your thoughts on the 9.3x64 brenneke
 

Good evening everyone. I hope everyone is doing well

I have been thinking for a while now of building a 9.3x64 Brenneke. Just checking to see if anyone has been using this cartridge? What is the felt recoil like? I currently have a 338-06 that i have no problem with recoil. I know that brass can be a pain to find. I would be building off a Sako AV that is currently 9lbs scoped. Probably go with a Ron Smith Barell.I know that i would have to open up the bolt face also. Who knows, maybe throw it in a mcmillan stock.

I get these crazy thoughts once in a while. Its not like i need it, My 338-06 is my favorite elk/moose slayer. Its just one of those things. Kind of like golf, you use more than one club.

take care,

Let it RIP...identical to an ouch and ouch but better sd I believe on the bullets. Brass may be an issue. I settled on the 9.3x62 which will still carry 2000lbs of energy to 400m or so...the 64 will do so a little further...you might need a couple of extra inches on the barrel to use all your powder...idk...have fun

You're bored ain't ya buddy???

It is a European 375, actual bore is .366. If a guy has an itch he should scratch it but personally I would build a 375 Ruger or 375 H&H just because brass and bullets are much easier to come buy, as is loaded ammo if you don't reload. That said, I have a few guns that aren't easy to find brass for so I don't even take my own advice.:) There are a few rifles chambered in that cartridge, including Sako, probably be much farther ahead just buying one of those and selling the Sako. Other choice is to by a 9.3x62 and just ream the chamber to 64. Rest of the stuff including the feed rails will be correct and work right with no futzing around. Post pictures of the build when you get it done.

9.3 Brenneke
 

I was bitten by the bug over 15 years ago. It is a very effective harvester of game. Consider it a non-belted magnum.
Brass - I found inexpensive brass early on and recently bought some RWS. Brass can be found by diligent searching.
Throating - this was the biggest decision I had to make. My rifle is optimized for 250/270/286 gr bullets. If you want to throw out 300 gr Swift the throat will need to be lengthened which will be great for the 300 gr but may effect the smaller pills. My rifle happens to really like the 270 Speer and the 286 partition equally.
Reloading - find a powder that balances high velocity and a full case. Slightly compressed works well in mine. Use a magnum primer.
Use a heavy barrel contour as well as a heavy stock. A boyd laminate would be ideal. Try to get it up around 10 lbs. (it was my single mistake putting mine in a Brown Precision composite.)
Recoil - yup, it has lots but also delivers a huge impact. My last moose walked 10 steps. Deer like it too.
Build it! Its not something you will spend a day at the range with but it does have its attraction.

There’s one on CGN that looks pretty nice and could be yours sooner than a build ... but I totally understand building exactly what you want

forgot to add
 

You get medium bore power and terminal ballistics in a standard action. 30-06 on severe steroids.

I looked at that one. That is an awful lot of money for what it is. I know the work was all done by Ralf Martini but almost 6 grand for a Brno 21 in a Brown Precision stock with a new barrel is pretty far out there. Not a chance I would be paying that price for a plain Jane hunting rifle when I could buy a brand new Sako, Blaser or Sauer in 9.3x62/64 or 375 H&H for 2,500 to 5,000. You can get a Zastava in 9.3x62 for about $800 and ream it out for a couple hundred more.

Don’t know much about the Brno 21 vs a new Sako but figured if Ralf worked on it, it’s probably nice as well as accurate.

I had some work done by him many years ago and he really does do very nice work. However, if the price tag the seller is claiming is accurate then I would say Ralph has become severely over priced. The seller is claiming 12,000 as the cost to have the gun made up and he is asking 50%. The action, barrel, sights etc can't be more than $2,000 at the outside. It is at most 2 days work to put them together, so $5,000 a day is pretty ritzy wages in my books.

If you say $6,000 fast enough it doesn't sound too bad, when you compare it to what else you can get for the same price, starts to look like not such a good deal.

Hahaha say $6000 fast enough made me laugh pretty good. That’s a good point though.
I do think there are factory options out there that bring a lot of value. Heck even a Tikka out of the box would go a long way and when you do enough shooting until it’s worn out, you can get a nice barrel twisted on for not much added cost
Really curious what the OP ends up building for 9.3x64. Sounds like a real solid cartridge.
As far as rifles go, I’ve never deemed it to be a decision that warrants being reasonable! Otherwise we’d all just be shooting a 30-06 or 303 Brit :)
As for a gunsmith, it was recommended to me by several people to look at Dave Jennings when I was considering a 9.3x62 or 35 Whelen on a Brno zg47.
I found him excellent to chat with at the very least. Others who have completed such projects will have more insight than me on who to get the work completed by.

http://jenningsoutdoorsports.com/contact-us-topmenu-18

Good luck with it! Have fun. Keep us posted

Great info gethered here
 

Thanks for the great info everyone. I am still on the fence of what to do. My one concern of all this is the recoil that this thing produces. I have had a Savage 300wm that kicked like a mule. On the flip side of that. i also had a x-bolt 300wm that seemed to have half that recoil. My 338-06 is a dream to shoot recoil wise with the 225 gr bullets. Mind you its just over 9lbs scoped. I am curious what the same speed on a 286 gr will do.

Though I have no experience with the 9.3x64 or the 338-06 (I’ve wanted one in Cooper stainless synthetic for a lonnnnng time), I’d say there’s nothing wrong with rocking that gun you know until you no longer hunt.
Although a recoil calculator can help put things in perspective, as you mentioned comparing the two 300 WM, the perceived recoil can be different based on stock design and other factors.


http://www.shooterscalculator.com/recoil-calculator.php

Is there anything you could throw money at to improve the gun you love? Fancy stock? Re-barrel? Just spitballin here
A new custom heavy thumper would be a lot of money to regret

A used CZ magnum action can be had for $1.5k. A new barrel on that would be ok to get you to 9.3x64. The heft may help tame the recoil somewhat.

9.3 Brenneke
 

This can be built on a standard action, (06 length). Mine is built on a commercial 98.

There was a Ruger #1 9.3x64 listed on CGN just the other day FYI

There is a lot more into that build than 2k in parts: to start that stock blank is 800USD right now and it was totally redone. Good luck building that rig for less than 8k with what went into it and the one of a kind work. Ralph is expensive but his work isnt run of the mill either.

Ive held that rifle and remember when he was building it. If I had the free coin i wouldnt hesitate to buy it.

In Canadian. Action 600, barrel 500, stock 1000. Parts 2100 Canadian at the outside. Ralf does great work but 10 grand labour for basically a couple to three days work? There are obviously lots of people that think like you do about Ralph's work but I am not one of them.

You wont find that action for 600. The cheapest i have found is just under 1k looking for years. Rifles with that action have commonly sold in the 1500 range for years on the low end. That barrel is a proprietary profile and mine was $850 years ago, etc.

You dont know much about the build or the work so......take a look at what he charges for his rifles now. Its on his website.

Ralph is likely in the top 5 gunsmiths in North America. You will pay accordingly and you will get what you pay for.

Why not pick up a Brno zkk in 9.3x64? I'm not sure what they cost these days.

It's a good cartridge, been using one for 25 years and no problems with components. Never shot anything that won the argument! You can build cheap, you can build expensive, or you can build to suit your personal taste and fit!

x4

Good advice here. I had a full custom done by Ralf a few years back. The work was impeccable but I still haven't got over the final cost.

I think that bullet is just too much for that cartridge. I use 225 maximum in mine. For the heavies I go with the .35 Whelen Ai or my 9.3x62. The latter two weigh over 10 lbs ,all up
The 286 in the 9.3x62 has a MV of 2460 @ 58 000 psi

I almost bought the 9.3x64 Brenneke but alas the price soared out of my reach pretty quick so I settled for a 7mmX64 instead.
Which is an option if you can find one and just rebarrel the 7mm up to 9.3. The actions, bolt face etc. are the same to the best of my knowledge.
I have used the 9.3x62 in a CZ beautiful rifle/action and components are pretty easy to come by.

stock question
 

One more question for the experts.

If i do go the 9.3x64 route. It would be based off a Sako AV action.Right now, It sits in a fiberclass stock which doesn't have the cross bolts in it. Would the recoil be too much for that stock.

Thanks for all the information in the thread so far.

You could put a cross bolt in but personally I would just Devcon the action and recoil lug. That will make it plenty strong and it will shoot great too.

Interesting ! I have a Sako AV factory chambered 9.3x62 (1979)
About 800 of these found their way to N America. Most came to Canada.
I also have a 35 Whelen Ai in a fiberglas stock. No crossbolt, no issues with recoil.