doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Double Rifles, Paradox Guns & Gauge Rifles @ doublegunshop.com 30-06 or 9.3x74R for my only double?

I have had Superior load initial test rounds for my 450BPE. Very satisfied!!! Quick service with great product but not cheap.
Bob Jurewicz

How many of you feel that if I'm going to spend money on a double, I should get a double rifle caliber like 9.3x74R and NOT a 30-06?

Looks like due to my California location, custom loads will be needed for hunting either way (solid copper requirements in certain areas) so looks like other than cheaper fun plinking, there's no great advantage. I'm sure there's a chance that I'll go hunting and something happens to my custom ammo and I'd need to get store bought, but that sounds pretty remote.

I guess the 30-06 double rifle will be lighter in weight for easier carrying in the field. I'm really on the fence so love to hear feedback.

I have also thought about a double rifle some time in the future. Somehow a rimmed cartridge just seems like the way to go even if rimmless cartridges probably work perfectly well.

The computed recoil of a 9.3x74R in a typical 7 lb double approachs that of a 10 lb 375 H&H and seems more that I would care to shoot very often. The 30/06 would be much more "user friendly".

As long as you are going to be using custom ammunition anyway, a reasonably popular choice in Europe for driven game like wild boar, the 8x57JRS, might be worth considering. Factory ammuntion, Norma available in the US for example, loads a 196 gr bullet at around 2400 fps. Recoil in a 7 lb rifle should be no problem. Recent French publications describe as "less brutual for both the shooter and the gun." Another as the "best cartridge available for driven game".

If I ever buy a double rifle, it will probably be in 8x57JRS. It is a frequent choice in Merkel and Chapuis doubles used in Europe and should be available by special order from US importers.

I wonder if one could have a double rifle chambered in the 7.62 X54R like used in the "Nagant" rifles. Those rifles are the crappiest looking thing in the world but after owning several I wouldn't want to be standing in front of a mad russian in the early 191X during a war with-in 500 meters, those things shoot like a house of fire. Some of that accuracy has to be contributed to the cartridge. It seems like the perfect double rifle cartridge for Black bear sized game, shoots a .308 bullet so reloading would be a sinch, and is rimmed. Recoil is almost non-existant in a 7-8 lb gun. I would think one of the European makers would have this as an option also. It is a cartridge that has been around forever.

Oh man guys, don't confuse me any more. I'm trying to decide between these two calibers and the LAST thing I need is more logical choices!

Just to make things more interesting, how about the 7x57R, like the 7x57, but rimmed, or the 7x65R, like a rimmed 280? Both well thought of and widely available in European doubles, i.e. "express rifles".

Hoser-


You can agonize over this forever -- there is an infinite number of possible combinations of cartridges for you to waffle over...


There is nothing wrong with either cartridge.
The 30-06 is a great choice - and it's perfect for everything you're talking about ever hunting.
There is and will be much more 30 caliber ammunition to you cheaper than the 9.3 and you might (very well could) luck out with with factory copper solid ammunition.

Both Merkel and Chapuis are capable of (gunbuilders do it all the time) building and shipping you a rifle that will extract or eject 30-06 ammunition reliably and consistently - and if for some oddball chance the factory rifle doesn't work out it's WARRANTIED so you're sitting pretty anyway.

There are thousands and thousands of perfectly functional ejector rifles popping 'rimless' brass out upon opening with MONOTONOUS RELIABILITY - to the point where here/now in the 21st Century, it's a total non-issue.


The life-cycle costing of the 30-06 (with the same round count) will be far cheaper than the 9.3mm rifle.
You might not end up shooting the 9.3mm rifle nearly as much as you would with the 30 caliber rifle though, because the recoil is much more energetic and much more brisk -- and the cost per shot is so high.
Forget about 'cheap practice ammunition' with the 9.3 as you don't seem to want to reload.


Just get the 30-06
You'll love it, you'll love to shoot it, and once you finally get it and realize how sweet it is to handle and run a small-caliber double rifle, you'll realize that it's worth it to take whatever plunge you need to take to start handloading for it -- where you'll find the fun really begins...




I look forward to your soon-to-occur decision.
May you enjoy your slick light little 30-06!!


By the way, for this first double rifle, forget about custom chambered rifles for such cartridges as the 7.62 X54R
If there is a cartridge that can go bang, there's a gunmaker who can wrap a rifle around it.
You'll pay.
Save that for later.
Get running with a nice production rifle now, then figure out what your custom rifle dream is later in life -- when you can afford it...



Cheers
Tinker

Well said Tinker -- thanks!

Since I'm not a big reloader (yet) and live in CA, I will need to have someone work up a solid copper load for me to hunt wild pig in my area. CA has certain "protected" areas for condor where lead ammo is not allowed to be used to hunt! Based on another post, North Fork and GS Bullets will work and North Fork is approved to use their bullets in CA. SO, that's the reason for custom loads!

JUST FYI, HERE'S A QUOTE FROM NORTH FORK BULLETS THAT PUT MY MIND AT EASE REGARDING SOLIDS AND CALIFORNIA HUNTING (not yelling, just setting apart from the quote):

"Todd,
I'll gladly try to answer your questions.

First off, we manufacture flat and cup point solids that are all copper for most double rifle calibers. The fla

JUST FYI, HERE'S A QUOTE FROM NORTH FORK BULLETS THAT PUT MY MIND AT EASE REGARDING SOLIDS AND CALIFORNIA HUNTING (not yelling, just setting apart from the quote):

"Todd,
I'll gladly try to answer your questions.

First off, we manufacture flat and cup point solids that are all copper for most double rifle calibers. The flat and cup points bullets are registered with the State of California as lead free so they are legal to use for hunting in the lead free zones.

Next to try and answer your question is it safe to use North Fork Solids in double rifles, the answer is yes for "modern" double rifles and maybe for older double rifles. I'll explain the "problem" with some bullet designs and how they can cause issues in older double rifles. A solid copper (or any mono metal bullet) or thick jacketed bullet does not compress much when going through rifling compared to a thin jacketed bullet. In old doubles in particular there was a lot of variation from maker to maker as to the actual diameter of the rifling and the thickness of the walls of the barrels. I have heard stories of some mono metal (touch jacketed) bullets causing damage to the barrels or solder joint of old double rifles. With new double rifles, there are much better standards that everyone adheres to which helps to minimize the risk of sending a large "non-compressible" slug through a too small diameter bore. All North Fork solid bullets are what you would call a bore riding design. What this means is that the only portion of our bullet that contacts the rifling is our bands. The rifling actually never touches the "solid" copper section of the bullet and only the compressible bands. We are the only US manufacture that I know of that manufactures mono metal bullets in this manner. Before shooting our solids in an old double rifle, it is best to slug the bores and make sure you know exactly the diameter of the bores and get it checked out by a qualified gunsmith prior to shooting modern bullets in them.

I hope this answers your questions. Please feel free to ask more if needed.

Regards,
Franz Jurva
North Fork Technologies
PO Box 850
Philomath, OR 97370
(541) 929-4016; Fax: (541) 929-4424
http://www.northforkbullets.com"