doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion German & Austrian Sporting Guns @ doublegunshop.com Hunting with the 9.3x57R/360

Good day, I have a question which likely has no definitive answer but that's never stopped me before. What would be the practical live weight and range limit for hunting with the 9.3x57R/360? All assuming that I do everything I'm supposed to and put the bullet where it belongs. Also, I have cast and jacketed RN and original "2-diameter" jacketed bullets all in the appropriate 190-200gr range.

Thank you for your thoughts!

Hoot,
Considering northern whitetails are considerably larger than ours in Alabama, I would think with the "2-diameter", or a 35 Remington class jacketed bullet; I think a 200–250-pound animal at 150 yards or whatever distance you can keep all your bullets in4", whichever is closer. I will be highly surprised if someone doesn't disagree with me.
Mike

Thank you Mike. About what I was thinking but I wanted to get a bit of confirmation. Where we hunt, 150 yards is VERY optimistic...even if my vision were up to it (which it's not). A couple of clearings one may see 100 yards or so but most of our shots are 50-ish. I would feel pretty comfortable there.

Cheers!

Hoot,
Good luck, I have confidence in you.
Mike

in scandanavia that cartridge is considerd a good choice for moose !

i have one in a bolt action husqvarna from 1940, but havent hunted with it.

Hoot, i suspect you will put down whatever you aim it with it!

Dr. Cable, are you thinking of the 9.3x57 rimless? I ask because I know they were common for "elg". I have a Husky Model 46 so chambered and have great confidence in that for sure. I don't know, but I suspect the rimmed 9.3x57R wasn't chambered in a bolt action. It's very close in size and caliber to a .38-55 with a bit less power. My particular example is a single-shot, break-open by Sauer. So far, I have only shot the 190-ish gr. bullets over 50gr. of mildly compressed 2F. I plan on trying some NFB loads per Ross Seyfried next. Just waiting for winter to take it's final bow.

cable,
I believe the cartridge your rifle is chambered for is the 9.3x57(a rimless cartridge), which was popular for hunting moose as you said. However, the 9.3x57R/360 is not the rimmed version of it. The 9,3x57 is based on the M88 Commission case with a .468" head diameter and is a 358 Winchester class cartridge. The 9.3x57R/360 is the metric version of the British 360-2 1/4" cartridge, with about a .427" head diameter (9,3x72R and smaller 38-55 often used for donor cases) and is a 38-55 class cartridge. Both are good cartridges on their own but are very different.
Mike

you are both right i didnt read very carefully. [ think i had only had one cup of coffee... at least thats my excuse ]

if its close to the 38/55 it should still do a good job on moose and 38/55 is a heck of good caribou cartridge !

I once had a Purdey double in 360 2 1/4 and Purdey staff said that in its time it was considered a good Bustard cartridge. Long way from a moose and its standard 200 grain bullet is a lot less than the 255 grain 38-55's. In Sweden the 9.3x57R (360) was used for shooting large birds out of treetops;-) The 9.3x57 Mauser was preferred for moose before the 9.3x62 came along. That said, with a good shot it should handle a whitetail just fine at a reasonable distance.

There is a big difference between the black powder and nitro versions of the 360-2 1/4" cartridge.
Mike