9.3 X 62 Garand?

[aephilli822]

Has Tim (or anyone) built one?
Talk me into or out of having one done.
Also explain why it would be better or worse to do it in 35 Whelen.

[centurion20000]

Regular Garand barrel is already thin when you get to 35 Whelen. 9.3 x 62 would like require a custom profile barrel and a rework of the gas system.

[FluffyTheCat]

I have one.

It has a Lothar Walther barrel and a Schuster adjustable gas plug.

I was test firing it today and it worked well for three clips. But then it started to prematurely eject the clip.

It is an awesome weapon.

[Punch The Clown]

I have one.

It has a Lothar Walther barrel and a Schuster adjustable gas plug.

I was test firing it today and it worked well for three clips. But then it started to prematurely eject the clip.

It is an awesome weapon.

Don't be a shmoe=post some pictures!

[FluffyTheCat]

I had the receiver rails thinned. This was done by a very talented machinist. He used tungsten carbide tooling and thus it was not necessary to anneal the receiver.

The rail thinning is necessary because the 9.3 mm bullets are too wide and they will jam against the rails.

A reamer and headspace guages from Pacific Tool & Guage were used to finish ream the barrel.

The Lothar Walther barrel had no markings, so I had the barrel laser engraved.

It says, "9LA-2019-9.3 EGW". ( The Nine Lives Arsenal, 2019, 9.3, Embassy Gate Weapon)

After the receiver was machined, there is enough room to allow an 8 round clip of 9.3x62 ammo to slide in between the thinned rails. But in reality I cannot fit a clip full of ammo into the gun. It just won't seat into the magazine.

I think there is a complicated relationship with cartridge weight and the tension of the follower. I was shooting 286 grain and 300 grain rounds and 5 of these rounds weigh more than eight .30-06 rounds.

To load the gun, I just put 5 rounds into a standard clip and stuff the lot into the magazine.

When I started shooting it yesterday, i started by firing single shots. And with each shot I adjusted the Schuster gas plug. After a couple of shots, it was ejecting cases properly.

The gun fed and extracted fifteen rounds of ammunition flawlessly and then all of a sudden there were problems with premature clip ejection.

It may be that the increased recoil was too much for the clip latch spring.

The recoil is not unpleasant but it is much more noticeable than it is in .30-06. The difference in power is hard to explain. You can hear the thump as the bullet slams into the backstop. The 9.3 does not not hit the target; it smites the target. The difference between .30-06 and 9.3 is like the diffence between the .243 and the .30-06.

The ammunition used in yesterday's test was 286 grain Prvi Parizan factory loads and the following handload: 300 grain Hornady steel jacket fmj with 56 grains of W-748 and new Prvi brass.

Knowing what I know now, I would prefer the .35 Whelen because the bullet diameter is eight thousanths less. Thus there is four thousanths more room for the bullet that feeds from the left side of the clip.

Woodleigh makes 310 grain 0.358" bullets but the big problem is that Criterion's .35 Whelen barrel has a one in 16 inch twist which is too slow for long heavy bullets.

Lothar Walther's 9.3x62 barrel has a one in 14 inch twist and it works with long heavy slugs.

I still have a lot of experimenting to do, but the rifle will work. The rifle was built on a Breda receiver BMR 481. It also has a laminated stock and a new old stock Beretta gas cylinder.

If you really want a 9.3 Garand, I am sure that Shuff can build one for you. If you get a Lothar Walther barrel and send it to Tim, I will send him the reamer and headspace guages so that he can finish the chsmber for you

[Punch The Clown]

Fluffy's Pics

https://i.imgur.com/7tVCLNC.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/pK0zoHq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/BMscilB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/nk6oTJN.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/r9cU9nF.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/InWwsoB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8m7Tw97.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/l9ptp8M.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/aDAMZ3a.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/6xxvyj2.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/VX2KgrY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/MaWJHT0.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/m6QgjoV.jpg

[timshufflin]

It's a hunting round, throw in a holbrook or make one. Make sure you gas the rifle, there is no standard gas port for this. Peace!

[centurion20000]

Definitely go with the Holbrook and it should solve you clip ejection. And thanks for the machined rail pictures. I can only run a 7 round clip of 35 Whelen heavies due to feed issues.

[aephilli822]

Dang it, now you've made me want one more...

[centurion20000]

That thing is gorgeous. If I didnt already have the 35 I would definitely look into this one.