9.3 X 62 Long Range?

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stokesrj
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9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by stokesrj »

Most of us would readily agree that the 9.3X62 is hard to beat when it comes to stopping moving game. That is why it has such a great reputation in Europe for use in driven game hunts. However, most of us don't think of it as anything other than a short to medium range round. I was curious to see how it would perform at extended range.

Today, I spent the morning at the Manatee Range, testing my R8 Professional Success with the 20.5" Semis Weight Fluted barrel, together with the Zeiss 9-12X56 HT rail mounted scope with ASV turret.

I chose to use the load that has proven most accurate in this barrel and has reasonable down range ballistics, the Nosler 250 grain Accubond seated to the channeler in Lapua brass, charged with 58.0 grains of IMR4895 and lit by a Federal 215M primer. This load shoots mostly one hole groups at 100 yards and has been calibrated with this scope to print dead on at 100 yards.

According to the JBM ballistic calculator with today's atmospheric conditions loaded in and the measured muzzle velocity of 2,405 FPS the drop should be 30 clicks with the Zeiss 1.3 MOA or 1cm/100m click increments which would call for the #007 turret ring. I know from past experience that this bullet performs better, shoots flatter than the published BC so I chose to use the #006 turret ring which uses 27 clicks instead or 30 for the 400 yard range.

Without this testing, or if I had just used the JBM calculator without field verificagtion it could result in wounded game, and nobody wants that to happen. Field verification is essential to taking game cleanly and ethically at extended range.

Since I had recently sighted in at 100 yards and verified the zero as dead on multiple times I dispensed with 100 yards and began at the 200 yard line with the turret set for 200 yards or 6 clicks up. Three shots printed about .75 MOA landing high and right as you can see in the below picture.
Image
I could understand the horizontal movement to the right. There was a 10=15 MPH wind blowing from the 11:00 position, that is what I would expect for movement of the group to the right.
Next was the 300 yard line with the scope set at 300 yards or 11 clicks up. Again the group was high and right and about 3/4 MOA horizontal but less than 1/2 MOA vertical dispersion. This is what I would expect as the winds were variable and playing havoc with everyone on the line. The left most shot was called as the wind let up just as the shot broke. You can see in the below picture that the vertical error continues to grow.
Image
Next I moved to the 400 yard range and fired another three shot group. This group was even more impressive and was less than 1/2 MOA but continued the trend of vertical error.
Image
Luckily, the bench set up I had was sufficiently solid to allow me to keep the gun in place while adjusting the turret. It was clear that the 400 yard correction was only 24 clicks so the #005 turret ring would put it dead on at 400 yards and that doping the wind would center the group.
With this range session, and the correct turret ring #005, I'm relatively certain that this combination of load, gun and optics, the 9.3X62 is truly a 400 yard gun from a solid rest. I'm happy with that performance.
Robert J Stokes

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Re: 9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by Gun Barrel Ecologist »

Nice Shooting. :clap:

I'm a believer that the 260g & 250g Accubonds in the .375 and 9,3 turn these twp old classics into long range game getters. Here's a question though, how far out would you be happy taking out baboons with that load?

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Re: 9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by stokesrj »

Gun Barrel Ecologist wrote:Nice Shooting. :clap:

I'm a believer that the 260g & 250g Accubonds in the .375 and 9,3 turn these twp old classics into long range game getters. Here's a question though, how far out would you be happy taking out baboons with that load?
I like my baboons up close and personal.
Image
Robert J Stokes

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Re: 9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by gwh »

Interesting topic. I'm looking at a 9.3 x 62 barrel this year on my R8, looking at using 250 or 232 gr woodleighs. I'd think with a backline hold these bulletweights make it an easy 300m rifle- well and truly good enough for my regularly hunted species. Be keen to hear of others using their 9.3s at longer ranges.

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Re: 9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by Gun Barrel Ecologist »

stokesrj wrote:
Gun Barrel Ecologist wrote:Nice Shooting. :clap:

I'm a believer that the 260g & 250g Accubonds in the .375 and 9,3 turn these twp old classics into long range game getters. Here's a question though, how far out would you be happy taking out baboons with that load?
I like my baboons up close and personal.
Image
Nice work :clap:

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Re: 9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by thechamp »

stokesrj wrote:
Gun Barrel Ecologist wrote:Nice Shooting. :clap:

I'm a believer that the 260g & 250g Accubonds in the .375 and 9,3 turn these twp old classics into long range game getters. Here's a question though, how far out would you be happy taking out baboons with that load?
I like my baboons up close and personal.
Image

That baboon looks like he's been in a bar fight from hell and lost. ;) How far away was he when you shot him?

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Re: 9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by stokesrj »

15 yards, I shot him with a German Kinetics two blade broad-head that went through both lungs. He tore through the middle of an Acacia tree, which meant he had no regard for health, and piled up about 30 yards from where I hit him. That is where this picture was taken. Now he graces my den, and some times greets guests at the entry way to my home with holiday trim.


I don't like monkeys of any kind, have a lot of photos to prove it. When I was a young boy, I got encephalitis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_eq ... itis_virus from and edes aegypti mosquito and spent then days in the intensive care ward of a hospital in a coma. When I awoke, I was strapped in to my hospital bed with a TV on playing the infamous Twilight Zone episode of the Imp, which looked like a monkey to me. Since then many monkeys have died. I don't like them. This Baboon I shot at the urging of my tracker Soloman. He told me how the Baboons stalked their children and killed them when no adults were present, by pulling their arms from their bodies opening their chest cavities and suffocating them.
Appropriately, this one displays pumpkin pies at thanksgiving, roses on Valentines day, and so on.
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Re: 9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by mchughcb »

Thanks Robert. Great shooting. At some stage I'll do something similar with my BBF97 9.x374R out to 400m. Just to show that a double rifle does not have to equal a 50 yard gun.

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Re: 9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by SPEEDY »

I had a mate get a full mounted baboon in squatting position with its middle finger up.

It sits in a funny in his man cave and holds the bog roll :clap:
I'm soft and I don't care. :dance:

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Re: 9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by deerhunter338mag »

I loaded the 250gr accubonds in my 9.3x62 and have shot it out to 500 meters with nice groups. st 300 meters I was getting around a 11" drop. I was very surprised how well it shot. I remember when Retrieverman shot and killed a wild hog on his property which he relised was about 500 yards this got me thinking if I'm out stalking Sambar with the 9.3x62 how kool would that be if I tip one over with a 500 meter shot. There an accurate rifle that's for sure.
Measure it, when it’s on the deck

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Re: 9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by thechamp »

stokesrj wrote:15 yards, I shot him with a German Kinetics two blade broad-head that went through both lungs. He tore through the middle of an Acacia tree, which meant he had no regard for health, and piled up about 30 yards from where I hit him. That is where this picture was taken. Now he graces my den, and some times greets guests at the entry way to my home with holiday trim.


I don't like monkeys of any kind, have a lot of photos to prove it. When I was a young boy, I got encephalitis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_eq ... itis_virus from and edes aegypti mosquito and spent then days in the intensive care ward of a hospital in a coma. When I awoke, I was strapped in to my hospital bed with a TV on playing the infamous Twilight Zone episode of the Imp, which looked like a monkey to me. Since then many monkeys have died. I don't like them. This Baboon I shot at the urging of my tracker Soloman. He told me how the Baboons stalked their children and killed them when no adults were present, by pulling their arms from their bodies opening their chest cavities and suffocating them.
Appropriately, this one displays pumpkin pies at thanksgiving, roses on Valentines day, and so on.

:shock: Dang, hell of a story there. I would think that just pulling their arms off would do the job.

I've heard of encephalitis but never known anyone to actually have it. Nasty stuff. You're a lucky guy to be here today.

Your dislike for monkeys rivals mine for coyotes. If I see one he's going to die or at least I'm going to give it a good try.

As for that one with an arrow through both lungs he probably wasn't worried about the Acacia tree! He had much more pressing issues. Wondering how many guest didn't see him until 'all of a sudden' and freaked. :lol: :lol:

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Re: 9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by stokesrj »

I'm still trying to figure out why the JBM calculator models the 250 Accubond to be less flat shooting than my field tests prove. I have to go up to .6 BC to get it to match my field results, I know it can't be that efficient. I think I'll play around more with the scope height and such to see if I can't figure out the error. It doesn't matter from a practicle point of view the #005 ring works out pretty much dead on. It's already killed a few hogs. I might shoot a javelina next year with it, I've never killed one with a rifle.
I'll limit my shots with this combination to 400 yards as the bullet is getting down to velocities that at beyond 400 yards might fail to expand and act like a solid.
I'll make one more trip to range to verify everything is just right and then I'm done with development for this barrel and will declare it qualified.
Robert J Stokes

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Re: 9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by trazman »

stokesrj wrote:I'm still trying to figure out why the JBM calculator models the 250 Accubond to be less flat shooting than my field tests prove. I have to go up to .6 BC to get it to match my field results, I know it can't be that efficient. I think I'll play around more with the scope height and such to see if I can't figure out the error. It doesn't matter from a practicle point of view the #005 ring works out pretty much dead on. It's already killed a few hogs. I might shoot a javelina next year with it, I've never killed one with a rifle.
I'll limit my shots with this combination to 400 yards as the bullet is getting down to velocities that at beyond 400 yards might fail to expand and act like a solid.
I'll make one more trip to range to verify everything is just right and then I'm done with development for this barrel and will declare it qualified.
Actually when I find an error with ballistic data I always double-check everything and I always find it was my error... Something you entered is wrong or you are missing something...

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Re: 9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by stokesrj »

That's my first thought too. But I have checked and rechecked.
So see what you get. 250 Accubond at 2405 FPS, 59 degrees F, sea level, 1.8" above bore, sighted for 100 yards, scope 1cm/100. meter clicks.

Actual clicks for 400 yard zero is 24.
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Re: 9.3 X 62 Long Range?

Post by trazman »

stokesrj wrote:That's my first thought too. But I have checked and rechecked.
So see what you get. 250 Accubond at 2405 FPS, 59 degrees F, sea level, 1.8" above bore, sighted for 100 yards, scope 1cm/100. meter clicks.

Actual clicks for 400 yard zero is 24.
I get 29 cliks... It is really strange... Something must be different... The speed you are obtaining seems quite low... The results you are getting are normal for 2600fps...

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