9.3x62 Vs 9.3x64
Rubi Strycker
Two notable medium bore cartridges appeared during the turn of the 20th century. English gun maker John Rigby designed his 450/350 Rigby cartridge (.35 caliber) while German gun maker Otto Bock designed the 9.3x62. The 9.3x62 became immensely popular due to its adequate power and economy with regards to the Mauser 98 action. Following these advancements, English gun makers achieved great success with the design of the .375 H&H Magnum, introduced in 1912. The .375 set a new benchmark for large game medium bore cartridges. The .375 boasted high velocities, producing both a flat trajectory and wide wounding. Recoil was also high but tolerable. However; this cartridge remained proprietary to Holland and Holland and for a time was available only to the most affluent of hunters. It should be noted that both Rigby and Holland and Holland both utilized Mauser actions, but these were heavily and artistically modified and were in no way similar to the common 9.3x62 work horse rifles of the same time period.
But as a sad turn of events, the projectiles initially loaded in the 9.3x64 were derived from those used in 9.3x62 designed for low impact velocities and were not nearly as tough as those loaded in the .375. Before Brenneke could recover from this early set back, Holland & Holland released their .375 from its proprietary status. Although Brenneke and other German manufacturers developed some outstanding projectiles for the 9.3x64 for use on both medium and large game, the popularity of the .375 had gained unstoppable momentum.
In a quite unexpected move, the 9.3x64 was adopted by the Russian Army following experiments during the years 2000-2001. The cartridge is utilized in a similar manner to the .338 Lapua Magnum as an intermediate powered anti personal / anti material cartridge filling the gap between the low powered assault rifle cartridge and the full powered heavy machine gun/ anti material cartridge. The 9.3x64 has for some years been chambered in the SVDK and LOS-9 Sniper rifles firing a 258 grain FMJ bullet at 2500fps. Military 9.3x64 ammunition is manufactured by the firm Barnaul in Russia who unfortunately make their ammunition using steel rather than brass cases, these cases can be reloaded but are not nearly as malleable as brass cases.
The 9.3x64 is a potent cartridge but in no way excessive. The Brenneke achieves 3000fps with a 225 to 232 grain bullet and around 2500fps with a 293 to 300 grain bullet. This velocity can be put to good use and cannot be considered wasteful or over powered in any way. The 9.3x64 produces higher down range impact velocities which can be exploited whether hunting light or heavy game.
Firing either light for caliber 225 to 232 grain bullets or heavy and blunt nosed bullets of soft construction, the Brenneke is extremely effective and often spectacular in performance on light to mid weight deer species. High impact velocities (close to moderate ranges) also help in the generation of wide wounds on lean game when using tough bullets that might normally show little expansion. These factors can allow the hunter to choose from a wider range of projectiles while the ability to generate very wide wounds also gives the hunter some room for shot placement error.
The Brenneke excels when used on larger bodied deer. The hunter can choose from a wide range of projectiles and expect a good balance of deep penetration and broad wounding out to ranges of around 300 yards.
The velocities of the Brenneke necessitate the use of a sturdy rifle, preferably with a strong steel based epoxy bedding platform. Rifles fitted with optics should have a straight comb and all rifles should have a generous forend as opposed to fancier yet impractical lines. In a rifle of sufficient heft, recoil is tolerable and should not warrant the use of a muzzle brake. In other instances, a brake may be needed to overcome ergonomic flaws.
Although ammunition may occasionally be sourced from custom manufacturers, the only mainstream manufacturers currently offering 9.3x64 sporting ammunition are the German firm RWS and Barnaul of Russia.
RWS advertise the 293 grain UNI Classic as being useful for game up to the size of Moose. In practice, the UNI bullet is to be considered frangible, especially at 9.3x64 velocities. Readers are advised however not to immediately draw negative conclusions from this statement. When I first began studying this bullet many years ago, my own ignorance and unrealistic expectations lead me to conclude that this bullet was not at all sound for anything other than mid sized deer. But as time has passed and with a great deal more experience under my belt, I now understand why RWS have stuck by this bullet. Put simply, the TUG was designed to tackle a wide range of game across a wide impact velocity spectrum. In the 9.3x64, this bullet breaks 1800fps (nearing its limit) at around 400 yards.
When used on light or lean game out to ordinary hunting ranges, shots with the TUG that strike the forwards chest area produce very fast kills. Note however that if shots fall to the rear of the lungs and meet little resistance, both bullet expansion and killing may be delayed and dead runs may exceed 50 yards. On larger medium game such as Red deer, Sambar and Elk, the TUG can be sheer dynamite. Due to the nature of this bullet, it reaches its limit on Scandinavian Moose. Those who hunt game of this size or larger but wish to take angling shots at close ranges (as is common outside of Europe), a stouter bullet will be required.
Barnaul produce a 258 grain soft point bullet for the 9.3x64 at a velocity of around 2400fps which like its military counterpart features a steel cartridge case that is not particularly well suited to reloading. I have not tested this bullet but will assume until I know otherwise that the projectile is also made of steel (copper coated) and that bullet performance is severely limited and inconsistent from batch to batch.
The following projectile information is listed in the same respective order as the information found in the 9.3x62 text. Take note however that with increased velocity, the 9.3x64 can display changes in behavior.
On very large animals, the Speer Hotcor generally sheds 50% of its weight. This weight loss can greatly aid internal wounding, however, if the Speer hits bovine sized round bone or ball joints, it can lack the ability to penetrate further. As a comparison to this, the tougher Woodleigh Weldcore bullets generally retain 75% weight which can prove to be a very good balance, yielding some energy for wounding while retaining just the right amount of weight and SD for desirable penetration on large and heavy bodied game.
The 286 grain Nosler Partition (BC.496) is a fair performer. It is best suited to larger body weights due to its smaller meplat. It can however be used on light or lean game but does its best work at close to moderate ranges. On both light and large bodied deer, the Partition produces fast kills with forwards chest shots and a drunken reaction with rear lung shots, after which game quickly expire. The Partition really comes into its own on Elk sized game with Moose as the upper limit. On these larger body weights, the Partition produces excellent wounding characteristics down to impact velocities of 2200fps or 250 yards. Below this, the Partition is still capable of good expansion but does not produce a great deal of hydraulic wounding, therefore shot placement is critical. Those who have put in a great deal of practice and have a good handle on wind drift, may be able to use this bullet to its lower limit - 1800fps or 500 yards. But again, shot placement is critical at such ranges.
Unfortunately, I have yet to test the 184 grain Evo Green, a bullet which has shown great promise. The 225 grain DK bullet is outstanding when used in the Benneke. From muzzle velocities of around 2900fps, the DK produces violent wounds and fast kills on light framed game but with a low BC of .266, it does shed velocity quickly. By the time this bullet reaches 80 yards it is down to 2600fps, after which its performance on lean game becomes more modest and rear lung shots produce delayed but clean kills. This bullet performs extremely well on large medium game, producing both wide wounding and excellent penetration while being less reliant on high impact velocities as a means to increase target resistance. In the past, I have used this bullet as my general go-to medium game bullet, especially when the Vulkan has been scarce. Provided shots are kept forwards, the DK is very consistent on a wide range of game. The DK generally does its best work inside 250 yards but can be pushed to ranges of 300 to 350 yards with attention to shot placement and especially wind drift which can be a major factor with such a low BC bullet.
The 247 grain RWS KS (cone point) driven at 2800fps is a fast killer with rear lung shots on lighter medium game out to ranges of around 70 yards (BC .320). Like the DK, wounds can be immensely broad at high impact velocities. This projectile is a basic conventional softpoint, very much in the same class as Hornady, Sierra and Remington softpoint bullets. The KS is designed to expend most of its energy inside game and in Europe it is typically used on Boar, Red and Fallow deer. When taking crossbody shots on game of this size, the KS will normally exit after creating very wide internal wounds. As velocity drops below 2600fps (around 70 yards), the KS behaves like the DK and is too stout to produce a poleaxe effect with rear lung shots on both light to medium weight game. Attention must therefore be placed toward suitable shot placement, especially if dead runs are unacceptable due to the terrain. Although stout, the KS does not give as deep penetration as the lighter DK or Norma Oryx bullets.
The RWS 258 grain HMK (H-Mantel) is a fairly versatile 9.3mm projectile. With a BC of .372 and from a muzzle velocity of 2800fps, the HMK produces a reasonably flat trajectory. On lighter medium game the HMK produces a very broad internal wound due to explosive expansion. This bullet does not appear to produce a great deal of hydrostatic shock, however light game hit through rear lungs out to moderate ranges do not travel far, tending to go down in a drunken like state. Following full and explosive expansion the HMK loses all frontal area to become a solid and is perfectly adequate for raking shots on large bodied deer. This is a good all round projectile for the 9.3x64 and can be used out to ranges of 300 to 400 yards.
93ddb68554