volume 13.2

Terry Wieland’s On Ammo

Although slimmer and less muscular than its English brethren, the 9.3x74R (left) is recognizably from the same era as the .375 Flanged (center) and .375 H&H.

9.3x74mmR:  An Under-Sung Hero

Movie annals abound with European stars who lived out their lives on the Riviera, idols to Frenchmen and Germans but largely unknown in America because they never braved the streets of Hollywood.

There are cartridges like that, too, and the 9.3x74R – the .375 H&H of Europe – is one of them.  A European will immediately take issue with the title of this piece.  Unsung?  Not by us!  Indeed, the 9.3x74R is one of the all-time favourite cartridges for European hunting, especially red stag and driven boar, and has enjoyed notable popularity in parts of Africa for more than a century.

For Americans, however, it has been a rarity, an unknown, and a puzzle.  No production rifles were chambered for it in America, and ammunition was hard to come by.  Since the vaunted .375 H&H was readily available in every form, why bother?

Recent developments, however, have given potential travellers to Africa several reasons to bother with the 9.3x74R.  It is one of two cartridges (the other being the 450/400 NE 3”) comprising a recent joint project between Ruger and Hornady.  Ruger is chambering the 9.3x74R in its popular No. 1 single-shot rifle, and Hornady is offering factory ammunition loaded with both softs and solids.  At some point, brass and bullets will also be available.

The reason this is noteworthy is that, suddenly, a double rifle chambered for the 9.3x74R becomes a practical proposition for Americans.  Since double rifles in that chambering are numerous in both style and number, and can be relatively affordable, this is a glorious opportunity for many hunters to acquire that coveted double rifle and actually go hunting with it.

The 9.3x74R originated in Germany around 1900 in answer to the rash of British cartridges in the .360-diameter range.  The 9.3 uses a .365” bullet, usually 286 grains.  This makes it slightly smaller and lighter than the .375 H&H.  Because it is also slightly slower, it is noticeably less powerful than either the .375 H&H or its staid brother, the .375 Flanged.  The latter is simply the .375 H&H with a rim.  It was intended for single-shots and double rifles, but when gunmakers realized they could accommodate the belted .375 perfectly well in a double, the flanged cartridge faded.

Still, the .375 Flanged is the one with which the 9.3x74R is usually compared now, since the various .360s have all but disappeared.  The .375 Flanged launches a 300-grain bullet at 2400 fps for energy of 3835 ft.lbs.; the 9.3 fires a 285-grain bullet at 2300 fps (RWS factory) for energy of 3530 ft.lbs.  So both are well shy of .375 H&H ballistics (300-gr., 2500 fps, 4160 ft.lbs.)

Hornady's adoption of the 9.3x74R gives the cartridge new life in America after a distinguished career in Europe and, to a lesser extent, Africa.

Even John Taylor, who generally viewed German cartridges (and especially their bullets) with a jaundiced eye, spoke highly of the 9.3x74R, but confessed he had never used the cartridge and was taking the word of trusted friends who had.

For the heaviest game – Cape buffalo and elephant – the 9.3x74R is on the low end of marginal.  In some areas, it is not even legal.  That aside, the key consideration with this cartridge for heavy game is not velocity or energy, but bullet construction.  A good 286-grain bullet that holds together and penetrates will perform well, and there is no doubt that a well placed bullet like that will deliver better than a heavier, faster bullet in the wrong place.

The RWS H-mantle bullet, forerunner of the Nosler Partition and similar in construction, has established a fine reputation in the 9.3x74R.  In its ammunition, Hornady will be loading its own new bonded bullets, and they should perform very well.

This cartridge would be no one’s choice as a first-line Cape buffalo or elephant cartridge, but as an all-around rifle it is hard to beat; for tough animals like eland, or soft-skinned dangerous game like lion, it is close to ideal.  When the time comes to go into the bush after a wounded one, though, I would switch to a big .450.

Taylor made the point that ammunition for the 9.3x74R was readily available throughout Africa, and it still is, especially in former German areas like Namibia.  In recent years, ammunition has been made by RWS and Norma, both of which are top quality, as well as by a few smaller European companies.

For American hunters, however, all of this might as well have happened on the moon.  RWS and Norma, in America, are noted for two things:  scarcity and high price.  As a result, the 9.3x74R rifles floating around have often traded at a discount simply because of ammunition problems and the fact that it was not a terribly powerful or charismatic cartridge.

European gunmakers chamber the 9.3x74R in doubles (both over/under and SxS), single-shots, and combination guns, but relatively few have come to America.  With the advent of Hornady ammunition and components, perhaps some of the lower-priced European rifles will be imported and American hunters will have a chance to own that coveted double rifle after all.
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Manufacturer                         Bullet Weight                        Velocity                     Energy

Hornady                                 286 grains             2360 fps                   3536 ft.lbs.

Norma                                                232                             2559                           3374
                                                285                             2362                           3532

Lapua                                     270                             2378                           3392
                                                286                             2313                           3248