9.3X57 Mauser

No Scorch, no American maker makes a .366" bullet of the weight I am looking for. I want one at 230 to 235 grains, and the .375" Speer is as close as I can get.
That's the reason for the sizing die.

Nosler gets close at a 250 grain, but the price is too high for practice with them.
 
Oh.....I stand corrected. Huntfisheat proves me wrong. Hawk makes the one I am looking for.
bBt I'll still make the die. Hawk bullets are 82 cents each and I can get the Speer's for a bit less then half that. So if the Speer bullet is not as good for killing game I can buy 1-2 boxes of hawk bullets and use the Speer's for practice. I'll test the Speer's from 2500 FPS to about 1600 FPS and see how well they open up at the 9.3X57 velocities at various ranges. Hawk bullets get very good reviews and I am pretty sure they will be fine, but what makes a marksman a marksman is practice and at 82-84 cents each, I can't afford to shoot them much so I'll sue the Speer's in any case for practice. If they open up and don't blow up, I'll use them for killing game too.
 
Good point wyo it should work with the 375s are u going to make to died or try it in one shot your going to have to polish the finish die to get a perfect .366 from what i have done seems like I have to make a die up to .0002 smaller then what u need the bullets seem to spring back some after going in the die just have try some and adjust. I used some of that Cherrie red hot hardening stuff after u get the size right makes the die in side vary hard
 
Yes you are correct. I lap the bore to 1200 grit and the actual bore size stops at .365" because the memory of the bullets bring them back to .366. Not in all cases, but it does work that way many times. PPU bullets are actually made at 365" and they shoot very well, so I figure I am safe if they come out a bit small, but I doubt they will.
The .375" portion of the die doesn't even need to be smooth as long as it's concentric. A good sharp new bit is all that is needed there. Only the sizing portion of the die bore needs to be smooth and polished.
And yes, going down the full .009" in one pass is not a problem. As long as the lead between the .375 and the .366 parts is good, and as long as the .366 part is smooth they go right through. I have done this kind of thing many times in the last 40 years and I am still using the same Rock Chucker to do it with that I was loading on in 1968
 
I use a standard twist drill for the .375 hole. There is no need to a high finish in the part of the hole that holds the unsized bullet. I'll drill undersized with a 23/64 for the sizing portion and then ream undersized with a chucking reamer at .364". I'll then hone up to the size I want in the sizing portion of the hole and take it up to .365" with a 1200 micron finish.
The sizing portion is only about 1/2" long with the .375" portion being 1.5" long So the bullets are quite concentric when they are started into the .365" part of the die.

I have made dies in this same way for bullet re-sizing for 425 Westley Richards, 43 Spanish, 9X56 Mann/Scho, .318" 8MM for an 8X57I, and 333 Jeffery.
All worked perfectly . Ream .001" under and hone to size. Not hard to do and it only takes about 5 minutes to get them exactly where you need them.
 
That's another option I have kicked around. I don't think I'll make myself a mold for my 9.3s, but I have not rejected the idea 100% yet either.
 
Shot the rifle in the pictures above yesterday with iron sights. Zeroed it center at 100 yards.
I am not able to shoot with my old eyes the way I could when I was younger, but it was not too bad. 5 shots into 2.2" at 100. I hope to get the scope rings today. If I do I'll see what I can do with the scope. I love the old style classic sight and the lines of the 1910 eastern German rifles. Even at 2 MOA, I feel satisfied that I could do what I need to do with this rifle out to 300 yards, and the irons will be back-ups for the scope. This aging thing doesn't seem to have a good side, so I have to concede that the scope is going to be the main sight.

In any case I think I have a nice light hunting rifle here. I hope to make Antelope, deer and elk meat with it in the not-too-distant future.

I'll use the bullet that shoots best as long as it's useful for game killing. I am hoping it will be the 235 grain re-sized .375 bullets we are talking over here, but if the 286 grain PPUs shoot better I'll accept them, even if I only get 2100 FPS from them. If I can get 2400-2500 from the 235 grain bullets it will give me more range I think. I thing the 2100 FPS loads may not open the bullets up at anything past 200 yards. If I can get 2400-2500 from the Speer 235 grain, I may get an honest 400-450 yard hunting rifle.

Load work coming up. I'll post my results when I have them
:)
 
Don't know if it's what you're looking for, but Buffalo Arms also carries the original soft jacket flat nose 9.3mm bullets meant for the 9.3x72R Drillings. They're about 200 grains.
 
The scope is made by Votex. It was a gift from a friend.
30MM Straight tube, 1X to 6X. The straight tube makes it work well and clear the iron sights by only about 1/16" and the 3MM tube makes it nice and bright.

I'll probably use the same type on my up-coming 9.3X62 also.
 
I thought about a QD mount, but I just used a Leupold. I hope not to have to remove the scope much, and I always carry a Swiss Army Knife, so I can when I need to. Return to zero is close with the Leupold (Redfield) system, but not exact.
 
Now scoped. Shoots quite well.
I loaded some 270 grain Speer bullets. I have had VERY poor results with these bullets on game from my 9.3X74R, but I had a few boxes left over, so I loaded them up to see how the gun will shoot. I am getting just over 1 MOA.
I think this is going to be a real gem in the woods looking for elk, bear and maybe moose. I'll use it on deer and antelope too for the fun of it.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
 
I was going to try to get my elk with my 6.5X54 Mann/Scho this year, but I may use one of the 9.3s. This one, or the 9.3X74R Ruger #1 I have.
I will make the call the day I go out for them i guess
 
Wyosmith,

Looks great! I love threads like these were you get to see a rifle build from start to finish. The end result is fantastic. Good job and thanks for sharing.
 
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