Ok, maybe my ignorance is showing here but while I've heard of this caliber I have no experience with it. What standard or 'American' caliber does this equate to? I've used the 8 x 57mm and the 7 x 57mm and of course the 30-06and 300 WSM. Ballistics and recoil? Any help will be appreciated.
9.3 x 62mm Mauser
- Thread starter gmarr
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A very fine cartridge introduced for African hunting .It is in some countries the minimum for hunting dangerous game .It was quickly adopted in Europe for hunting wild boar and red deer. It seems to be seeing a revival.In Europe a number of semi-auto rifles are available for boar hunting like the Browning, Benelli , etc. In performance it's a bit above our 35 Whelen. Good for anything in North America.A very fine cartridge.
The closest American analog is the 35 Whelen, which uses a 358 diameter bullet instead of the .366~.368 diameter bullet used by the 9.3x62.
The 9.3x62 is eligible to take "Class A" dangerous game in some African countries, notably Zimbabwe. Energy wise and momentum wise it is about 10% less than the 375 Holland and Holland.
It is still an easy conversion, simply screw on a new barrel to an M98 action and set headspace. The 9.3x62 is not a "stopper" round by any stretch of the imagination, but if you only had one rifle to do it all, it would be hard to choose a more well rounded cartridge than the 9.3x62 if you were in a place like Africa, although one hunter I know from Zimbabwe thinks the 338 Win Mag is a better choice for a do anything rifle.
Jimro
The 9.3x62 is eligible to take "Class A" dangerous game in some African countries, notably Zimbabwe. Energy wise and momentum wise it is about 10% less than the 375 Holland and Holland.
It is still an easy conversion, simply screw on a new barrel to an M98 action and set headspace. The 9.3x62 is not a "stopper" round by any stretch of the imagination, but if you only had one rifle to do it all, it would be hard to choose a more well rounded cartridge than the 9.3x62 if you were in a place like Africa, although one hunter I know from Zimbabwe thinks the 338 Win Mag is a better choice for a do anything rifle.
Jimro
Converting a full-length Mauser 98 action to 9,3X62 is just flat easy: New barrel, add a crossbolt, and add a recoil pad. If the rifle is under 9 lbs, add a recoil reducer as well. Not because the 9,3X62 is a vicious kicker, but because 290 gr bullets at 2,500 fps will move you around.
Jimro what on earth are you shooting if the 9,3x62 isn't a stopper?
I do a fair bit of tracking animals for other hunters (or traffic collisions) even a bad hit with this round is most often a lethal within a few hundred meters, pigs don't get very far, loads of blood usually, easy to tell where they've been hit, it bangs them up good.
there is a quote floating around somehwere about it: not verbatim but it says a bit big for daisies and a bit small for t-rex but everything in between will drop
what it isn't is a long range calibre
I do a fair bit of tracking animals for other hunters (or traffic collisions) even a bad hit with this round is most often a lethal within a few hundred meters, pigs don't get very far, loads of blood usually, easy to tell where they've been hit, it bangs them up good.
there is a quote floating around somehwere about it: not verbatim but it says a bit big for daisies and a bit small for t-rex but everything in between will drop
what it isn't is a long range calibre
For a barrel, you can look at Green Mountain Barrels, Douglas, McGowen, etc. A crossbolt is a special bolt that goes through the stock right behind the recoil lug (and sometimes another is added in front of the trigger group) to keep the stock from being split in two under recoil. It is a good thing to add to a stock on large caliber rifles.
The 9.3X62 is an outstanding shell. It works best with a fairly tough bullet. I have used the 270 grain Speer with much disappointment, but the Noslers and the Barnes, and to some extent the Hornady bullets all work well.
Brass can be made from 30-06 but it is not quite to “spec”. It usually works fine however. Hornady makes correct brass, so there is not a real need to make it from 06 brass
With correct bullet that don’t break up, the 9.3X62 will do nearly everything a 375H&H will do, and it does it with less recoil, more magazine capacity and usually a light rifle.
It’s simply one of the great cartridges
Brass can be made from 30-06 but it is not quite to “spec”. It usually works fine however. Hornady makes correct brass, so there is not a real need to make it from 06 brass
With correct bullet that don’t break up, the 9.3X62 will do nearly everything a 375H&H will do, and it does it with less recoil, more magazine capacity and usually a light rifle.
It’s simply one of the great cartridges
Almost you persuade me! I already have a 7mm mag so a 9mm would be my "big gun"! I always have had a soft spot for calibers that are slightly different than the norm; which is why I shoot a 260 instead of a 270 and a 35 Remington rather than a 30-30. So a 9.3x62 would fit right in!
I already have a 7mm mag so a 9mm would be my "big gun"! I always have had a soft spot for calibers that are slightly different than the norm; which is why I shoot a 260 instead of a 270 and a 35 Remington rather than a 30-30. So a 9.3x62 would fit right in!9.3x62
Pretty much the same recoil as a 35 Whelen, shooting the same weight bullet at the same speed in the same weight rifle,
example-250grn bullet @ 2500fps from an 8 lb rifle = approximately 27-29# of recoil (give or take) depending on stock style.
The 375 H&H with a 270 grn bullet @ 2700 fps in a 9.5 or 10 lb rifle would generate approximately 33-35# of recoil, which is a significant increase.
As a comparison the 30-06 with a 180 grn @ 2700 in the same rifle weight of 8lbs would be 20# and a 300 Win mag shooting a 180grn @ 2900 fps in that same rifle would be 25# of recoil.
The 9.3x62 kicks a little bit more than an 06 or Win Mag, but less than a 375 H&H, but many say it kills like the H&H.
I shoot the 7x57 and 8x57 mausers, and like them very much, a 9.3x62 mauser would complete the family!
Pretty much the same recoil as a 35 Whelen, shooting the same weight bullet at the same speed in the same weight rifle,
example-250grn bullet @ 2500fps from an 8 lb rifle = approximately 27-29# of recoil (give or take) depending on stock style.
The 375 H&H with a 270 grn bullet @ 2700 fps in a 9.5 or 10 lb rifle would generate approximately 33-35# of recoil, which is a significant increase.
As a comparison the 30-06 with a 180 grn @ 2700 in the same rifle weight of 8lbs would be 20# and a 300 Win mag shooting a 180grn @ 2900 fps in that same rifle would be 25# of recoil.
The 9.3x62 kicks a little bit more than an 06 or Win Mag, but less than a 375 H&H, but many say it kills like the H&H.
I shoot the 7x57 and 8x57 mausers, and like them very much, a 9.3x62 mauser would complete the family!
mapsjanhere
New member
I always thought the 9.3x62 shines with the heavy 280+ gr bullets. Prvi makes a 285 gr load that I can shoot 2" groups at 100 yards with. As my Merkel SR1 kicks like a mule with that load, the cartridge is probably better 
. Haven't tried to reload them as my gun dings the case mouth on ejection.
If I want lighter bullets in that energy class I probably take my 338 WM.
On 9.3 in general, if I want 375 H&H performance I use the 9.3x64 Brenneke. I also have a 9.3x64 from pre-WWI that uses a 30-06 base case, so I don't dare loading that anywhere near the 9.3x62 level. Still need a 9.3x57 to round out the collection.
. Haven't tried to reload them as my gun dings the case mouth on ejection.If I want lighter bullets in that energy class I probably take my 338 WM.
On 9.3 in general, if I want 375 H&H performance I use the 9.3x64 Brenneke. I also have a 9.3x64 from pre-WWI that uses a 30-06 base case, so I don't dare loading that anywhere near the 9.3x62 level. Still need a 9.3x57 to round out the collection.
Husqvarna,
The term "stopper cartridge" refers to the "dang big gun" that a professional guide would choose to stop a charge from dangerous game such as Cape Buffalo or Elephant.
Think 416 Rigby or heavier.
The ivory hunter Wally Johnson reported a Cape Buff that took 5 shots from an assistant's 9.3x62 before he ended it with his 375 H&H.
So that is why it isn't a "stopper" like the big bore safari rounds.
Jimro
The term "stopper cartridge" refers to the "dang big gun" that a professional guide would choose to stop a charge from dangerous game such as Cape Buffalo or Elephant.
Think 416 Rigby or heavier.
The ivory hunter Wally Johnson reported a Cape Buff that took 5 shots from an assistant's 9.3x62 before he ended it with his 375 H&H.
So that is why it isn't a "stopper" like the big bore safari rounds.
Jimro
Sounds like Johnson may have had shot placement issues. Not understanding the context, this may be a quite reasonable scenario. Where were the shots placed? Did they even hit the target? Was he using soft points? Did he have to shoot through brush?
Too many questions and not enough answers. You can kill just about anything with one shot of a 375 H&H after it has absorbed 5 rounds of 9.3x62.
I believe I read a story once about Karamojo Bell killing a Cape Buff with a single shot from a 6.5×54mm Mannlicher-Schönauer. I don't think there is a person on this board that thinks a 6.5 is near the stopper of a 9.3x62.