9.3 X62 brass and bullet powder recommendation

[soumya sarkar]

Not sure there's any magic in the brass - any of the better brands will work, availability will likely dictate.
286gr bullets work great and the relatively low velocity means you don't need fancy bonded bullets - again availability will be the deciding factor.

In terms of powder, if you want to push the 9.3 velocities, then get hold of some Reloder-17. In my experience it is the best powder if you want to max out the velocities while staying within pressure limits. 2400-2500ft/s is achievable with 286gr bullets.

But why do u need such high velocities?

 

[112Savage]

I’ve used RL17 and RS Big Game with 286 grain bullets. The reason for such high velocities is getting the most out of the cartridge and not handicapping it by pressures established in the early 20th century. 65 grains of big game has been established as a 60k psi load by pressure testing using the nosler partition. This puts the pressures in the same region as 35 whelen and 375 H&H and allows the 9.3 to achieve performance of 20th century 375 H&H loads

 

[hawkeyesatx]

I’ve used RL17 and RS Big Game with 286 grain bullets. The reason for such high velocities is getting the most out of the cartridge and not handicapping it by pressures established in the early 20th century. 65 grains of big game has been established as a 60k psi load by pressure testing using the nosler partition. This puts the pressures in the same region as 35 whelen and 375 H&H and allows the 9.3 to achieve performance of 20th century 375 H&H loads

I’m a proponent for the 9.3x62 myself. With your statement above, boy don’t let the .375 H&H aficionados hear that statement. They’ll definitely get their noses pushed out of joint! LOL
But you’re absolutely right about upping the psi to bring it into a more modern era. I have some load data on another thread where I have really ruffled some .375 feathers!

 

[John Wasmuth]

As long as your using good bullets that can handle that velocity yer good to go. A frames, partitions to name a couple do pretty good at the increased velocities. Most cup and cores are coming apart but still knock the stuffings out of things.

 

[aminkus]

Norma Brass and 286gr Barnes TTSX will take any plains game.
I have loads of 9.3 Brass if you are looking for some

 

[soumya sarkar]

Norma Brass and 286gr Barnes TTSX will take any plains game.
I have loads of 9.3 Brass if you are looking for some

I’m looking for some brass which has been difficult to find. Would love to have few

 

[albravo]

I spent the afternoon working up a couple loads for my new Blaser R8. I use Quickload and OBT as a starting point, then refine from there. I'm using Speer 270gr and RL15 and Varget.

I am simultaneously building loads for my .375H&H barrel with Barnes 250gr TTSX over Varget and RL15.

It will be interesting to see which one I favour. They are more overlapping than I realized when I bought both barrels.

 

[soumya sarkar]

I’ve used RL17 and RS Big Game with 286 grain bullets. The reason for such high velocities is getting the most out of the cartridge and not handicapping it by pressures established in the early 20th century. 65 grains of big game has been established as a 60k psi load by pressure testing using the nosler partition. This puts the pressures in the same region as 35 whelen and 375 H&H and allows the 9.3 to achieve performance of 20th century 375 H&H loads

Time for some reflection. Every calibre has been designed with optimal performance in mind. IMO there are scientific reasons to determine these facts and best use scenarios. Somehow this notion of pushing beyond these defined limits is perplexing, and should be better accomplished by going for a 375 or whatever the higher caliber desired.

 

[112Savage]

Time for some reflection. Every calibre has been designed with optimal performance in mind. IMO there are scientific reasons to determine these facts and best use scenarios. Somehow this notion of pushing beyond these defined limits is perplexing, and should be better accomplished by going for a 375 or whatever the higher caliber desired.

You are looking for powder and bullet recommendations for a cartridge designed in 1905. Otto Bock didn’t have solid copper bullets or any of the powders currently available. So your response is utter rubbish. I’m not pushing beyond limits, I’m optimizing the cartridge/bullet/powder combination which is exactly what was asked for.

 

[John Wasmuth]

Modern powders make the 9,3 a completely different horse. Standard cup and core bullets for the 9,3 work best at moderate velocities. With modern partitions and monos you can race that horse a lot faster, but there’s no reason to. It’s worked for as long as it has for a reason.

 

[soumya sarkar]

You are looking for powder and bullet recommendations for a cartridge designed in 1905. Otto Bock didn’t have solid copper bullets or any of the powders currently available. So your response is utter rubbish. I’m not pushing beyond limits, I’m optimizing the cartridge/bullet/powder combination which is exactly what was asked for.

As far as I know you r no ballistic expert. I should not have got into a debate with you. You need to see for yourself the load data provided by Hodgdon, using modern bullets none of which reaches your velocities for a reason. Your notion of higher velocities meaning better performance is utter nonsense. Bigger + faster doesn’t always equate to better

 

[MS 9x56]

That is the beauty of the 9.3x62 it excels fast or slow, modern loads or vintage loads. It just works on game large and small. I have found for me a meat hunter at least that faster usually means more meat lost due to blood shot damage.

 

[Fryeguy]

The load data in manuals is at a certain level for many reasons. How many rifles since 1905 have been built on actions that shouldn’t be pushed beyond original cartridge parameters? I don’t know Mauser type actions that well, but there is all kinds of information out there for them, and some are known to be better than others depending on where and when they were made. The manuals have to account for all of this, and cover their butts in case someone tries to push it in a rifle they shouldn’t. I agree with you that bullets are designed to function well within certain parameters, but usually they cover a rather large velocity range. Aframes are simply amazing bullets, I love them so far. They only mushroom so much. I’ve posted pics of some I have recovered. Had those bullets been going 200fps slower, you can look on their website to see the difference in what they would open up. So speed does matter, it adds effective range. The all copper bullets need more speed sometimes just to open up properly. I think the best thing that could be done is to have different load data to cover these firearms over the years, just like they do for 45-70, which has three different sets of data in Sierra, and two sets of data for most others. But how do they do this for a predominantly bolt action centered cartridge, with 150 years with of Mauser actions manufactured all over??

 

[Fryeguy]

I have another thread I started about a particular bullet I was looking for information on in a 9.3x74r. Lapua Mega 285 grain. Unfortunately I was only able to try it on a coyote this year, which is just a little bit bigger than a jackal. It did open up on that animal, but the recovery of bullet after it the ground (I was in a very tall treestand), left me wondering just how tough the bullet probably is. It did the job, but on something like an Eland would it need a little more impact speed? It leaves me wondering. Right now it’s only averaging around 2250-2300fps. 200yards out would it be too slow to mushroom effectively to produce a good clean kill? I do not have an answer but I would hope so

 

[112Savage]

Pressure tested load data from reputable sources.

 

[Fryeguy]

I for one would also love to try the Norma oryx 286 grain bullets. I have been looking for at least a year if not more! The 232 grain did so well, I cannot wait until some make it to the market in US.

 

[soumya sarkar]

I for one would also love to try the Norma oryx 286 grain bullets. I have been looking for at least a year if not more! The 232 grain did so well, I cannot wait until some make it to the market in US.

Have you tried the north fork spitzer, I have heard it’s pretty good and available in the US

 

[UpNorthMI]

Pressure tested load data from reputable sources.

Thanks for the data, I'm also using Ramshot Big Game and Varget powders for a lot of my 9.3 x 62 and .375 H&H reloading with a range of bullet weights.

 

[Fryeguy]

Have you tried the north fork spitzer, I have heard it’s pretty good and available in the US

I will look them up as well, thanks for the heads up.

 

[mauserhunter]

Hawk probably makes a few 9.3 bullets with different jacket thicknesses, there normally priced fairly tho they are still just basic cup and core bullets. Not sure if they offer a bonded bullet.