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View Full Version : A case for the 9.3x57mm mauser



Frank46
09-03-2005, 03:59 AM
Been thinking lately (gets me into trouble) about the proper case for the 9.3x57 mauser. At first thought I would use the 8mm mauser case and use a redding tapered expander to open up the necks. But since I was on a roll, started thinking that maybe the 35 whelen just might be a better choice. Why?, if you neck up the 8mm mauser case the enlargement will be from 8mm to 9.3mm (324-324 to 366) which wouldleave the case neck kinda thin. But doing the same with the whelen case (358 to 366) would leave a thicker neck. Course you'd have to cut the whelen case back a bit. I'd be interested
in hearing what others may have to say about this. Besides paying $75 for 100 norma 9.3x57 cases hurts you know where. I can get 500 35 whelen cases from midway for what 200 norma cases wopuld cost. Frank

Buckshot
09-03-2005, 08:10 AM
...........I'd sure go the 35 Whelen to 9.3 if it was me. I used to make 8x57 out of 30-06, so that was .308 to .323". Then I made 375-06 out of 35 Whelen so that was .358 to .375". Don't recall losing a case.

............Buckshot

45 2.1
09-03-2005, 09:50 AM
I've been making mine out of 30-06 blank cartridges. I empty the blank and size in the 9.3 sizer, load with a suitable charge of RedDot and plug with a paper wad, then fire it vertically, clean, size again and trim. Very cheap and easy.

Wayne Smith
09-03-2005, 07:51 PM
Buffalo Arms (BuffaloArms.com) lists:

9.3x57 Mauser $51/100 or $29/50

That's better than Norma, anyway.

JDL
09-04-2005, 09:25 AM
I've been making mine out of 30-06 blank cartridges. I empty the blank and size in the 9.3 sizer, load with a suitable charge of RedDot and plug with a paper wad, then fire it vertically, clean, size again and trim. Very cheap and easy.
45 2.1,
I have heard that blank cases are not up to specs, so should never be used for full power loads. Just a heads up. -JDL

45 2.1
09-04-2005, 12:37 PM
Lots of dissinformation out there to here. If you look at the cartridge pressure level that its rated for, you would see that the 9.3X57 is a very low pressure cartridge, especially with cast.

Frank46
09-04-2005, 08:43 PM
45 2.1, the vitavhouri catalog only lists about 40K with the 250gr j-bullet at about 22-2300 fps. So with the 286gr j-bullet max velocity should be around 2000 or a bit more. But I do not want to shoot j-bullets. I want cast boolits. And was looking at the NEI catalog, they have a 286 gr boolit that should work out nicely. Kinda hard to read the catalog as the pics aren't too clear. Or is it that my eyes aren't young enough. The wife is back and the skivvies were all picked up so now have to get back to work. Have all the boards over the windows down and will finish putting them away monday.
Frank

9.3X62AL
09-05-2005, 02:08 AM
No time with the 9.3 x 57, but lots with the 9.3 x 62--and 35 Whelen brass works fine once the shoulder is blown forward with 90% loads and Makarov j-word bullets. These disassemble jackrabbits right well, I might add. My full=bore loads use the Graf's brass, and these are about .007" wider at the pressure belt. The Graf's brass requires the #2 RCBS shell holder, the 35 Whelens use the #3.

286 grains of persuasion won't need a lot of velocity to send the message. 2000 FPS should convey the concept decisively if placed correctly. The 38-55 has been sending the same text (255 grains) at 1550 FPS for over 100 years, and the critters fall over pretty reliably. Gunwriters would have us believe that any velocity under 3000 FPS is obsolete........thankfully, deer don't receive regular software or hardware upgrades to keep current with the magnum upticks foisted upon us by RemChestGer.

LeeSpeed
10-02-2005, 09:18 PM
Hello:

New to the site, but not new to shootin' irons.

In particular, the 9.3x57.

I have had 3 Sarco Husky's. Two were brand spanking new Model 146 {98 Mauser actions manufactured by FN, used by Husqvarna in that model} and one cobble-job Model 46 {96 Swedish Mauser action}.

I still have one of the 146's. I sold the other. It was pristine and in original factory condition. But I am a hunter and shooter but not collector so I hesitated to modify that one.

I am a nut for this cartridge. A real fan. Great guns, too.

But Sarco...

The reason I have the cobble-job 46 is that I bought a Model 46 in 6.5x55 NORWEGIAN and the 46 was a rat.

I "conferenced" with TJ and he took back the barreled action and left me with the stock. Then he sent me a 46 that had a perfect barreled action but a stock that looked like somebody dropped it from a four story building on to the pavement below. It came complete with the original Husky peep rear sight. I mated the two, bedded the action in Acraglas and reworked the comb of the stock as I am left-handed and this 46 as with the 146's has cast-off for a righty.

What peach this cobbled up rifle is!! It has become a favorite. With my handloads and stock mod it feels like it barely kicks at all in spite of its barely 7 lb weight, and I shoot the Norwegian hunting certificate target from sitting at 100 meters just fine.

I've only killed one head of large critter with the 9.3x57, having not yet had the gun for a full year. The critter was an 800 lb steer that went wild and broke out of my neighbor's place and lived up on the mountain after being chased by wolves. But that was with a resized .375 caliber 270 grain Hornady Spire Point {before I found Speer's and Prvi Partizan's} using a die made for me by LEE that brought it down to 366. That bullet performed splendidly on the critter when I hit him with as he scooted thru thick brush at about 70 yards. Misery to get him off the south face of the mountain in the rubbishbrush but he tasted pretty good.

I've also shot a couple ground squirrels with the 9.3x57...

The round is super easy to load for. I run new Remington 8x57 cases thru the Hornady dies {set up to neck size only} and then load my hunting load and shoot. Easy as loading for a .30'06 or .308. No drama, no complexity, and I haven't even had to trim cases yet and some of mine have been shot about 8-10 times. I use Speer 270's, Prvi Partizan 286's and resized Hornady .375 caliber bullets.

BUT, UHG!, I have no experience with cast bullets in this cartridge. But these rifles in spite of their quickish twists should be perfect for CB's. With factory velocities of about 2000-2100 fps with the 286 grain bullets, I reckon the CB could be pushed to factory velocity, not lead too much and still print very close to point-of-aim. And kill deer and elk just fine.

I'm mulling over having LEE make me a custom mold for about 100 bucks. I'd like a big flat meplat and a 3/8ths bore riding nose portion with the rest full groove diameter. Actually, best of all would be a duplicate reduced size copy of my LEE 402 grain .457 Hollow Point bullet I use in my .45-70.

A 286 grain hollow point with a nose portion that would blow off and leave the heavy shank to penetrate would be just the pickles on the baloney sandwich!


Maybe a mold set up to use a .375 cal gas check would work {sized of course}, or possibly even a .358 would do. But another option might be a full case of 4831 and a card wad seated, or maybe no wad at all. At the velocities I envision, 2000 max, I think a few shots could be got off without too much leading with even a plain-based bullet.

Obviously I have much more research to do.

There's lots more fun to be had with the 9.3x57, so don't rebarrel or switch a thing. Little problems, that is all.

Cheers.

Frank46
10-03-2005, 02:48 AM
LeeSpeed, your posting really got my attention. Outside of sarco's ads in the shotgun news I've only seen on 96 swede in 9.3x57. Unfortunately the light was really bad and could not really check out the condition of the bore. The price tag was $450. Way too rich for me. But you come along and brighten up my week. Since my birthday is coming up next week, hopefully the birthday gods will smile upon me. Will get the necessary stuff to make my husky speak once again. And with cast boolits yet!.I have another toy coming in this week. A remington 141 in 35 rem caliber. Yet another reason to get busy. The 141 comes with a tang sight and looks to be in excellent condition. The husky came with the bolt already bent for use with a scope. When I first started posting about the husky and the 9.3x57 ctg I said I wanted something different. My stock has almost a 15" length of pull so that will have to be corrected.
Think I'll also steal the steel lyman 57 SME sight I have on my springfield and install it on the husky. Your post came in the nick of time and glad to have read it. Methinks a 300gr cast boolit will be more than enough for anything here in loosiana. Thanks Frank

LeeSpeed
10-03-2005, 09:00 AM
Frank46:

Sarco is a mystery to me. They certainly HAVE nice guns available {I made a trip to see them this past spring and saw probably over a hundred nice 9.3x57's}.

So where are they, and why do so many people feel rooked when they receive The Gun? I don't know. I suppose they have to get rid of what they have, and dump the "worst first"? that was what we had to do when I was in the business years ago. Had to sell the junk, or we would just pay taxes on it indefinitely...

Remember, the REASON they have these guns in the first place is that in Sweden an individual is limited to, as I remember, about 8 guns in the hunting category. So if you have 8 and want another, you have to get rid of one. So many many of the guns that are coming in have "issues", as they were the ones the shooter didn't want to keep.

If they were all dirt cheap, who would care? I mean, if you had to do some work to get an old gun chambered in an obsolete caliber to shoot well, and it cost $150 or $200 bucks, no one would argue. But these Sarco Husky's sell for what I consider to be on the edge of "cheap", in other words, at $350 or more, you expect the thing not to be encased in ferrous oxide, or if it is, to be described as such.

I got one once that was described as having a "very slight crack at the tang" and it had a break you could dang near see light thru from top to bottom, running all the way back past the wrist and grip of the gun. Back she went!! It is almost a game!!

So take heart, and know this: If you are going to do biz with them, don't expect perfect, and be prepared for some kitchen/basement/shop work to get the old Svensk elg slayer booming. You'll be much happier. Also, for those guys who want to collect Huskies that are in unaltered condition, well, maybe make sure to SEE the gun first. By far most of the Sarco guns coming in from Sweden have been modified, FOR A GOOD REASON: The Swedes {Norskies and Finns, too} are required to shoot a test each year in order to qualify for a hunting license. They are SHOOTERS by government regulation! So they get pretty darn practical about their shootin' irons, in general. If it doesn't work they pitch it. Thus, many of the guns have "individualistic tendencies" that helped the owner get the job done. One might call it character.

Yes, a bullet in the 286-300 grain weight would be perfect. It is hard to say if jacketed bullets will stick around in this caliber when the next recession hits the gun industry, so I want a mold or two sitting on my loading bench. I have about 900 lbs of wheelweights ready and willing to lope downrange, so I'm squared away there.

If I can figure out how to attach a pic I'll try to post one of my 9.3's.

One final note about the 9,3x57. It is GROWING in popularity in Sweden, now, and Norma just introduced a new round for it. Bear numbers are grwoing in Sverige and the caliber seems to be finding a new popularity. good reason, it is a superb round, IMHO far better mated to the average lightweight Husky than the x62 round is. Performance of the 9.3x57 is really excellent at the woods ranges most game is shot at, and it does it with very mold recoil. a super round to be sure.

Frank46
10-04-2005, 01:57 AM
LeeSpeed, kinda rambled on last night. Yes this was the second of two husky's that sarco had sent. It has some pitting in the bore. But I have been fooling around trying to polish it up. I know polishing isn't going to remove all of the pits but am detirmined to get this puppy shooting cast. What weight j bullets do you shoot in the 9.3?. After seeing your post I seem to remember midsouth selling 286gr j bullets. Was that where you got yours?, and the brand name was privi partizan. Kinda suprised me with the info about the resurgence of the 9.3 in sweden. The vita vouri loading manual states that basically its on its last legs. Ah well live and learn. Frank