I have a Merkel 9.3x74r SxS and I do love it very much! It regulates beautifully.

Would I hunt DG with it?

Nope.

Why not one might ask?

As a hunter that has to pay almost a year’s take home pay (after tax), to hunt African DG, I do NOT wish to be marginally equipped. I want the horsepower to “ take the shot”, whatever the angle or shot presentation, particularly when one may only get a single opportunity during a 10 day hunt. Do I think the 9.3x74r will take a cape buffalo? Yes, of course, but on a perfect textbook broadside shot. Not on a “quartering to” shot that is all too often the presentation one gets with cape buffalo..... there is just waaay too much brisket, bone, gristle and assorted factors that would make me hold the shot if equipped with a 9.3x74r. If I lived in Africa or had the opportunity to hunt at a much greater frequency than I can currently afford, just maybe I’d hunt with the 9.3x74r, where I could be much more liberal with passing up shots.

I just do not believe it is a good choice for most DG hunters. I do believe it is a fantastic cartridge. I hunt whitetail deer and caribou with it to great effect and it damages less meat than a smaller faster cartridge. In Europe, it would be an absolute gem if hunting wild boar.

If one is paying outrageous and barely affordable fees for a DG hunt, one might well consider a caliber starting at .416 and go up from there. Leave the science experiments at home and equip ones self with a more suitable tool for the job. ‘tis only my opinion and if others feel differently, that’s ok too. I suppose one’s context and conditions will have much to do with one’s opinion or approach.