308 Win or 9.3x62 Mauser for Plains Game Hunt

[HWL]

9,3x62..... because you do not know what comes around the corner next.
Especially in Africa, it can become uncomfortably..... so be prepared for the worst.... 9,3x62

HWL

 

[HWL]

I know this is an old thread so I am begging your pardons but this thread begs for the words of the Highlander. In Africa “there can be only one” the 9.3x62. Especially if it is in a Mauser.

... or Mannlicher-Schoenauer

HWL

 

[Scrumbag]

I like my 9.3x62. 250gr Accubonds make it flatter shooting than the classic ~285gr load. That would be my choice.

Scrummy

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I like my 9.3x62. 250gr Accubonds make it flatter shooting than the classic ~285gr load. That would be my choice.

Scrummy

@Scrumbag
Scummy when are you going to reakize the 35 Whelen shoots 250gr flatter than the 9.3 and the 275gn 35 cal has a higher Sd than the 9.3 plus shoots faster and flatter.
Wake up and smell the 35 cal rose's mate and stop being disillusioned with that 9.3 metric stuff. You are a flippin Englishman mate that should embrace imperial calibers not this metric rubbish mate.
I thinks that warm English beer is affecting your thinking ol son.
Bob

 

[Scrumbag]

Ah Bob, you just don't see how good the 9.3x62 actually is... and it shoots bigger, heavier bullets...

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

"Ah Bob, you just don't see how good the 9.3x62 actually is... and it shoots bigger, heavier bullets..." and faster I must say, all else being equal...

 

[Scrumbag]

"Ah Bob, you just don't see how good the 9.3x62 actually is... and it shoots bigger, heavier bullets..." and faster I must say, all else being equal...

Good man!

 

[Tom Leoni]

Any currently-produced rifle caliber propelling a bullet of decent SD, weighing 160 grains or more, and leaving the muzzle at 2,000 fps or over will be perfectly suited to take plains game. It's fun to geek out on the perfect caliber (hint: it's the .375 ), but in reality if the ballistics meet a sensible minimum and you know your and your rifle's capabilities and limitations, you'll be fine.

 

[Challer]

If you you’re only taking one, 9.3. If you take both, you still have to make the same decision every day.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Ah Bob, you just don't see how good the 9.3x62 actually is... and it shoots bigger, heavier bullets...

@Scrumbag
A millpoofteenth bigger and 10 grains heavier.
I can get the 310s motoring at 2,455fps out of the Whelen.
The 9.3 is pretty good tho.

 

[Code4]

I've taken a .308W on one trip and a 9.3x62 on another to South Africa. Both work very well. If Eland+ is on your list take the 9.3.. Otherwise take the one you shoot the best and start practising from different shooting positions and different ranges.

 

[OldnLazy]

At one point I had two CZ's in 9.3x62, a rifle with 23.6" barrel and the full-length-stock model with 20" barrel. I shot four loads in both of them--two factory and two handloads--to compare muzzle velocities. There was very little difference, and in fact one load was a little faster in the shorter barrel. Don't ask me why.

I feel less recoil in the 9.3x62 than from the .338, when both are loaded with 250-grain bullets to about the same muzzle velocity of 2650 fps in my rifles. There are two reasons for this: Less powder and less muzzle pressure in the 9.3x62, which translates into less "rocket effect" added to recoil. The difference isn't huge, but to me it's there, and probably could be demonstrated on some sort of machine. Certainly rifle weight and stock design will have their effect as well.

I have used my 9.3x62 rifle on African plains game of the sort you're talking about to 300 yards with very fine results.

 

[Tanks]

... You can put more than one rifle on a 4457...

I would advise against this. If you ever decide to take only one rifle overseas, having another rifle on the 4457 could raise complications.

On the same trip to CBP, it is just as easy to have them sign and validate two forms instead of just one.

 

[obmn]

I kind of love/hate finding a thread like this. I have my first trip coming up this summer and have been thinking about whether my .308 will be enough. Most here say yes but if possible, bring 9,3x62. Given that I have a Blaser, getting another barrel is not that difficult (seeing a local ad for a spare barrel is what made me find this thread).

Given that Kudu is the largest on my list, I don't feel very bad about relying on the .308 but still trying to find out how much energy I lose from having a short barrel (52cm, 20,5") + silencer vs. the diagrams on ammunition websites. Any rule of thumb?

 

[mdwest]

I kind of love/hate finding a thread like this. I have my first trip coming up this summer and have been thinking about whether my .308 will be enough. Most here say yes but if possible, bring 9,3x62. Given that I have a Blaser, getting another barrel is not that difficult.

Given that Kudu is the largest on my list, I don't feel very bad about relying on the .308 but still trying to find out how much energy I lose from having a short barrel (52cm, 20,5") + silencer vs. the diagrams on ammunition websites.

My wife took her kudu with a 16” barreled 308 shooting Barnes 168gr bullets. Your 20” barrel will be no problem.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I kind of love/hate finding a thread like this. I have my first trip coming up this summer and have been thinking about whether my .308 will be enough. Most here say yes but if possible, bring 9,3x62. Given that I have a Blaser, getting another barrel is not that difficult (seeing a local ad for a spare barrel is what made me find this thread).

Given that Kudu is the largest on my list, I don't feel very bad about relying on the .308 but still trying to find out how much energy I lose from having a short barrel (52cm, 20,5") + silencer vs. the diagrams on ammunition websites. Any rule of thumb?

@obmn
My son took his 308 loaded with 150gn accubonds and 50 gn of CFE 223 for a muzzle velocity of 2,950fps out of a 22" tube and everything he shot fell down and never recovered a bullet, even in an oryx cow .
THIS IS A MAX LOAD AND WAS SAFE IN MY RIFLE. WORK UP FROM 3 GRAINS BELOW.
Bob

 

[sgt_zim]

I kind of love/hate finding a thread like this. I have my first trip coming up this summer and have been thinking about whether my .308 will be enough. Most here say yes but if possible, bring 9,3x62. Given that I have a Blaser, getting another barrel is not that difficult (seeing a local ad for a spare barrel is what made me find this thread).

Given that Kudu is the largest on my list, I don't feel very bad about relying on the .308 but still trying to find out how much energy I lose from having a short barrel (52cm, 20,5") + silencer vs. the diagrams on ammunition websites. Any rule of thumb?

My rule of thumb is "it ain't enough to worry about unless you're planning on stretching way out there."

If you're in Limpopo or Mpumalonga, not an issue. If you're in the Karoo or Kalahari, it could be.

Not for nothin', 180 gr pills are right around 1500 ft lbs of energy at about 2k fps velocity, rule-of-thumb-minimum for elk. How far out is 2k fps for a 20.5" barrel 308 firing 180s? Probably 200 - 300 yards - depends on MV and the bullet's BC. You need to find someone with a chrony so you know for sure. IDK how many kudu have been killed in the last 130 years with 170 - 175 gr 7x57 at 2350 fps, probably 10s or 100s of thousands.

No reason you shouldn't be able to get 2450 or even 2500 fps with 180s and a 20.5. If you're really concerned about distance, the 3 highest BC true hunting bullets in caliber 308 are generally Partition, Accubond, and Swift Scirocco II. ELD-X 178 gr is probably higher, but I wouldn't be comfortable with that, YMMV.

I would not spend money on a 22" barrel just to get another 100-ish fps MV.

 

[Schüler Jumbo]

Hands down 9.3x62 Mauser for me.

 

[Milan]

Well... what happened? What did the OP take and what did he kill with it?

 

[BFaucett]

Well... what happened? What did the OP take and what did he kill with it?

The OP of this thread:

Bob F.