Ruger No1. in 9.3x62 good Africa Rifle??

[115grfmj]

Okay folks....this is only my second post here so please be easy on me. I have recently read quite a bit about the 9.3 and love the history of it. Recently also I have found a ruger No1 tropical chambered in the 9.3( IMHO a gorgeous rifle). My question is what do you think of the possibilities of this cartridge and rifle. My goals in Africa would include all but the largest game. Also since I'm a US hunter I think it would be a good moose, and bear cartridge. What are your thoughts?? Could this be my Africa Rifle??

Thanks very much for your input

 

[enysse]

The answer is easy: YES

Go ahead and buy it!!! The gun will be more than welcome to Africa!

 

[sestoppelman]

The answer is easy: YES

Go ahead and buy it!!! The gun will be more than welcome to Africa!

You actually found one? I just recently found it on the Ruger site and thought wow! But I looked around and didnt see any actually for sale anywhere. I would get it, its a neat caliber and you will love it. And if you dont love you can always sell it to some clown like me! BTW, according to the Ruger site it is the Medium sporter, not the Tropical. Ruger is also planning to chamber the No.1 Light Sporter in .280 Remington, another great cartridge.

 

[spike.t]

yup its good, one of my favourite calibres. just looked on the ruger website as i didnt know they did the no1 in 9.3x62, i thought they did it in 9.3x74r or maybe they used to? they jump around with what they chamber rifles for its hard to keep up. now the guide gun in 9.3x62 would be nice.

 

[sestoppelman]

yup its good, one of my favourite calibres. just looked on the ruger website as i didnt know they did the no1 in 9.3x62, i thought they did it in 9.3x74r or maybe they used to? they jump around with what they chamber rifles for its hard to keep up. now the guide gun in 9.3x62 would be nice.

The 62 is pretty new, the 74 was several years ago and isnt listed anymore. They have sort of gone to the S&W mode of flavor of the month marketing with the No.1 rifle. I had the 74 for a while, shot very well, sold it of course.

 

[Code4]

The 9.3x62 was made for Africa when German settlers were clearing vast tracks of land for cultivation by shooting vast numbers of plains game.

The No.1 is a very strong action and you can very often safely load it to max pressures. Haveing had a 9.2x62 and taken it to Africa, I always thought some of the stout Premium projectiles available in 286 and 320 grains could have done with some more impact velocity. If I ever find a good No.1 here in Oz in 9.3x74 I will buy it.

 

[sestoppelman]

The No. 1 is as strong as a bolt action. Trying to drive those heavy bullets real fast is pretty tough to do, I think it does better with 250-270gr bullets. Its a great round but its not now nor has it ever been the equal of a .375mag. I have taken one twice to Africa, once using 250 Accubonds, the other 250 tripleshoks. Both worked very well. I was happy to be able to get around 2350fps with the 286 gr in mine, that was a CZ 550 with 24" barrel. I was getting just over 2500 with the 250, could have gotten a bit more but I didnt really see the need for PG.

 

[Nyati]

Good gun and caliber, will do its job in Africa.

 

[Poucher]

Excellent caliber for the bush, less kick than de 375, the Accubonds in 250 gr and the 286 A-frames are top choices.
Good ballistics up to 250-270 yards.
The actions of the Nｺ1 are super strong but I always prefer a bolt action rufle in case you need a fast follow-up shot

 

[115grfmj]

You actually found one? I just recently found it on the Ruger site and thought wow! But I looked around and didnt see any actually for sale anywhere. I would get it, its a neat caliber and you will love it. And if you dont love you can always sell it to some clown like me! BTW, according to the Ruger site it is the Medium sporter, not the Tropical. Ruger is also planning to chamber the No.1 Light Sporter in .280 Remington, another great cartridge.

Your absolutely correct, it was the medium, I was mistaken. Do you think the medium sporter is up to the task, does the tropical have any advantage (other than caliber) over it? As far as availability goes they had one at Cabelas in Hamburg Pa., I didn't buy it when I saw it because I was unsure about the caliber, and ammo availability, but the sales guy told me even if it that one was sold before I got back, it would be no trouble to get another one. They are offering it only for the rest of 2014 before ruger switches calibers again. Apparently they are changing their line up yearly now.

 

[Red Leg]

The action is the same on all the No. 1's, so it will be up to the job. The medium sporter makes a very neat package and in 9.3 will be a great PG rifle. I have one in .300 H&H which Turnbull tricked out and I love it. Very compact rifle and yet a barrel longer than almost any bolt action.

 

[Poucher]

I prefer a medium sporter configuration in a 9,3 cal. The tropical is much heavier......

 

[sestoppelman]

The medium is perfect for this caliber.

 

[Steve Steyr]

1. Make sure your cases are sized down enough to chamber easily. Having a round stutter the last 1/8" before seating fully could lead to a lengthy tracking job on a wounded animal.
2. Practice reloading your rifle. Scoped Ruger #1's can make it difficult and clumsy to get the second round "threaded" under the scope and between the sides of the action and fully in the chamber. In the heat of shooting, if it can go wrong, it will. Practice reloading without looking at the rifle. Build up your muscle memory. Good luck on your hunt.

 

[bassasdaindia]

great African caliber for PG hunting , I use mine mainly in the thicker bush or Northern part of South Africa

 

[Spooksar]

9.3x62 is my go to gun for plains game, loaded with Nosler Accu-Bonds so far hasn't failed me

 

[bebo]

My own opinion : current ammos :
Africa = { 9.3x62, .338WM} - {.375 H&H}- {.416, .458,.470NE} Other ... for the PH

Not Easy to find : 8x68S, 9.3x64 Brenneke and the Weatherby family .340 WB .. .416
Others : Dakota,Sako, Ruger etc .. full proprietaries not at all easy to find ..

I own a 9.3x62 : two categories of ammo : Europe/US and .. Africa.
Not the same game ... not the same need of bullets ... not the same need of Quantum ..
Africa : "Nostler","Swift A Frame"and bonded bullet, ... UNI (TUG) ? .. too old concept .?
Europe .. according to the hunting mode (short shot on light wild boar) and of course the game (elk, deer ..)
even PRVI can be OK....