Seven years ago this month I purchased my first (and only) rifle chambered in 9.3 x 62. It’s been an exhilarating and refreshing change from the usual offerings in mid-bore calibers. Not that the others are not good, some are very good, but that the 9.3 x 62 “Mauser” has exceeded expectations and proved itself as exceptional in its class.
In some minds, that may seem to be an extravagant statement. Yet the purpose of this article is to validate that viewpoint from personal experience.
Take yesterday as a prime example: I was sighting in a new riflescope on my Tikka T3 Lite in 9.3 x 62. Two known loads were used: the 232gr Oryx over 62 grains of RL-15 has always proved excellent in accuracy at about 2450 fps — consistent sub-MOA. I roughly bore-sighted at 50 yards looking through the bore at the target. I adjusted the crosshairs to approximate where the rifle bore was aiming. First shot, high left. Adjustment made to center load about +2″ at fifty. You can see the results in the pic. The second shot was +2″ and nearly 1″ right. A couple of clicks left and you find the next two at +2″ with a separation of .42″.
I already knew that the 320gr Woodleigh would hit slightly lower at 2425 fps. The next two Woodleighs (without adjustments) hit +1″ at 50 yards with a center-to-center spread of .40″. With six shots only I had a new scope sighted for two known loads. The scope proved itself, but more importantly, to me, was the consistency of the rifle and cartridge in 9.3 x 62. I came home, again, with a familiar sense of achievement that no longer was surprising –though well beyond original expectations or standards espoused in the media, including those limited handloads in reloading manuals. All of which is very gratifying in a personal way.
(Left click on pic for enlargement.)
Understand, the two loads fired yesterday were proven from personal experience. They didn’t have their origin in manuals or Net chatter. The first, the 232gr Oryx, was a medium load for smaller critters and possibly deer at up to medium range — 200 yards. It has always shot well, usually under MOA, and is relatively pleasant to shoot — something like a 220gr load from a .30-06 or a 250gr load from a .358 Winchester, at just over 3000 ft-lbs at the muzzle. It’s also a good practice load with recoil less than 30 ft-lbs.
The second load is close to max for the 320gr Woodleigh, and will shoot MOA or better when I’m on my game. At 4178 ft-lbs it’s up there with the .375 H&H shooting a 300gr. Absolute max load for that 320gr is 2464 fps/4313 ft-lbs to stay within my standard of 64,000 psi. Actually, I’ve attained 2500 fps from that bullet with no signs of excess pressure! But at 2464 and higher, the accuracy is more like 2 MOA. All that comes from the use of RL-17 that has become my go-to powder for bullets of 250grs and up.
You might also be interested in knowing that 65.5 grs of RL-17 (that produces the 2425 fps avg. from the Woodleigh) only takes up the same amount of space in my Hornady cases as 62 grains of RL-15 – to the juncture of case neck and shoulder. So, obviously, RL-17 is a more dense powder. In addition, I’ve had to seat the Woodleigh bullet to no more than 3.3″ COL for fine accuracy, not at the COL of 3.37″ that the clip magazine allows. Those are the overall lengths of the two Nosler bullets, and I tried that for the Woodleigh but got poor accuracy. It works best when seated close to specs, or the case mouth is just at the bottom of the cannelure — in other words a smidgen over official specs. As previously explained on several occasions, I’ve chosen 64,000 psi as MAP (maximum average pressure) because that is what is SAAMI specs for both the .300 Win Mag and the .338 Win Mag that have both been chambered in identical rifles as mine in a TIKKA T3 Lite. Due to the recoil effect from the .338 in such a “Lite” rifle, they’ve dropped that chambering. As I load mine, the recoil is even greater than in .338. But I manage that at the bench in several ways which I’ll talk about in a section below.
Let’s reflect for a bit on what is implied by such results from the 320gr Woodleigh in particular. At 2425 fps it matches a 300gr at 2586 fps in momentum from a .375 H&H or Ruger. And all that from 65.5 grains powder and a 22.44″ barrel! That’s outstanding! And no hints of excess pressure. QuickLoad gives 2462 fps at just under 64,000 psi from my data. I can easily attain that, and surpass it using RL-17, but as mentioned, accuracy is not as good… probably good enough for Cape buffalo, lion and brown bear at the typical ranges PHs and guides allow clients to shoot such DG, but not good enough for my liking when 40 to 50 fps less will produce MOA or better.
About recoil: such loads as the 286 Nosler Partition at 2622 fps and the 320 Woodleigh at over 2400 gets the recoil up around 50 ft-lbs KE from a 7.7 lb scoped rifle loaded with four cartridges. But, as the saying goes, “We carry a lot more than we shoot”, so habituating oneself to that amount of trauma on a semi-regular basis amounts to a significant amount of shooting, especially at a range. And that is the key to recoil management. Also, that amount of free recoil is hard on scopes, so we must find a way to tame them other than just through reduced loads. Loads used in the field must be fired at the range for development, practice and sight-in.
Aside from the fact that I’ve shot a lot of hard-kicking rifles at the range and in the field over the last thirty plus years, that doesn’t cure it’s potential damaging effect on scopes. So I’ve had to develop ways and means of cutting down on recoil velocity which is the nemesis of even good scopes.
Since my Tikka T3 is very light (Lite) at just over 7 lbs with one in the chamber in range shooting (I don’t load the clip when range shooting, but simply load one at a time through the ejection port), I’ve found a practical way of not only adding weight to the rifle itself, but semi-attaching it to the Hornady front rest that weighs 10.5 lbs.
Let me explain. But since a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll invite you to look closely at the pic, as I explain. And, if you left-click on the photo, you can enlarge it for greater clarity. Notice that I’ve installed a bipod to the quick detach forward sling mount. That, in itself, adds .85 lbs. In addition, it “hooks” over the top of the Hornady front rest. When the rifle recoils, it brings that 10.5 lb weight with it… rather vigorously, I might add. At first, I thought it might upset” poi or accuracy, but nothing of the sort happens. The groups above were shot using that setup! A very great added blessing is that to my shoulder, recoil isn’t much more than a .22LR! So, I can shoot to my heart’s content those “full house” loads without concern over damage to scopes or to my person. The number of shots fired in the field are minimal compared to those in practice, or in developing a load and sighting-in of a rifle. Such being the case, we all know that in shooting game we hardly notice recoil — unless we have learned at the bench to fear it because we have NOT used methods to control it! At my age (82+), recoil from heavy hitters becomes less pleasant as the years go by.
Do I need a powerful medium rifle for “here-on-in”? No! But then, I don’t ‘need” any kind of rifle! Unless “need” is defined meticulously to include “emotional need”, or the wish to enjoy something, I have never really” needed” a firearm of any sort or description, since I’ve never needed one for defence of life or property. On the other hand, for food gathering, since I was raised in a small fishing community on the east coast of N.A., we always had fish, including shell fish, if we needed to survive. Plus, like all east-coasters, we had gardens for veggies, and a pig or cow for slaughter. Oh yeah, a .22LR was used in brain shots for the latter. I was born and raised in the Great Depression, so ingenuity and innovation was expected and practised by most hearty souls, including my parents!
So, don’t become overly righteous in preaching at me that an 82 year-old doesn’t “need” a rifle of that power and magnitude for itty-bitty whitetails, wolf, black bear and the occasional moose — all of which can be brought to bag from today’s miracle-working .243 Winchesters shooting today’s super-duper, miracle-working bullets! Some (apparently) would have us scrap everything that shoots anything but a 6.5 Creedmoor or an AR-15 shooting .223-caliber!!
Phooie on that! Why does life have to get boring past 50 years!?
Moreover, it’s fun to pretend — especially past 60 years! God alone knows the future, yours and mine!
I’m having fun — pretending; Shalom!
Til the next…
BOB MITCHELL