Post this here under classic rifle's because I feel an action 119 years old don’t fit in the new rifle’s section.

you may remember that christmas was coming again

and because unusual things will happen in this time of the year
I have got a Mosin sporting rifle kit from finland one day before christmas. It started in the mosin forum over one year ago in a discussion about the 9,3x53R Finish. Some times later Bokmal send me a message that he have seen a 9,3 barrel - if I allways have an interest for such an rifle? This barrel was for an arisaka action but in the end I have got a mosin barrel, a system, a piece of walnut, an old Zeiss Ziel Vier and a Mannlicher Schoenauer claw mount, also the small parts for a very, very pc sporting rifle.
And it will end someday in the proof house in Suhl, hopefully without blowing the rifle in pieces.

You know that one rifle leads to another rifle. When I've got a M 88 in 9x57 was needing also a swedish sporter in 9,3x57 and having this I was knowing that a finish 9,3 is a must have. While waiting for the parts was browsing through the net for informations about the cartridge and it will be shame now when it will be lost.
The finish Mosin conversation was most times a simple hunting rifle made from an old war horse to hunting moose for meat one time in the year like this here.

There are existing also some decent real Mosin sporter but the style and the taste of the sixties was becoming something uncertain. It was the time when Monte Carlo stocks and plastic fake ivory caps coming in vogue. not that I mean such finish sporters but it wasnt the same anymore like it was before WW 2.

My destination is a sporting rifle in the clear and classic lines of the Husqvarna mauser sporter.
when I start this project was looking for all informations about and around the 9,3x53R.

First thing to note is that there are in fact four different 9,3x53 cartridges. The first was a 9,3x53 rimless, called Model 25. this is a 7,5x55 Swiss necked up for a .366 bullet. The designation M 25 indicate 1925 as the time of development.

As a Model (19)26 exist the 9,3x53R Swiss, this is the rimmed version for single shot’s. I don’t have seen rifles for this rounds till now. What I have heard is that the rimles round was chambered in rebored swiss military rifles without any other “sporterisation”. The rimmed cartridge was intendet for the popular martini falling block action. The swiss arsenal Altdorf was maybe the only manufaturer for both rounds. The production of this cartridges seems to stop in the sixsty’s

The 9,3x53R Swiss will be sometimes mixed up with the

9,3x53R Finish

What norma is saying about his 9,3x57 is also true for the 9,3x53R Finish:

“Interestingly, no one seems to be able to determine exactly when or by whom the 9.3x57 chambering was designed”

What we know is that it started after WW 2 in a time when the finish had a lot of problems caused from the big neighbour in the east. There was a law forbidding the use of military rifles for hunting after WW 2 what caused the 8,2x53R Mosin and probably also our 9,3x53R. Similar stupidity after WW 1 created the 8x60 Mauser in germany. Its my opinion that the finish copy the Swedish idea of the 9,3x57,well proofed in Husqvarna Mauser sporter and created a Moose cartridge for cheap conversions of old military rifles. Sako in Finland was and is the only manufacturer of this cartridge and sold also new brass. A box of 20 unfired cases is sold for 16,50 euro here and when I make my order had have to wait because it was sold out. It must be more than one rifle around here in the evil empire. There are good reasons to belief that the first drawing of our cartridge was made from a Sako employee.

right 9(,3)x53R russian version/LVE left 9,3x53R Finish/Sako

Old sako ammo box

And new ammo box

Like with the 9,3x53(R) Swiss only the neck of the 7,62x54R Mosin was open for .366 diameter bullets. The rest of the case was not change and so a rebored and reriffled military Mosin barrel needs only a neck reamer.

You see in this Kemira list that the 9,3x53R runs a little bit higher than the 9,3x57 Mauser because the mosin can stand a little bit more pressure than a Swedish M 96 action.
This kemira load is more or less identical with the sako factory load. we can assume it is in fact the sako factory load:

SAKO 9,3x53R factory load:

Velocity
Bullet Weigth V0 V100 V200 V300

9,3x53R Gamehead RN 16,6 gramm 710 600 500 420

Energy
0m 100m 200m 300m

4083 2912 2027 1426

Balistic
50m 100m 150m 200m 250m 300m

3,1cm 5,0 cm 0 cm -13,3 cm -37,5 cm -72,4 cm

the 9,3 Finnish was ever loaded with one bullet weigth in all the years. In my opinion is the 16,6 gramm bullet ideal for this 9,3mm cartridges like the 16 gramm was the best for the 9mm and the 17,2 gramm was the best for the ligth 9,5mm cartridges.
Sako was loading also the 9,3x57 Mauser once with this bullet. Norma have maybe good reasons for the “ ligth” 230 grains and the heavy 285 grains load in the 9,3x57. the first is fine for roe deer and the second is for moose but there is something like a ideal bullet weigth for every cartridge. The 285 grains bullet is the rigth one in the 9,3x62, in the 9,3x57 and 9,3x53R it’s the 16,6 gramm bullet.

Old copper crusher method give a max. pressure of 3000 bar for the 9,3x53R
In practise there will be no difference between the two 9,3mm cartridges. Its similar like between a 9mm Mannlicher Schoenauer and 9mm Mauser or a 9,5mm Mannlicher Schoenauer and 375 NE 2,5”
An old german cartridge manual from 1973 shows how unknown the cartridge outside of finland was in this day’s.

The Sako load is called 9,3x53r Swiss here but on the other side CotW don’t know it at all.
For comparison here is the old Sako 9,3x57 load, same bullet, similar ballistic

The last cartridge in the row is the 9x53R

This is the russian designation but the cartridge is so close to the finish cartridge that I call it a “copy”.
Was surprise to see that a wikipedia article exist for the 9x53R:
The 9x53R rifle cartridge was designed as a hunting cartridge,it is a 7.62x54mmR necked up to accommodate a larger bullet. The Russian version was designed from a mister M.N. Blum in 1957 and the cartridge was produced from 1962–1977, again from early1990s-present.
This cartridge was not to produced for many years, but large volumes in private stock reach till the “Novosibirsk ammunition factory” make it possible also, until now, to meet the demand for these cartridges.
The Soviet hunting cartridge 9x53R was developed for hunting in the extreme north regions in the USSR.
It is calculated on large animals: sea seals, walrus, bear, moose. this cartridge should not be confused with 9.3x53R Finnish which has similar dimensions, but a sightly larger bullet: 9,30mm(366) against 9,27mm(.365), a 71.45mm overall cartridge length[7] against 67,8mm and, more important, higher maximum pressure – 3400 bar against 2900 bar for the russian version.
As a result shooting the finish cartridge is only safe in mosin action rifles.
The cartridge 9,3x53R Sako is ten times more expensive than 9x53R ammunition in Russia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9x53R

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/9%D1%8553_%D0%BC%D0%BC

I don’t know why the russians call it 9x53R, also don’t know why they choose the very unusual .365 diameter. Maybe the same reason why the 9 mm Makarov pistol round have a .364 diameter bullet.
The rusian cartridge can shoot in every finish rifle. The finish round is also safe in russian made mosin rifles but make problems in russian made semi auto sporting rifles because of the higher pressure. To use it in russian single or double rifles is a question for a competent gunsmith and in a CIP member country also for the proof house.
the LVE plant from Novosibirsk was and is making the 9x53(9,3x53R Russian). some day someone will come in here with one of this Russian double rifles and wonder why it will not regulate with sako cartridges. If its true what we have learning about the regulation of classic double rifles handloads with a 15 gramm spitzer soft point at 647 m/sec will do it.
There is no doubt that such russian doubles are made for the LVE load.
This is the the LVE ballistic for the 9x53R round with the common copper washed steel case:

Hunting cartridge 9x53R SP, V25 av640-655 m/sec, 240.1(2450kgf/cm2) - 254.8 (2600kgf/cm2), At distance100 8cm max. , Bullet mass14.9-15.1 , Cartridge mass26.8-29.04g, Jacket material – copper.Case material – bimetal

A russian made brass case was not found till now, difference between cartridges made before 1977 and after 1990 is that the old rounds have a “188” code headstamp and the new rounds have the “LVE” headstamp.

There are new rebored mosin rifles in russia now available for the 9x53R and they also use the sako load sometimes. the original military stock is maybe not a bad decision under the very hard conditions in the russian norther territory.

if someone ever would export this from russia he will find enough gun nuts who need it.

Baikal is also making new rifles for the 9,3x53R but I havn’t heard that it’s available outside of russia. The DR is one of the futuristic O/U but the single shot stalking rifle can be used for a nice classic rework in my opinion .

Russian Cossacks hunting the Caspian tiger on the Iranian cost of the Caspian sea with mosin rifles,1912. I wonder if the horn player on the pic was blowing “attack” when the tiger was coming in sigth of the group.
The mosin action is a proofed dangerous game rifle!

ok, work have allready start’s - my gunmaker was becoming ill about the christmas day’s. I use the time to begin polishing the action. Most work was spend for sporterizing the trigger and trigger guard with the file.

the Mauser style safety turns to the “wrong” side

fire

safe

The bolt will get a colour case hardening.some screws I have for the project got a fire blueing
Before:

and then:

I hope to update this thread from time to time