9.3×62mm
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The 9.3×62mm (also known as 9.3×62mm Mauser) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge designed in 1905 by German gunmaker Otto Bock. It is suitable for hunting medium to large game animals in
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, and North America. At a typical velocity of 720 m/s (2362 ft/s), its 286 gr (18.5 g) standard load balances
recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force r ...
and power for effective use at up to about 250m (275 yds). The C.I.P. Maximum Average Pressure (MAP) for the 9.3×62mm is . The 9.3×62mm was designed to fit into the
Mauser 98 The Gewehr 98 (abbreviated G98, Gew 98, or M98) is a German bolt-action rifle made by Mauser, firing cartridges from a five-round internal clip-loaded magazine. It was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was replaced by the K ...
bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...
rifle. 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 9.3×62mm was never a military cartridge and so never had this problem. Like their military counterparts, Mauser rifles chambered in 9.3×62mm were relatively inexpensive and quite reliable. Because of these factors, 9.3x62mm quickly became popular, and usage of the cartridge became widespread. The 9.3×74mmR is a rimmed cartridge that evolved from the 9.3×72mmR black powder cartridge. The energy levels of the 9.3×62mm and 9.3×74mmR 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.


Ammunition

The 9.3×62mm was first loaded with an bullet at a muzzle velocity of 655 m/s (2,150 ft/s). After
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some companies increased the velocity to around 730 m/s (2,400 ft/s), and brought out lighter bullets. Rifles set up for the original load have their sights readjusted to shoot the newer load to point of aim. Adding to the confusion, loads at both velocities are still available. Several European firms load 9.3×62mm ammunition, including
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, RUAG Ammotec (RWS),
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, and Prvi Partizan (PPU) as well as Denel (PMP) of South Africa, and it is widely available in Africa. In England, Kynoch, the well-known cartridge manufacturer, produced ammunition, referring to the 9.3×62mm as "9.3mm Mauser". Typically it was loaded as " metal covered soft nose bullet", with the base marked simply''Kynoch 9.3 mm''. This is no longer listed by them.


Elsewhere

In several
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, the 9.3×62mm 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 9.3×62mm 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 The .35 Whelen is a powerful medium-bore rifle cartridge that does not require a magnum action or a magnum bolt-face. The parent of this cartridge is the .30-06 Springfield, which is necked-up to accept a bullet diameter of . This cartridge is m ...
cartridge. In the US, several ammunition makers including Federal,
Hornady Hornady Manufacturing Company is an American manufacturer of ammunition cartridges, components and handloading equipments, based in Grand Island, Nebraska. History The company is currently run by Joyce Hornady's son, Steve Hornady, who took over ...
,
Nosler Nosler, Inc. is an American manufacturing company based in Bend, Oregon, known for producing ammunition and handloading components and specializing in high performance hollow point and soft point hunting bullets. The current companies also incl ...
, and Swift offer factory-loaded 9.3×62mm 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 9.3×62mm 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 9.3×62mm rifles to Canada and US where demand continues to be high.


Adequacy

The 9.3×62mm is considered ideal for hunting the larger and tougher African game species, such as lions, leopards, gemsboks, elands, and
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s. Most hunters consider it a viable all-around cartridge comparable to
.338 Winchester Magnum The .338 Winchester Magnum is a caliber, belted, rimless, bottlenecked cartridge introduced in 1958 by Winchester Repeating Arms. It is based on the blown-out, shortened .375 H&H Magnum. The is the caliber at which medium-bore cartridges are co ...
, 9.3×64mm Brenneke, and .375 H&H Magnum. The 9.3×62mm has taken cleanly every dangerous game species in
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. 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 9.3×62mm. The 9.3×62mm is considered adequate for European and North American game animals that may become dangerous, such as feral hogs and bears. Sambar hunters in Australia are turning to the 9.3×62mm due to Federal Government's 1996 ban on self-loading rifles. Thousands of deer hunters at once needed bolt-action rifles which delivered one-shot knockdown power on Sambar, and the 9.3×62mm calibre has proven to be well up to that task. Apart from hunting class 3 game, the 9.3×62mm is often used for last resort defense against dangerous class 3 game, particularly the great bears including grizzly, polar and brown 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.Grizzly, Brown and Polar Bear Cartridges By Chuck Hawks
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See also

* 9.3×74mmR * 9.3×64mm Brenneke *
.338 Winchester Magnum The .338 Winchester Magnum is a caliber, belted, rimless, bottlenecked cartridge introduced in 1958 by Winchester Repeating Arms. It is based on the blown-out, shortened .375 H&H Magnum. The is the caliber at which medium-bore cartridges are co ...
*
.35 Whelen The .35 Whelen is a powerful medium-bore rifle cartridge that does not require a magnum action or a magnum bolt-face. The parent of this cartridge is the .30-06 Springfield, which is necked-up to accept a bullet diameter of . This cartridge is m ...
*
.350 Remington Magnum The .350 Remington Magnum was introduced in 1965 by Remington Arms Company for the Model 600 rifle. It was later offered in the Model 660 and Model 700 rifles (one of various cartridge offerings) but was discontinued as a regular factory cham ...
* .358 Norma Magnum *
.358 Winchester The .358 Winchester is a .35 caliber rifle cartridge based on a necked up .308 Winchester created by Winchester in 1955. The cartridge is also known in Europe as the 9.1x51mm. History This cartridge came over 30 years later than the .35 Whe ...
* .375 H&H Magnum *
9 mm caliber This is a list of firearm cartridges that have bullets in the to caliber range. *''Case length'' refers to the round case length. *''OAL'' refers to the overall length of the loaded round. All measurements are given in millimeters, followed ...
*
List of rifle cartridges List of rifle cartridges, by primer type, calibre and name. File:Cartridge Sample 2.jpg, 350px, From left to right: 1 .17 HM2,2 .17 HMR, 2.5 .17 wsm, 3 .22LR, 4 .22 WMR, 5 .17/23 SMc, 6 5mm/35 SMc, 7 .22 Hornet, 8 .223 Remington, 9 .223 WSSM, ...
*
Table of handgun and rifle cartridges This is a table of selected pistol/ submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load (e.g. the highest muzzle energy might not be in the sa ...


References

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External links


A Most Marvelous Metric - The 9.3mm holds the light heavyweight crown among European bore sizes and should be more popular stateside than it is - by Craig BoddingtonJagen Weltweit, Die Patrone 9,3x62 by Norbert Klups (German)
* 9.3x62 - Otto Bock's Cartridge http://www.africanxmag.com/otto_bock%27s_cartridge.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:9.3x62mm Pistol and rifle cartridges