Should I be happy

www.yorkshireroestalking.

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I have started reloading for my 9.3x74R express O/U rifle.
I have a very low recoiling (compared to factory) reload which I guess is maybe 200fps slower. with a 270gr SP
This is not an issue to me as the ranges are short and so are my barrels (i will chrono soon).
My point is its printing with the scope fitted (with a mean zero)
1.5 inch low with bottom barrel and 2 inch high with top barrel.@ 50m's
i reckon for pigging should be fine.
The scope has a drop compensator fitted so if on say a moose hunt a longer shot is required I can quickly dial in a zero for just the bottom barrel.
I also have a reflex sight for the saddle mount as well as the old opens(which are fibre optic enhanced) and i hit a house brick with both barrels last night at 50ms.
The factory manual says its regulated with norma 286gr oryx to shoot within 50mm at 50m's, the norma ammo is very dear.
Should I be happy or will playing with the load regulate them better, all be it at 1 range.
Most of the boar i have shot have been under 40m's which is where the loads i have will be very near the bull.
Remebering even with handloads, they are just under £2 a shot, factory are nearer £3.
 
Bloody annoying isn’t it John, trying to develop a load that duplicates the factory load that the rifle was regulated for, especially when obtaining the right bullets isn’t easy. Personally I would think that when you increase the velocity more in line with the factory load you will improve greatly on your present results. I don’t know why but over and under rifles seem far more difficult to find a suitable load for than side by side rifles that give similar groups to the regulated load.
 
It depends what your relationship with Mr. Murphy and his law is like.

Personally, I would keep upping the charge until the barrels shot closer to regulation though if you are presented with a longer, deliberate shot then just using the rifle like a single shot ought to get it done.
 
Grandhubert that is exactly what I did with my 8x57 O/U. The scope is zeroed for 100 yards for the top barrel and I restrict the use of the bottom barrel to 50 metres which is the regulated distance. Fortunately with my rifle the barrels are selectable which is something that not all O/U express rifles are capable of.

John are you sure you are from Yorkshire? :lol: Your costs of reloading have frightened me and while I know it hasn't costed me that much to reload I will have to go away and work out just exactly what it does cost me to reload. I do know that the one box of 9.3x74r ammo that purchased a couple of years ago cost me 71 euros and that was Unifrance which is supposed to be cheap. Now if my calculations are correct that relates to £284 per 100.

Update.
Just did some calculations regarding reloading costs based on the loads I use and the actual cost of the component when purchased bearing in mind that I shop around being the tight arsed welsh jew that I am. I am using once fired cases bought from egun.de and calculate to reload each case at least five times. It's a good job I didn't take all the price labels off the boxes as I normally do so as to not show how much it really costs if she who must be obeys enquires.

Load 1. 250 grn Nosler ballistic tip, 56 grns VV N140, Fiochi primer, once fired case. = 98.5p per load.

Load 2. 193 grn Sellior & Bellot, 50 grns Accurate Arms 4064, Fiochi primer, once fired case. = 91p per load.

Load 3. 260 grn cast lead bullet or 280 grn cast bullet. approximate cost about 25p per load.


P.S. Last Friday I fired 6 rounds of load number 2 from the bench (three from each barrel) at 50 metres and all rounds went into a 30mm group. I was happy with that. :lol:
 
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I got some (old stock) speer hot core cheap and they are about 26p each,
Am using H4895 and powder 44gr and that equates to about 30p a blast.
cases are once fired from factory, i have got quite a few so ... 0p
primers ? 6p
=62p at the moment.
when i use up the last few heads they will go up x2 or more.....50+p
if i want to up the peed much need to change powder and that means a charge more like 75gr.....60p
primer? .... 6p
and the big expense was the die which will never load 100's it was just shy of £100, if I load 500 rounds and i won't it will add 20p a shot on at the moment its adding more then a £1 a shot on
so they are cheapish now but costs will spiral when i use up these heads and change powder..........so then will the recoil and i may as well stick with factory ammo for the few dozen shots a year I might fire once its set up.
Thanks for your input lads anyhow...
ATB john
 
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I am currently running 4 grains below max and will go into shed (since its raining again) and load some this morning, what do you reckon up in full grains looking for a sweeter spot?
 
Hell John £100 for a set of dies! I ordered mine from the U.S. they are RCBS so pretty standard. I can't recall the exact price but think it was about 40 odd pounds including postage etc. I like to use my rifles a lot, I am more of a shooter than a regular stalker so I will use my rifles probably far more than you do so am very aware of keeping the costs down as much as possible. For instance my primers were bought for £25 per thousand, my Accurate Arms powder from the NRA and the Vhitavouri from a local dealer who did me a good deal at the time but since then I will be going over to the new Tr140 which costs just £55 per kilo. The Nosler bullets were bought from my local gun shop and were a special order that the customer cancelled I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. The same applies to the S&B bullets they were being offloaded by Westlander at the Phoenix meeting at cost price. They are not the ideal bullet for 9.3x74r but I worked out a load and am delighted with it as it groups better than the load the rifle was regulated for (Norma Oryx). I probably wouldn't use load number two for boar as it is a bit light but the Nosler load is spot on for boar and has done the job no problem whatsoever.
 
I am currently running 4 grains below max and will go into shed (since its raining again) and load some this morning, what do you reckon up in full grains looking for a sweeter spot?

Probably at least that. I have to go out now but will have a look at what information I have when I get back later today.
 
I am currently running 4 grains below max and will go into shed (since its raining again) and load some this morning, what do you reckon up in full grains looking for a sweeter spot?

You may as well, if you can't find anything it I might be tempted to try a different bullet or powder, ideally one you can buy a "lifetime supply" of for that rifle.

Generally, german doubles tend to be regulated for hotter ( RWS, Hirtengerger, norma) loads.

DO you load development over a chrono though as rimmed cases in break actions do not exhibit normal rimless bolt action case pressure signs.
 
I think that the short barrels my express has tht surely alot of powder will be burnt outside the brrel so velocity wont go up much?
time to dig out the chrono i suppose.
 
I think that the short barrels my express has tht surely alot of powder will be burnt outside the brrel so velocity wont go up much?
time to dig out the chrono i suppose.

How short are your barrels? 24", 25, 26"? ;)

Remember that people shoot 18-20" 243, a much more overbore cartridge, and still see velocity gains as they increase the load.

The increase in velocity is but a component to the overall regulation equation, the overall harmonics of the loads change as the charge weight is changed and this is what you are exploiting.

The other tip with double rifles and drillings is to let them go completely cold between shots when load developing.

You may find that a 3" group turns into a 1" one if the rifle is allowed to go completely cold.
 
18 1/4 inch

That is quite short for an double rifle, how come you went for that length if I might go off on a slight tangent?

The length is immaterial to the regulation issue and velocity will increase significantly if you were to load to max. The ultimate velocity will be less than a longer barrel would achieve, but the ratio of charge to velocity would remain about the same, especially using 4895.


I ran a quick calculation in QL and it appears you should be expecting to loose around a hundred feet per second from a 24" barrel with that powder and bullet combo, this seems to be because you are using a rather low pressure load. In fact QL predicted velocities in the 1800 fps range so I would be very interested in your chrono results as part of my continuing obsession with checking the accuracy of the program.

FWIW QL predicts a 200 fps range between 44 and 48 grains for the same.
 
That is quite short for an double rifle, how come you went for that length if I might go off on a slight tangent?.
The gun came with these it is an off the shelf, not a custom.
It is consequently a very pointable gun.
It was measured from the chamber end not the reciever block as the cartridge is 4 inch long.
OAL of barrel is 22 inch.


FWIW QL predicts a 200 fps range between 44 and 48 grains for the same.

my data agreed with this. Not checked it yet. Will work upto 46gr.
 
I do not know why but the chamber is ALWAYS included in barrel length. Seems strange to me but that's the way it has always been probably a hang over from Muzzle loading days.

So John you actually have 22" barrels which is fairly normal for modern rifles.
 
I do not know why but the chamber is ALWAYS included in barrel length. Seems strange to me but that's the way it has always been probably a hang over from Muzzle loading days.

So John you actually have 22" barrels which is fairly normal for modern rifles.
agreed but if it were a hornet the velocity would be 21 inches worth, on a 9.3x74 = 18 inch probably 50-80fps worth.
 
John,

As pointed out it's not rational but it's the way it's always been. No one ever talks about the length of the rifled portion of the tube.

Not gun makers.

Not ammunition makers.

Nor most hand loaders. Well not those who have read the book on it :norty:.

Even Quick Load uses the total length of barrel to breech face.................................. Must a be a Yorkshire thing :gheyfight:.
 
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