft-lbs of energy and still be going 2017 fps. The accubon will still expand at that velocity. It still has 1878 fps at 400yds so should expand as well.

Hi Stug.

Thank you, I am really leaning on developing a load for my rifle using 250 grain Accubonds. It is good to know that it will still have enough energy to take game at 400 yards.

Regards.

 

[V.Veritas]

Jayjay,

Have you reached a decision yet?
Have you considered the CZ 550 FS (control feed) and Steyr SBS - both Mannlicher stock and 20.5" long barrel?

I have used the Steyr this year in Africa with 286gr Hornady International at it was very effective. Managed to recover a single bullet from a blue wilderbeest.

 

[sestoppelman]

I used that cal in Africa twice with good success as long as I didn't flub the shot. Two oryx, one kudu, one gnu, one waterbuck, one red hartebeest. One oryx was taken at over 170 yards from prone. Hartebeest about 200 yards. I like the 250 gr weight and used the Nosler Accubond on one trip and the Barnes Triple Shock on second trip. My load out of a 24 inch CZ made about 2550 fps. There is zero need for the heavier bullets unless hunting very large or dangerous game, and they just make longer shots more dicey. If you can shoot, and know your rifle, 300 yards is not too far for this round. Figure a 20 inch bbl will lose very roughly 125 fps from a 24 inch bbl, but only a chronograph will tell the tale, and in reality the game wont know the difference if properly hit with a good bullet.

 

[Red Leg]

The Sako Arctos is a pretty handy rifle and like most Sako's, MOA right out of the box - with commercial ammo also right out of the box. Or get a Blaser R8 - a 22 -24 inch barrel on it is like a 20 inch barrel on the CZ due to action length. I don't own one, but would assume that is true of the Helix as well? Not sure I would compromise a great round with a short barrel, when actions exist that allow you to use a more traditional length. I can think of no instance where 24 inches was a real handicap where I have hunted much less 22.

Nothing wrong with shorter petit rifles - I have a Mannlicher Schonauer in 6.5x54 which is wonderful wee thing. A 9.3 tends to be different beast. I would suspect the muzzle blast would be noticeable.

 

[Dr Ray]

Dear all,

I am currently eyeing to buy either a 20 inch Sako or Sauer rifle chambered in 9.3x62 Mauser. How far should I limit my shots to? Will the weight of the bullet be an advantage to buck wind or will the velocity I will be getting from the 20 inch barrel negate this?

Should I go with 232 grain Oryx or 250 grain Nosler Accubonds for plains game?

Thank you.

Consider the Sako hunter 85 series.
Accuracy is simply excellent. Barrel length is 22 7/16 inches.

I have a number of Sakos and these are great.

They have excellent smooth bolt feeds with controlled round feed.

 

[Ernie Shipman]

I have the Merkel Helix in 9.3x62. Just got back from SA. Shot a warthog, wildebeest, giraffe & ostrich with it. All 1 shot. Longest shot was 85 yards, all on stalk. I have had no accuracy issues!

 

[Milan]

Sorry....this turned out to be longer reply than intended. Hopefully it makes sense:

I have a CZ550 FS and shoot 285/286gr bullets (usually Norma Oryx but also S&B, Remington SP and Prvi Partizan). They all seem to shoot well out of the relatively short barrel but I would not want to be pressed to shoot past 200 with it. More due to rainbow-like ballistics than anything else. I guess I suck at judging inches at estimated distances on unknown sized animals. Even at known distances, I would prefer a scope that has couple of bullet drop points/dots or hash marks in order to know where bullet hits at 150 and 200, etc. I found the 2-7x33 VX2 Leupold scope I had with 2 dots, would max out at about 200m. Sighted dead on at 100, the first dot was 140, the second 170 I think. The thick part of the post was 200 and a bit. I sight mine at 100 as I also shoot at 70m or so. Even closer sometimes (had a small buck at 30m). At 30, being 1.5" low is no biggie but at 70m it is actually shooting high and then comes down again to dead on at 100. So knowing where it hits is the main thing. This may seem like something everybody knows but I really struggled with it in Africa when the ranges changed quickly from 170 to 200m and beyond. Also at 200, even at full magnification the deer here was kind of small in the scope already. So while I believe one can easily shoot and kill with it at 300 or beyond, especially when sighted say 2" high at 100m, I still would consider this caliber more of a closer range affair. At least out of my 20" barrel and mainly with me behind the trigger. Anybody can hit a gong at known distance with any caliber if you are sighted in at one distance a know the ballistics and then dial in for the given distance but when hunting, I do not seem to be able to click my scope up or down, so having "BDC reticle" type of scope or flatter shooting cartridge seems to work better for me then.

As to penetration or killing power of the 9.3, I would not worry much. I find it overpenetrating on small, soft-skinned game, shooting through 2 hearts of 2 different animals leaving only a finger sized hole in the heart and the animal running or bucking wildly (bucking is preferred ). If you hit anything more solid or a heavier animal, the results seem impressive.
I shot a boar, impala, oryx, waterbuck, wildebeast and 3 whitetails so far since I bought it in 2012 or 2013. Getting to know the ballistics of this cartridge in my rifle was the biggest challenge but can be done easily and should be done with any rifle and cartridge one is not familiar with anyway. Unfortunately I was not familiar with either and did not have opportunity to learn more until my first African hunting trip and it put a bit of a damper on it. I feel better about the rifle/caliber choice now but I'm still going to try a flatter shooting rig for hunting this year. Yet I absolutely love the rifle and cartridge and it is the first one I grab when hunting starts. So there...the flatter ones I may try because I already have them but who knows if it means I will hunt with them.

 

[Jayjay]

Jayjay,

Have you reached a decision yet?
Have you considered the CZ 550 FS (control feed) and Steyr SBS - both Mannlicher stock and 20.5" long barrel?

I have used the Steyr this year in Africa with 286gr Hornady International at it was very effective. Managed to recover a single bullet from a blue wilderbeest.

Hello V Veritas.

My desire to buy a hunting rifle has hit a snag. Because of the current problems we have down south, our national police have stopped issuing licenses for rifles more powerful that .22LR. Bummer.

I have narrowed it down to either a Sako 85 Bavarian Carbine, Sauer Select 101 or a Sauer 404 Stutzen Select. Still chambered for 9.3x62.

Just wish things change soon.

 

[Jayjay]

The Sako Arctos is a pretty handy rifle and like most Sako's, MOA right out of the box - with commercial ammo also right out of the box. Or get a Blaser R8 - a 22 -24 inch barrel on it is like a 20 inch barrel on the CZ due to action length. I don't own one, but would assume that is true of the Helix as well? Not sure I would compromise a great round with a short barrel, when actions exist that allow you to use a more traditional length. I can think of no instance where 24 inches was a real handicap where I have hunted much less 22.

Nothing wrong with shorter petit rifles - I have a Mannlicher Schonauer in 6.5x54 which is wonderful wee thing. A 9.3 tends to be different beast. I would suspect the muzzle blast would be noticeable.

How is the weight of the Arctos Red Leg? I also like that rifle.

 

[Jayjay]

I have the Merkel Helix in 9.3x62. Just got back from SA. Shot a warthog, wildebeest, giraffe & ostrich with it. All 1 shot. Longest shot was 85 yards, all on stalk. I have had no accuracy issues!

Have you tried shooting the Merkel farther? I'm curious how it groups.

 

[Jayjay]

Sorry....this turned out to be longer reply than intended. Hopefully it makes sense:

I have a CZ550 FS and shoot 285/286gr bullets (usually Norma Oryx but also S&B, Remington SP and Prvi Partizan). They all seem to shoot well out of the relatively short barrel but I would not want to be pressed to shoot past 200 with it. More due to rainbow-like ballistics than anything else. I guess I suck at judging inches at estimated distances on unknown sized animals. Even at known distances, I would prefer a scope that has couple of bullet drop points/dots or hash marks in order to know where bullet hits at 150 and 200, etc. I found the 2-7x33 VX2 Leupold scope I had with 2 dots, would max out at about 200m. Sighted dead on at 100, the first dot was 140, the second 170 I think. The thick part of the post was 200 and a bit. I sight mine at 100 as I also shoot at 70m or so. Even closer sometimes (had a small buck at 30m). At 30, being 1.5" low is no biggie but at 70m it is actually shooting high and then comes down again to dead on at 100. So knowing where it hits is the main thing. This may seem like something everybody knows but I really struggled with it in Africa when the ranges changed quickly from 170 to 200m and beyond. Also at 200, even at full magnification the deer here was kind of small in the scope already. So while I believe one can easily shoot and kill with it at 300 or beyond, especially when sighted say 2" high at 100m, I still would consider this caliber more of a closer range affair. At least out of my 20" barrel and mainly with me behind the trigger. Anybody can hit a gong at known distance with any caliber if you are sighted in at one distance a know the ballistics and then dial in for the given distance but when hunting, I do not seem to be able to click my scope up or down, so having "BDC reticle" type of scope or flatter shooting cartridge seems to work better for me then.

As to penetration or killing power of the 9.3, I would not worry much. I find it overpenetrating on small, soft-skinned game, shooting through 2 hearts of 2 different animals leaving only a finger sized hole in the heart and the animal running or bucking wildly (bucking is preferred ). If you hit anything more solid or a heavier animal, the results seem impressive.
I shot a boar, impala, oryx, waterbuck, wildebeast and 3 whitetails so far since I bought it in 2012 or 2013. Getting to know the ballistics of this cartridge in my rifle was the biggest challenge but can be done easily and should be done with any rifle and cartridge one is not familiar with anyway. Unfortunately I was not familiar with either and did not have opportunity to learn more until my first African hunting trip and it put a bit of a damper on it. I feel better about the rifle/caliber choice now but I'm still going to try a flatter shooting rig for hunting this year. Yet I absolutely love the rifle and cartridge and it is the first one I grab when hunting starts. So there...the flatter ones I may try because I already have them but who knows if it means I will hunt with them.

My cousin has the same rifle in Texas. That is usually what I use when I hunt with him there. First shot I made with it was very lucky, I shot a pig with it using an eotech.

 

[Jayjay]

Consider the Sako hunter 85 series.
Accuracy is simply excellent. Barrel length is 22 7/16 inches.

I have a number of Sakos and these are great.

They have excellent smooth bolt feeds with controlled round feed.

I was able to play with a Sako Bavarian Carbine chambered in .270. I fell in love with the action and feel of the rifle as soon as I held it.

 

[Dr Ray]

I was able to play with a Sako Bavarian Carbine chambered in .270. I fell in love with the action and feel of the rifle as soon as I held it.

My favorite cartridge is the 270 although I really like the 338 w m
Which is about to get a workout on Australian buffalo.

 

[Jayjay]

My favorite cartridge is the 270 although I really like the 338 w m
Which is about to get a workout on Australian buffalo.

Good luck on the hunt. Let us know how it went.

 

[Dr Ray]

Good luck on the hunt. Let us know how it went.

I will write a report and hopefully get a few mean hogs!
Water buffalo are mighty big. I'm using 225 gn bullets and fir mean and fierce hogs I'll use a 300 w m with 180 gn bullets. The 300 is a backup in case I have issues with fire breathing buff.

 

[Scrumbag]

I've got a 600mm barrel on my 9.3x62 but even if shorter wouldn't hesitate to use the 285gr Norma Oryx

 

[Artur S]

Warming up the thread... Have to get rid of my 2 cents, though )))

9.3x62 is great with short barrels, especially if u reload and do not hunt in low light conditions (flash light/fire at the muzzle during shot shuts of the picture for a short while). 9,3x64 is then a long barrel addict, otherwise a torch.

9.3x62 and some 50-52 cm is one of the most popular combos on german driven hunts for boar. Had a blaser r93 in that pairing. Shot rws h-mantel factory ammo with very convincing effect on boar and still acceptable on small deer.

I have a bottom line table from a german hunting magazine, where they tested barrel length vs velocity with various cartridges. 9.3 x 62 was not part of the test, but the results should be similar or even less tangible. It made me stop being a long barrel fan. I can email it if desired.

In a nutshell: for most of the cartridges it boiled down to ~ 15-20m/s less speed every 5 cm less of barrel length.