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Subject line really says it all.

Brown and Kodiak bears get up to 1500#, with the largest Kodiak on record in the wild weighing in at 2500#. We’re talking about carnivores the size of cape buffalo. And they can be as bad tempered as anything the Dark Continent has to offer. So a rifle in the 9.3x74R/.338 Win Mag power range is called for. If it’s a double and you wouldn’t carry a rimless double after dangerous game in Africa then you shouldn’t consider a rimless double for a “do everything” rifle for North America.

In Africa, cartridges like the 9.3x74R are great “all-arounders” because they have enough power for everything but maybe elephant (where legal) and their point blank range (point blank defined as distance at which the POI stays within +/-3" of POA) is beyond any African hunting distances I’ve heard anyone here or elsewhere mention.

Not so in North America. Hunting conditions for elk, antelope, and mule deer often dictate shots well beyond the point blank of cartridges like the 9.3x74R or .35 Whelen. And remember, doubles are “one trick ponies”. You can’t use 293gr for most situations and then expect the rifle to regulate to 275 yards with 232gr ammo. That is why for turnbolt shooters the favorite one gun calibers, if big bears are in the mix, are the .30 cal magnums and the .338 WM.

The 8x75RS has been compared to the 300 H&H, but with 196-200gr bullets it beats out the 300 H&H. It’s right there with the .338 WM. Much flatter shooting with a much longer point blank range than the 9.3x74R. In theory it should be the perfect “do everything” North American double rifle round.

But my theory only holds water if a double can be regulated to shoot together out to at least 275-300 yards. If a double can’t be regulated to shoot together beyond 200-215 yards, then the 8x75RS offers absolutely no advantage over the 9.3x74R here in North America.

Can a double be regulated well enough to take advantage of this longer point blank range? In particular a Chapuis UGEX? Is the UGEX available in 8x75RS?

I know that 9.3x74R is much more popular/available than the 8x75RS in the U.S.

Apparently Heym offers the 8x75RS in double rifles but Merkel does not.

Has anyone on this forum got any experience with 8x75RS rifles?

Brazos Jack

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