Mauritz Coetzee Johan Taylor proclaimed rather explicitly, 9,3 X 74R that any double rifle in the .450-.470 group were just about ideal for stopping a charge from any animal. This would Jinclude the .450 Nitro Express, the .500/.450 Nitro Express, the .450 No 2 Nitro Express and the .470 Nitro Express. Table 1 Reloading data Quite frankly, there is a certain feel- Case Bullet Propellant Primer Velocity ing one gets when you open the breech Load 1 RWS Woodleigh soft S 355 CCI250 2 270 feet per of one of the old English doubles. About 286 grains 57 grains second five years ago, we did some load devel- Load 2 RWS Woodleigh solid S 355 CCI250 2 245 feet per 3 opment with an original .450 /4-inch 286 grains 56.5 grains second Rigby side-lock double. This rifle had Load 3 RWS Rhino soft S 355 CCI250 2 240 feet per been built in 1914 and came standard 286 grains 56.5 grains second with an extra set of .375 H&H Magnum Load 4 RWS Rhino Solid S 355 CCI250 2 235 feet per barrels. >> 286 grains 56 grains second

African Outfi tte r December/January 2008 55 >> With a little bit of luck and also per- and-under rifles weigh around 3 kilo- 1 sistence we managed to regulate this grams / 7 /2 pounds and have barrel double to perfection at 50 metres / 55 length variances of between 25 and 26 yards. A great deal of satisfaction accom- inches. panied every time two ‘fresh’ cartridges From a ballistic point of view it dupli- were put in each chamber of this rifle. cates the performance of the 9,3 x 62 Yet, in spite of the potent terminal cartridge. A 286-grain bullet leaves the nature of these big English cartridges, barrel of single shot, double barrel or some riflemen and hunters prefer the drilling rifles at a nominal 2 350/2 360 option of a lighter and sleeker double feet per second. Being destined for these rifle in a smaller calibre designation. I types of rifles, it is of the rimmed nature have seen and handled a few Army & with quite a large case and body taper. Navy doubles chambered for the The late Frank C Barnes declared this 1 .450/.400 Nitro Express (3" and 3 /4"), cartridge in a combination gun, with a which in terms of a performance factor 16-gauge shot barrel and the 9,3 x 74R of a 400-grain bullet at approximately persuasion as being suitable for anything 2 150 feet per second, were quite easy to found on planet earth. handle recoilwise and also to carry due to Having stated the light-weight and the overall weight of the rifle. rather trim nature of rifles built for this One cartridge that has remained a cartridge, especially double rifles, one perennial favourite for usage in a double needs to understand that they were never rifle, is the 9,3 x 74R, especially from a intended for use in thick bush and European point of view. against animals with aggressive tempera- Companies like Heym, Merkel, ments. Like the 9,3 x 62 Mauser cartridge Chapius and Krieghoff have for many the 9,3 x 74R can be a life saver on occa- years now all produced side-by-side rifles sion, but their true intended use lay in for this cartridge, whilst Sabatti, an general hunting applications for non-dan- Italian company, has also offered over

and under rifles for the 9,3 x 74R car- ¾ tridge. This is Ricco, Mario’s son looking Brochures and gun literature indicate equilly satisfied with Nyala bull taken that most of these side-by-side and over- with the 9,3 X 74R double

African 56 Outfi tter December/January 2008 gerous game, especially in Africa. Put dif- cases would only be used for practice in comparison to S335. Initially, it was ferently the opportunity to use a double with cheaper bullets. decided to use only standard primers rifle with a rather elegantly designed car- Woodleigh bullets, both soft points (CCI200) because of the modest quanti- tridge and added bonus of very manage- and solids, as well as Rhino soft point ties of propellant used in this instance. able recoil. and solid bullets, have all been tested in With both the soft and solid Rhino bullets My good friend Mario Serradinho Mario’s rifle. 2 200+ feet per second were attained owns exactly such a lightweight Spanish with 56 to 56.5 grains of S355 and side-lock double rifle chambered for the CCI200 primers. 9,3 x 74R cartridge. This rifle also has a I have yet to hear about a Accuracy was, however, around the 3- spare set of 20-gauge shot-gun barrels as non-satisfied 9,3 x 74R inch mark at 50 to 60 metres / 55 to 66 it came from the factory. yards. Usually, Mario is quite willing to share double rifle owner. In fact, A quick change to a CCI250 his experiences with this rifle in Africa finding one in South (Magnum) primer saw an increase of with other hunters. Enquiries as to his around 50 feet per second in velocity and 1 willingness to sell this rifle have led to Africa, especially on the a dramatic reduction in group size (1 /2 to severe mood changes from Mario’s side 2 inches at 50 meters). A slight crimp was and is a practice that should be avoided second-hand market, is used with all bullets tested with this rifle, at all cost! just about impossible. simply because ignition and the burning Mario has used this double against all of propellant just seem to be more con- types of game, including buffalo and lion. sistent with these loads. About four years ago, Mario and I were In the end, Mario decided to stick to Sometimes, it just so happens that a involved with some serious load develop- the Rhino bullets. We tried both S335 hunter acquires a rifle, uses it in the bush ment for this rifle. (± 1MR 3031) and the newly introduced and never sells that rifle again. I have yet Initially, RWS cases were used S355 (± 1MR 4320), both propellants to hear about a non-satisfied 9,3 x 74R although Mario had a good supply of being in the medium to slow burning rate double rifle owner. In fact, finding one in Sellier & Bellot cases available. In the end category. South Africa, especially on the second- it was decided that the Sellier & Bellot We got much better results with S355 hand market, is just about impossible.

African Outf itter December/January 2008 57