Thread: My 9.3x62...

Greetings,
My first new rifle was a Remington 700 ADL with the Montecarlo stock and a hard plastic but plate. Being young I never noticed the recoil, even with full power loads, but did have to scrunch my face down a bit to see through the scope. After a while I put higher mounts on which helped and changed the stock to a Hogue. A friend rather liked the old stock so I gave it to him for his .308. It was here a while back while I was sorting some loads. It now has a recoil pad but the scope mounts are low. To be honest I could barely shoot the thing. What I could manage in the early 1980's was now a lost cause. Perhaps a combination of new recoil pad, tinkering with scope height and some softer loads will help.
Regards Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by Tentman

I had Stug's Mauser 9.3x62 before him and it is a very light rifle with open sights, I found it very mild to shoot with factory loads but I don't recall shooting it prone. I think it still had the factory horn buttplate in those days.

Were I too shoot it again I'd get someone to check my posture on the gun, I'd want my head up, cheekweld is a benchrest invention that yank gunwriters have witters endlessly about until it has become gospel, but if you watch how the Euro hunters - yes hunters, they shoot "heads up". No3 is wrong about the hogsback stocks, yes they may offend the eye, but for offhand shooting at moving targets they are very effective, and suit powerful rifles just fine.

Ya gotta be careful what you read or are influenced by in most things, shooting as well!

Actually no I'm not wrong - but equally you are correct as well the hogsback stocks are designed for offhand shooting. I probably should have been clearer that everything I was saying about stock design is in comparison to the modern type sporting rifle which could be shot from prone, kneeling, the bench or offhand. The hogsback are not intended for anything other than offhand, and that suits the purpose of the rifle ("dangerous game" standing hunting from a shorter range where you need to let a LOT of light into something).

Hogsback or dropped comb stocks from the bench or prone are just nasty, the rotation up when you are at a bench or prone means you can't move with the recoil and it just hurts. The straight stocks pushing straight back are more comfortable from these positions as you are able to absorb the recoil with more muscle groups - biology. Less of a smack to your AC and rotator cuff...

If you have to shoot one from the bench, the better options I've found are a "lead sled" followed by a shooting stick that allows you to rest the rifle in the standing position and assist you to steady the rifle to shoot accurately. The last one of these I had anything to do with was a Sako dangerous game rifle in .375 H&H (bloody beautiful rifle too with an absolutely stunning chunk of tree on it). Same issue with the stock though with quite a good drop on it. It had been set up with a set of scope mounts that were not doing the business so the scope was shifting. Ended up by the time it was sorted having to do a box and a half of ammo through it, three of us. I got the last 5 or so rounds all to myself as the booby prize, the other guys had given up (smaller framed blokes). I felt pretty bloody smashed after that, did the last three off the bench to get a good representative group target (roughly 3/4" at 50m) but to be truthful I really do not want to do that to myself again.

The hogs back stocks are generally designed for open sight shooting, standing up.

Originally Posted by Dicko

Carson, John, James..
I've got a couple of lighter 9.3's in a finnlight and a 20" R8 and understand your observations. I don't really like recoil and a .300WM is about where i stop having fun when shooting over the bench.
However, you do need to spend some time at the bench, working up loads and sighting in.
Some years back i read a good book by Warren Page, The Accurate rifle. In this book Warren writes about; the bench rest, table technique and dedicates a chapter to "testing hard kickers". As you would be aware he was a gun writer and shooting rifles in all calibers, case configurations and shapes was part of his vocation.

His key points on this matter (big calibres on the bench) are...
Your shooting positing should be more facing forward and higher, shoulders parallel with target and front of the bench, the front rest should be set higher, this also makes rear higher, and allows / forces the more upright position, you may need extra support under the rear bag and front rest. Trigger hand pulling butt back in firmly to shoulder, I also like to hold the rifle forend to compliment this rearward pressure and control but not fight the lifting/pivoting forces.
The higher rifle position allows the rifle to pivot upwards reducing the recoil forces coming directly back at you.
You may now this already know all this.
Lastly, use of the Sissy bag (small bag between the but and shoulder or folded up piece of towel under tee shirt)

Other 9.3 bits.
Norma still make the 232 gn projectiles, i see it in there factory offerings. I have a box of a 100 i picked up last year but were from an estate i think.
The europeans really like the 232's for deer, boar, moose according to a Finnish hunting mate.
Woodleigh do a 232 PP but as they are still getting back to full production i only see their 250 RN available with limited searching. ($90/50).
Using 250 gn pills at factory velocities makes for a significant reduction in recoil as compared to 286's at full noise i.e driven by 58/59 grains of 2208.
250's on 56/57 or less gns of 2208 are pleasant to shoot.
Factory loaded 250/255s like Geco is similiarly ok.

Dicko, that was a good post, and same conclusion I have come to, I have to change my bench techinque. I would like to try standing like the used to do when regulating doubles.

I have got a decent load for this rifle, my standard load is PPU 286g shooting between an inch and 1.5 inch for three shots if I hold my mouth right, and thats good enough.

Like Tentman, I have taken the rifle out during the roar twice and managed to not shoot anything with it except a rabbit so far.


Hell with it, I am going out next week for a trip to Fiordland, I may as well take the nine-three and see if I can make something of it....

I’m liking the discussion on the 9.3, all very interesting. I would be very keen on getting some 232gr bullets also, as I’m currently persisting with the Speer 270gr as that’s as light as I can find.
I have loaded very light, less than 55gr, but I can’t remember if I’ve used 2208 or 2206h, it’s been a few months since I looked at my data.
9.3x62 on the right

Very nice. Classic. What maker?

Originally Posted by No.3

Hogsback or dropped comb stocks from the bench or prone are just nasty, the rotation up when you are at a bench or prone means you can't move with the recoil and it just hurts. The straight stocks pushing straight back are more comfortable from these positions as you are able to absorb the recoil with more muscle groups - biology. Less of a smack to your AC and rotator cuff...

This is not really true. Modern straight stocks are straight only for scope alignment. A straight stock does not mitigate recoil in any way...if it did they would have been making them that way from the start on safari rifles and putting the open sights on islands.

I am not shooting this rifle with a straight (or straighter) stock and expecting the recoil to be lessoned. A rifle that recoils straight back hits you harder that one that rises. (I am not sure what muscle groups are meant if the rifle is held in the same place.) I have shot a lot of rifles of all kinds, and have done a lot with old and vintage rifles with stocks designed for open sights. (with scopes and without) and I can tell the difference.

Originally Posted by John Duxbury

Very nice. Classic. What maker?

The 9.3 is a Geco

I run the pachmayr xlt mag pad on my big weatherby
They wee bit thicker then a Decelerator and softer compound by 50%
1.2” thick instead of 1”
When they ground to the stock lines since they thicker the foot print of the pad
Touching your shoulder increases a bit
Certainly helps tame a 378 weatherby even over the standard
Red old English Decelerator I tried before the xlt
They also grind beautifully unlike limbsaver which usually look terrible
On a older firearm

The 232gr Oryx and 250gr Accubonds definitely have less noticeable recoil than the 286gr bullets I've used (PPU and Hornady). Doesn't sound like Norma makes the 232gr Oryx for the 9.3 anymore though, at least not for the North American market. Sounds like you guys are having a hard time finding them too though.

I bought Zeropak's 30-06 recently offered on this forum. Shortly after getting it, it went to DPT to be threaded for one of their cans, a standard 30cal, I already owned. I had an extra baffle installed and also their new muzzle brake. This is how I first shot the rifle. It was very pleasant to shoot just using some medium handloads that came with it, SSTS and SoftPoints probably in the 150gn vicinity and doing mid 2600fps. Recoil and noise was just not an issue. After zeroing the scope and getting some good 100m hunting quality groups I thought to fire a.round without the can. What a diff. My old recently repaired shoulder sat up and took notice. The muzzle blast was distinctly there rather than muted. It went from being very pleasant to shoot repeated groups to, mmm, maybe I'll park it now.

So FWIW, if you want to tame recoil a little, are happy to thread and suppress, then that DPT can with extra baffle and the muzzle break makes a decent diff. Mine is over-barrel not barrel forward. The barrel s 22in, rifle is scoped and in a synthetic stock..