9.3x 64

[Custodio Groves]

The9.362mm was designed to fit into the Mauser 98 bolt-action rifle.[3] Sub 84 mm (3.31 in) overall length cartridges should fit in the standard-sized M98 action without any need for magazine length alterations. European hunters and settlers in Africa often chose military rifles for their reliability and low cost, but colonial governments in Africa fearful of rebellions often banned military-caliber rifles and ammunition. The 9.362mm was never a military cartridge and so never had this problem. Like their military counterparts, Mauser rifles chambered in 9.362mm were relatively inexpensive and quite reliable. Because of these factors, 9.3x62mm quickly became popular, and usage of the cartridge became widespread.

The 9.374mmR is a rimmed cartridge that evolved from the 9.372mmR black powder cartridge. The energy levels of the 9.362mm and 9.374mmR cartridges are similar, but the cartridges are unrelated. The rimmed cartridge is slightly longer than the 9.3x62mm, allowing for lower pressure in the case while retaining muzzle velocity and energy.

In England, Kynoch, the well-known cartridge manufacturer, produced ammunition, referring to the 9.362mm as "9.3mm Mauser". Typically it was loaded as "metal covered soft nose bullet", 18.5 grams (285 gr), with the base marked simply "Kynoch 9.3 mm". This is no longer listed by them.

In several European countries, the 9.362mm remains a popular cartridge for hunting game like moose and wild boar, and it is offered as a standard chambering in rifles from most makers there. The CZ-USA CZ 550 rifle in 9.362mm chambering became available in North America in 2002, and both rifle and cartridge are gaining a strong following there, as the cartridge has a slight power edge over the popular .35 Whelen cartridge. In the US, several ammunition makers including Federal, Hornady, Nosler, and Swift offer factory-loaded 9.362mm sporting ammunition. Since surplus Scandinavian and European Mausers were brought to Canada in 9.3 calibre in the early 1950s, Canadian hunters have used the 9.362mm cartridge to hunt large game including bison, all the deer species, and large bears. In recent years, CZ of Czech Republic, as well as SAKO and Tikka of Finland have imported many 9.362mm rifles to Canada and US where demand continues to be high.

The 9.362mm is considered ideal for hunting the larger and tougher African game species, such as lions, leopards, gemsboks, elands, and wildebeests. Most hunters consider it a viable all-around cartridge comparable to .338 Winchester Magnum, 9.364mm Brenneke, and .375 H&H Magnum.[citation needed] The 9.362mm has taken cleanly every dangerous game species in Africa. Though it is of smaller bore than the legal minimum .375 calibre for dangerous game in most countries, many countries specifically make an exception for the 9.362mm.[5][6][7] The 9.362mm is considered adequate for European and North American game animals that may become dangerous, such as feral hogs and bears.[citation needed]

Sambar hunters in Australia turned to the 9.362mm due to the Federal Government's 1996 ban on self-loading rifles. [citation needed] Thousands of deer hunters at once needed bolt-action rifles which delivered one-shot knockdown power on sambar, and the 9.362mm calibre has proven to be well up to that task.

Apart from hunting class 3 game, the 9.362mm is often used for last resort defense against dangerous class 3 game, particularly the great bears including brown and polar bears. It is often carried by fishermen, hunters, and guides in European arctic regions like Greenland for protection as encounters with these larger bear species can be common.[8][9]

This European bruiser is gaining a foothold here with factory ammo and a great selection of component bullets. By Layne Simpson The 9.3x74R was designed for doubles and single-shots such as this SSK Industries-barreled Thompson/Center Encore.I have long been aware of the 9.3x74R and its popularity in other countries, but I had not observed its effectiveness on game until about 10 years go. While on a moose hunt in Finland I met a local hunter who was carrying a Bockdrilling which, according to him, was built by the German firm of Heym sometime during the 1920s.

That fine old rifle had a lot of notches whittled into its stock down through the years, and I was particularly interested in the 9.3x74R barrel. The man told me he had used that cartridge to take moose every year since just before the outbreak of World War II in Europe, and shortly thereafter I witnessed firsthand the deadliness of one of the world's classic cartridges.

It was a driven shoot where riflemen who are lined up along wide trails and country roads in wooded country wait patiently for drivers to push moose their way. I have killed a number of moose in Finland and Sweden, and as is often the case with driven game, all but two were running full-throttle when I shot.

A bull broke from cover, and my Finnish friend swung his rifle like a quail gun and from about 50 yards dropped the moose in a cloud of dust. A single 286-grain bullet through the shoulders did the trick. I have shot moose in a lot of places with a lot of different cartridges, including the .416 Remington Magnum, and never have I seen one go down any quicker.

I have no personal experience with the 9.3x74R, but I have taken moose and deer with the 9.3x62, which is only a bit more powerful when factory loads are compared. Whereas the 9.3x62 is a rimless cartridge designed for use in the 1898 Mauser, the 9.3x74R has a rimmed case and was developed during the early 1900s specifically for single-shots, doubles and combination guns.

Because some of those guns are not as strong as the Mauser, the big cartridge is commonly loaded to lower chamber pressures. There was a time when American hunters and shooters who owned rifles chambered for the big cartridge had to search hard to find ammunition, but such is not the case today as Hornady and Norma are loading ammo.

One, a rebarreled Browning B78 single-shot belonging to a friend of mine, consistently averaged less than two inches for three shots at 100 yards with a muzzle velocity average of 2,376 fps, which is a bit faster than it's rated by Hornady and faster than any 286-grain factory loading of the 9.3x62 ammo I have tried.

The other rifle, an Encore rifle with a custom 25-inch barrel by SSK Industries, is a new addition to my battery. With handloads, it has proven to be a bit more accurate than my friend's Browning, and while it does not shoot the Hornady load as accurately, it is accurate enough and actually exceeds 2,400 fps with that load.

Handloaders have it much better because there are a lot of excellent bullets available. Since the 9.3x74R case has about 8 percent greater capacity than the 9.3x62 case, it can be loaded to the same velocities as that cartridge but at lower chamber pressure. Said another way, when the 9.3x74R is loaded to the same chamber pressure as the 9.3x62 (which is safe to do when loading for a strong single-shot rifle), it will be a bit faster with all bullet weights.

It is not exactly my idea of a perfect deer cartridge, but it will do that when loaded to 2,500 fps with one of the 250-grain bullets offered by Swift, Nosler and Barnes; all shoot fairly flat and pack plenty of punch downrange.

I have shot Nosler 250-grain Ballistic Tips in my SSK rifle, and when zeroed three inches high at 100 yards that bullet is down about 10 inches at 300 yards and is still packing more 2,300 ft.-lbs. of punch.

I have no immediate plans to hunt Cape buffalo with this cartridge, but should that change, I would probably start the show with a Swift 300-grain A-Frame to the lungs and, if need be, follow up with a Barnes 286-grain solid to whichever end of the animal happened to be pointed in my direction.

As powders go, I have included several in the accompanying chart that have worked nicely for me in my rifle, but others with similar burn rates should be equally suitable for this grand old cartridge.

Warning: The loads shown here are safe only in the guns for which they were developed. Neither the author nor InterMedia Outdoors assumes any liability for accidents or injury resulting from the use or misuse of this data. Shooting reloads may void any warranty on your firearm.

If looking to acquire an automated powder-charge dispensing unit to speed up precision reloading, don't judge the RCBS ChargeMaster Lite powder scale and dispenser by its name; the Little Green machine packs a heavy-weight punch with speed and accuracy.

We have an EoL notice for version 9.3x. There's no replacement available at this time. Can we assume that a version 9.4 version will be released? I don't see any EoL for 9.x at this time. The customer doesn't want to upgrade to 10.x at this point. TY

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