.416 Rigby & 9.3x62 suggestions and considerations

[matthew anderson]

I'm starting my venture into handloading for my African battery. I'm not new to handloading but my experience is exclusively with low pressure, straight wall cased cartridges and it's been a few years since I've loaded anything.
I have a few specific requests for recommendation, but feel free to add any other considerations/recommendations.
I'll dive in and study, this is just to get me going in the right direction, as I'd like to minimize experimentation, so lessons learned, and best practices are welcomed.
I'll be pushing 400 grainers on the ,416 and 286-300 grainers on the 9.3x62, Mostly North Fork projectiles.

Powder
.416 Rigby: I'm seeing H4831 is a popular choice.
9.3x62 Mauser: I don't have anything yet.

Primers
.416 Rigby: I have available to me, CCI Large Magnum Rifle. Is there another preference and why?
9.3x62 Mauser: I have available to me, CCI Large rifle. Is there another preference and why?

Brass
.416 Rigby: ?
9.3x62 Mauser: ?

Dies/ Die sets
.416 Rigby: ?
9.3x62 Mauser: ?

This is to help me get going in the component and tool gathering process. I know pickins are slimmer than they once were so I'm trying to mitigate wasted effort and money.
I'll also eventually load 375 H&H and 275 Rigby/7x57, though, at the moment my focus is .416 and 9.3 but I'm open to being on the lookout for components for them as well.

Thanks, in advance for anything you're willing to share.

 

[shootist~]

RL-17 is what I'm using for the 9.3x62 with 286 and 300 grain A-Frames. Standard Fed 210s for the primers.

 

[matthew anderson]

RL-17 is what I'm using for the 9.3x62 with 286 and 300 grain A-Frames. Standard Fed 210s for the primers.

Thank you, Sir. On the primers, are the feds a preference or is it an availability thing?

 

[CoElkHunter]

I'd buy whatever components you can find at REASONABLE prices wherever you find them. For now, trying to find a specific brand of brass and even premium bullets (Swift, North Fork, Woodleigh, etc.) IN STOCK can be difficult, expensive and time consuming. For practice, try and find ANY bullets (even seconds) with the same grain weight that you wish to hunt with. Use whatever brand of brass you can find. I do. RCBS has dies in stock.

 

[matthew anderson]

I'd buy whatever components you can find at REASONABLE prices wherever you find them. For now, trying to find a specific brand of brass and even premium bullets (Swift, North Fork, Woodleigh, etc.) IN STOCK can be difficult, expensive and time consuming. For practice, try and find ANY bullets (even seconds) with the same grain weight that you wish to hunt with. Use whatever brand of brass you can find. I do. RCBS has dies in stock.

Thanks. I understand and appreciate the sentiment in that but it's kind of what I'm trying to avoid, That is, settling on something if there is a better alternative that's maybe just elusive. If something is just completely unavailable or discontinued, that's a different story. I'm Trying to understand what the preferred is and why. I have the North fork bullets and they're pretty available at the moment, on the brass, if there is a preference because of life expectancy, or brass to stay away from because dimension issues etc. Powder is my biggest question at the moment. Thanks for the heads up on RCBS, I'll probably go ahead and order some, I figured they'd probably be the ticket.

 

[Desperatezulu]

I have and reload for both. My 2c....

RL-17 for the 9.3 - second Shootist's recommendation there. Case capacity is a bit limited and RL-17 helps with performance in the 9.3.
For the Rigby the case is so big that you're not limited for capacity to chase speed, so there's quite a wide range of powders to pick from. I think anything in the H4350, H4831, Vihta N165 or N560, RL-22 or RL-26 class will work. Use what you can get your hands on in this powder range.

Primers - Fed215s are recommended for the Rigby because of the large powder column and the 215s apparently having the most 'ignition force'. No reason why any other magnum rifle primer shouldn't work. I've only used the Feds in the 416.
I've used a variety of LR and LRM primers in the 9.3 with no discernible difference.

Brass - I'm sure any mainstream brand will do. These are fairly low pressure calibres and not exactly long range precision either, so there's no meaningful performance benefit to be had. I like Norma in the 416 (Lapua doesn't offer brass in this cal). In the 9.3 Lapua would be my first choice - I use Norma and Sako quite happily though.

Dies - I expect this choice will be dictated by availability more than anything else. Again, these are not precision rounds, so most reputable brands will do. I would suggest FL rather than necksizing if you're going after DG purely to ensure that your reloads feed reliably. You should be checking all your ammo cycles in your gun before a DG hunt anyway, so probably not a prime concern in die selection.
Look out for a crimping die for the 416 - the small shoulder on the case makes them vulnerable to collapsing under roll crimping (so I've read). Instead I use the Lee FCD which uses a collet system and works fine on the 416. I also have the Lee FCD for the 9.3 but have found no need to crimp - i.e. no bullet set back in un-crimped rounds.

 

[AZDAVE]

For dies I like redding best.
9.3
Lapua brass if you can find it and I have had very good performance from the Privi brass
Powder RL17 and Ramshot BIG GAME are my go to powders
primers Have been suing Fed 210 or winchester magnum as that is what I have on hand.

416
Norma brass is my go to
powder have been using H4350
FED 215 primers

 

[Luvthunt]

416….CCI 250 and IMR 4350 or H 4350 is what I use.
RCBS dies with a Lee crimp die.
Be careful seating bullets as necks want to push back into shoulders.
Use imperial wax for resizing along with an inside the neck lub such as graphite or mica.

 

[shootist~]

Thank you, Sir. On the primers, are the feds a preference or is it an availability thing?

Just personal preference on the F210s - my favorite LR primer. I second @AZDAVE on Lapua brass for the 9.3 I have a good number with 8 loads and they appear to be good for more.

285 gr PPUs make a good practice load, btw.

 

[John Wasmuth]

Two of the best powders to use in the 9,3 is Alliant MR 2000 PP and Ram Shot Big Game. I use PRVI brass and have never had an issue with it. Winchester or CCI magnum primers work fine. There are some really great loads with modern powders if you search under John Barsness 9,3x62. I stick with 285/286 gr bullets.

 

[dchamp]

.416 Rigby
CZ550
400gr NorthFork
GM210M, its’ what I had on hand
RL22, Recommended by John? at North Fork Bullets
Norma Brass
Lyman, its’ what was available at the time.

9.3x62
CZ550 and Blaser R8
220-232gr bullets, H4895
250-286gr bullets, CFE223, 2000MR, Big Game
286-325gr bullets, RL17
CCI200, no special reason
Lapua Brass
RCBS, its’ what was available at the time.

 

[Puddle]

9.3x62 is such a flexible cartridge to load for. Think medium burning powders.
Looking at my load data, and just as others have mentioned, for the 285, 286, and 300 grain bullets I've used:

H4895​

RL-15​

H4350​

RL-17​

Big Game.​

 

[matthew anderson]

Thank you everyone for all the info. So far, I have acquired:

North fork bulletts
H4831SC
CCI 250's & 200's

RL-17 isn't readily available to me at the moment but I'll keep hunting, I may break down and pay Hazmat. H4350 and Varget are readily available to me but I see mixed reviews about them and 9.3x62.

What are yall's thoughts on H4350 vs H4831SC for 416 Rigby?

 

[matthew anderson]

9.3x62 is such a flexible cartridge to load for. Think medium burning powders.
Looking at my load data, and just as others have mentioned, for the 285, 286, and 300 grain bullets I've used:

H4895​

RL-15​

H4350​

RL-17​

Big Game.​

How did you feel about H4350 with 9.3x62, any notable pros and cons?

 

[sgt_zim]

I use Norma brass for my 9.3x62, and have found that Ramshot Big Game and Alliant 2000 MR are the go-to powders.

As far as practice...I buy whichever is cheaper, Hornady 286 or Speer 270. There is no practical difference in velocity between them. And if you're going to keep that 9.3 in its ordinary performance envelope, BC is almost entirely irrelevant. That said, I believe Hornady is the highest at about .41, but it really just doesn't matter.

RL15 is a little faster than 2000MR, and RL17 is a little slower. I'd guess they'll both work fine, but considering case capacity limitations, whatever you end up buying, you'll do better on velocity with spherical powder than extruded sticks. I'm told that Varget works great with 9.3x62, but with 286 gr bullets, you start getting into compressed loads at around 56 gr. I experimented with Varget early on, but gave up on it quickly. 62 gr of 2000 MR will push that hornady out of my rifle at about 2425 fps.

If you can get accurate loads at 2400 or 2450, that's great. But I have no lack of lethality shooting Oryx 285 gr at 2250.

 

[Puddle]

How did you feel about H4350 with 9.3x62, any notable pros and cons?

Lower MV than RL-17, but outstanding single digit SDs.

 

[andries 318 wr]

Thank you everyone for all the info. So far, I have acquired:

North fork bulletts
H4831SC
CCI 250's & 200's

RL-17 isn't readily available to me at the moment but I'll keep hunting, I may break down and pay Hazmat. H4350 and Varget are readily available to me but I see mixed reviews about them and 9.3x62.

What are yall's thoughts on H4350 vs H4831SC for 416 Rigby?

I like using Norma 203B in my 9,3x62. My loads are around 2300 fps with a 286gr A Frame. I personally don't see the need for more fps that one can get from R17.

 

[MS 9x56]

In the 9.3 I would love to find some Norma brass at reasonable price but are rare as hens teeth in my neck of the woods. I have had good luck with Privi brass so far. I second everyone’s choice of RL 17 . I use it for both Norma 232 grain and Nosler 286 grains.

 

[Marc Ret]

In the 9.3 I would love to find some Norma brass at reasonable price but are rare as hens teeth in my neck of the woods. I have had good luck with Privi brass so far. I second everyone’s choice of RL 17 . I use it for both Norma 232 grain and Nosler 286 grains.

Don't know what your definition of "reasonable" is but RRP had by far the best price on new Norma 9.3x62 when I was looking a month back. Only (minor) complaint I could say is the case mouths came dinged and out of round but that isn't out of the norm for bulk brass, IME.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/969201522

 

[matthew anderson]

In the 9.3 I would love to find some Norma brass at reasonable price but are rare as hens teeth in my neck of the woods. I have had good luck with Privi brass so far. I second everyone’s choice of RL 17 . I use it for both Norma 232 grain and Nosler 286 grains.

@RavenRocksPrecision has it for sure.