The Perfect 9.3x62 Safari Rifle

[503]

I like having 2 of each caliber in case one goes down or is in the shop or whatever. A little redundancy is good.

And @BeeMaa is right, I usually bring 2 shotguns with me especially waterfowl hunting. Never know when one my die on you.

Cheers

503

 

[HWL]

This is my perfect 9,3x62 Safari Rifle.

A Mannlicher-Schoenauer GK with a 25,6" barrel and a Zeiss 2,5-10x52 Diavari on claws.
Because the 9,3x62 is "margial" for the real big african stuff, you need every inch of barrel for evere f/s & ft.-lbs. the cartridge has to offer.
A short rifle might be fine in the bushfelt, but even there, be prepared for "the long shot".
It happens, whenever you do not expect it.

HWL

 

[BeeMaa]

I like having 2 of each caliber in case one goes down or is in the shop or whatever. A little redundancy is good.

And @BeeMaa is right, I usually bring 2 shotguns with me especially waterfowl hunting. Never know when one my die on you.

Cheers

503

Apologies for the detour...

What are your choices are for waterfowling shotguns? Have you had issues with one going down? Maybe a friend? Which shotgun? Or is taking an additional shotgun a precaution? I'm always looking for shotgun intel.

I've been on the Benelli SBE train for a while now and never had a hiccup, regardless of the shells. Shot approximately 2000 shells through my current SBE3, so the Inertia Drive is just getting warmed up. Although I do admit to having a Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus with Kickoff if needed.

 

[503]

Apologies for the detour...

What are your choices are for waterfowling shotguns? Have you had issues with one going down? Maybe a friend? Which shotgun? Or is taking an additional shotgun a precaution? I'm always looking for shotgun intel.

I've been on the Benelli SBE train for a while now and never had a hiccup, regardless of the shells. Shot approximately 2000 shells through my current SBE3, so the Inertia Drive is just getting warmed up. Although I do admit to having a Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus with Kickoff if needed.

Well the only hunting shotgun I had up until about 5 years ago is an 870 I've had forever. Runs great and I've hunted a ton with it.

I wanted a semi auto so I got a Franchi affinity 3. I love it, runs great. In the 870 I run a factory full that's rated for steel and that patterns well with pretty much everything. Steel, turkey shells and buckshot.

In the franchi I run a kicks high flyer full. It's a good combo. In terms of bringing an extra gun, usually it's for a friend that doesn't have one or doesn't want to fly with one. I've never had a gun totally die on a hunt but shit happens.

My buddy got a mossberg 935 waterfowl pro 6 months ago, we took it to the range and after 15 ish rounds it locked up completely and was dead. So it's possible.

I still use the 870 for turkey hunting because that's kinda what it's set up for and I've killed a ton with it. Probably spent more time in the woods with that gun than all the others combined.

I've been looking at maybe getting a bitter semi auto. I like the M2 a lot. I've read a lot of reviews that say the SBEs shoot pretty high a lot of the time. Has that ever been an issue for you?

 

[MS 9x56]

I hope that doesn’t apply to shotguns. I have four different models but all are 12 bore and have very different purposes.

No shotgun gauges are too limited. I own mostly 12 and 20 gauges but am on the lookout for a 16 gauge model 12.

I like having 2 of each caliber in case one goes down or is in the shop or whatever. A little redundancy is good.

And @BeeMaa is right, I usually bring 2 shotguns with me especially waterfowl hunting. Never know when one my die on you.

Cheers

503

Never had one die so I never thought about it. There was one time I fell retrieving a wood duck and jammed about 8 “ of mud up my barrel. A willow switch and swamp water cleaned it out nicely though, kept right on shooting.

 

[503]

No shotgun gauges are too limited. I own mostly 12 and 20 gauges but am on the lookout for a 16 gauge model 12.

Never had one die so I never thought about it. There was one time I fell retrieving a wood duck and jammed about 8 “ of mud up my barrel. A willow switch and swamp water cleaned it out nicely though, kept right on shooting.

Never know when a .50 cent spring or other small part could break and your gun goes down. I always bring a backup if it's at all possible.

Cheers

503

 

[Aaron N]

View attachment 597421

The bottom rifle is the finest 9.3x62 I have used. Rigby Highland Stalker with a Swarovski Z6 1.7-10x mounted in EAW pivot mounts. I know you say it is out of budget, but owning one would be worth selling off a few other rifles.

Calibre aside, would you choose the Rigby over the custom model 70’s? To say they have all been tastefully done is an understatement.

 

[Fallschirmjaeger]

My Husqvarna 1640 in 9.3x62 is a smart looking rifle with great figure in the walnut and shoots about MOA. Talley lightweights and a Meopta scope outfit the rifle for low light shooting. That's more than enough gun for me within the confines of the range of the caliber.

 

[WAB]

Calibre aside, would you choose the Rigby over the custom model 70’s? To say they have all been tastefully done is an understatement.

Wow, that is a tough question. The 7x57 is engraved by a close friend who is one of the top engravers in the London trade. It would be the last to go. The Rigby would likely stack in next. It is a fine balance of power and finesse in 9.3x62. However the .375 and Lott have been there and done that. There are a lot of memories on that wall!

I guess I’m just no help at all!

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

Hi HWL,

LOVE your M-Sch !!!! It must be a special order one because the barrel lenght....Do you know some more of it´s history!?

Best regards

CF

 

[MS 9x56]

That barrel length must be a standard size in Europe as my Mauser 98 has that same length.

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

Hi MS,

The standard M-Sch rifle barrel lenght was 60 cm, Aprox. 23,6". But Steyr was open to accept many special orders until the end of M-Schoenauer era!

 

[Aaron N]

Wow, that is a tough question. The 7x57 is engraved by a close friend who is one of the top engravers in the London trade. It would be the last to go. The Rigby would likely stack in next. It is a fine balance of power and finesse in 9.3x62. However the .375 and Lott have been there and done that. There are a lot of memories on that wall!

I guess I’m just no help at all!

It’s always good to have choices

 

[HWL]

Hi HWL,

LOVE your M-Sch !!!! It must be a special order one because the barrel lenght....Do you know some more of it´s history!?

Best regards

CF

I bought this rifle from a young guy in northern Germany. He inherited the rifle from his granddad. He shot it once, got a badly bruised eyebrow, and sold it for cheap.
I restored the rifle completely.
The 65 cm/ 25,6" barrel was a special order, I think. If you are interested, I do know one in Austria for sale.
With the long barrel, the 9,3x62 really comes to its life.... with a short one, it's just another .30-06.

HWL

 

[John Wasmuth]

I’m perfectly fine with my Zastava M70’s in 9,3x62, one is barreled with a Shaw 2.5 contour 1:12 twist 24 inch. Super accurate although it’s a pound or two heavier than my factory 22 inch barrel. They are dependable, well balanced and since they are M98 Mauser copies, easy to maintain and fix if something goes wrong.

 

[8x68]

I have the entire line of BRNO/CZ 9.3x62 rifles. My go to would be my ZG47 or CZ550 FS in 9.3x62.
One aspect that surprised me whilst shooting the 9,3x62's is that they all shoot the exact same POI no matter which rifle I shoot them in (referring to the BRNO/CZ rifles). I shoot mainly 285/286gr bullets. 5 shot group size is under 0.75" at 100yds. Pretty cool!