The 9.3x64 Brenneke-
Forgotten Powerhouse
It was snowing heavily as the blaze orange-clad hunter climbed the aspen covered ridge. In his hands was an open sighted, short barreled ’98 Mauser. As he neared the ridgeline, a small mule deer buck sprang from his snowy bed. The man watched the forkhorn bounce away, then resumed his search for elk.
This scene happened during a recent elk season to yours truly. The rifle in my possession that day was an old Type B Mauser Sporting Rifle. It was chambered not for the 8x57mm Mauser, but to a different shell- the 9.3x64mm Brenneke. I did finally harvest an elk that season, but not with this rifle.
For those of you familiar with the ballistics of this round, you might say that I was over-gunned for elk. On the other hand, anyone who has watched one of these tough animals soak up lead, might be inclined to agree with my choice. As you can see from Table 1, the 9.3x64 is a heavy hitter with a fair spread in bullet weights available to the handloader. I might add here that you should be a handloader, or else have a thick wallet should you want to shoot your 9.3x64 very often. With a box of RWS ammo pushing $100 per box, rolling your own begins to look very attractive.
Brass is available from Huntington and Old Western Scrounger at last check. I purchased enough Horneber brass from
Huntingtons
to keep me supplied for a while. RWS components might now be available from a Norma distributor. In a stroke of genius (or idiocy) fueled by a tight budget, I hit upon the idea of converting .375 H&H Magnum brass. I had a local machine shop turn the belts off a box of Holland & Holland cases. This operation trimmed some material off the rim as well. It did turn out to be workable brass, and I used it for practice loads for several years. Case capacity was 2 grains of water greater than the RWS offering.
My loading program used a variety of products from both overseas and the U.S. Once you get tapped into the market, there are a surprising number of sources for 9.3mm or .366” components. Lyman, Redding, and
RCBS
all make dies in 9.3x64mm. I can save you some agony by telling you that a #11 shell holder is used in your Lee Auto-Prime and a #18 RCBS shellholder does the job for sizing and bullet seating chores on your press.
The pamphlet found in the box of 285 gr. RWS solids shows them obtaining 2690 feet per second (fps) out of a 26” barrel. My little cannon spits them out at 2587 fps, showing that you don’t necessarily emasculate this cartridge when you lop off some barrel steel. In contrast, overbore shells like the .264 Winchester Magnum do suffer when you use less rifled tube.
This rifle, at 7 ½ lbs. is a handful on the bench…actually, it just plain kicks, and HARD! The forearm jumps off the bags and rolls at the same time, and this with a firm grip on the fore end. Next, the thin walled barrel heats up rapidly, making 5 shot groups (and thus, a good analysis) difficult. I did achieve some tiny Average Deviations and Standard Deviation readings, which would tend to indicate a more accurate load.
Incidentally, maximum pressure is listed by RWS at 54,100 psi. I don't have pressure testing equipment on hand, but I tend to keep loads throttled back a bit in deference to the old rifle.
As far as comparing this cartridge to new developments, we have the .376 Steyr and .375 Ruger. After looking at the ballistics of both rounds, it can be seen that the .375 Ruger is almost identical to the 9.3x64 in power. It has the advantage of using the more common .375" bullets, and being a commercially available, U.S. manufactured round.
Some notes pertaining to my rifle; it appears to be one of many military actions converted to sporting use by J.P. Sauer and Son of Stuhl, Germany between the wars. It utilizes a removable (not hinged) floorplate, accessed by turning the thumb lever 90°. The gun came equipped with double-set triggers, but now sports a Timney Sportsman adjusted to 3 lbs. of pull. The rifle was rebored and rifled by Cliff LaBounty back in 1995. Jim DuBell now runs the LaBounty shop under
Delta Gun Shop.
The rest of the work was performed by Jim Botsford, then of Del Norte, CO and now with
Kiowa Creek Sporting Club.
I believe Jim is putting his talents to use fitting shotgun stocks so that people can create dust with Sporting Clays targets. Jim was exceedingly patient with my changing specifications and constant “checking in”. His work is top-notch and a bargain at any price. The stock is an example of this, being made of semi- fancy English walnut, has flawless checkering and is a classic beauty.
With the slim, short barrel, Redfield peep sight, and a slender stock, this rifle is a joy to carry in the woods. While the recoil is vigorous, it’s not impossible to handle offhand. One of these days, I might calculate the back thrust in foot-pounds, but until then, I think I prefer to exist in blissful ignorance!
Though I have yet to slay any big game with this gun, my grandfather used it to end the career of more than a few deer and elk. Back then, it was chambered to 8x57J, and no doubt Gramps used “S” bore cartridges in it- proving why the factories download the 8mm Mauser. “J” bore rifles used a .318” bullet, while the “S” bore guns shot the more common and modern .323” slug. As you might imagine, forcing a 5 thousandths oversize bullet down the barrel raises pressures abruptly and doesn’t do any favors for accuracy.
For a bit of history, the rifle was given to my Gramps by an American Indian friend of his named Charlie. My father reports that it had a dark stock with brass tacks adorning it. It sat in my father’s closet for years before I grabbed it and began the restoration process. The old veteran had been devoid of a stock by then, and the chamber was “ringed” near the shoulder with pitting. Someone probably left a shell chambered and the moisture settled in at that spot.
In summary, if you have an old rifle, or even a fairly new one that is worn out, you could do worse than having it rebored to an old cartridge like the 9.3mm Brenneke. Granted, the 9.3x62mm Mauser is easier to load for (30-06 brass suffices) and the .375 H&H is a bit more powerful. The 9.3x64 is a good choice for a 30-06 length action and packs the same basic punch as the .375 Magnum. I have always preferred something different and unique. I suppose that’s why I don’t get excited over the 30-06, .357 Magnum, or .308 Winchester. Instead, my gun safe houses such oddities as a .358 Norma Magnum, a .348 Winchester, .303 Epps, a .450 Alaskan, and my favorite old timer-the 9.3x64 Brenneke.
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