Indians For Guns

I've been hearing of 9mm rifles being fairly popular in India in the first half of the past century but have yet to come across anyone with it. Was wondering on two aspects: were these rifles 9.3x62mm or 9x57mm? Were these sold by European manufacturers to counter American firearms in India? What was their performance like compared to the .30-06 Springfield or .318 WR or the .375 H&H Mag. rounds?

Importantly are they still with people in India and what is the situation as far as ammunition is concerned.

my grandfather used to have mannlicher 9x57 rifle and he shot black bear with it when hunting was legal in india .rifle action was smooth and rifle itself was very handy and kynoch ammo which were around 270 grain provide more stopping power than 30-06.but after 1990 onwards the ammo of 9x57 -9.5x57 -9.3x62 calibre were not easily available and my grandfather got .30M1CARBINE he sold the rifle to a dealer

The 9.3X62 and its rimmed twin the 9.3X74 are much closer to the .375H&H than to the .300 class.

All of the Big Five have been taken with them.Many still use them against Cape Buffaloes & largest of antelopes in Africa,in the areas where they are legal, and one of the most popular calibres against wild boars in continental Europe.Especially on driven boar shooting.


The 9.3X64 Brenneke almost copies the .375H&H ballistics and can be used in a regular size action.It does not need the magnum action that the latter needs.


Best-
Vikram

My grandfather had a rifle by mauser chambered 9x59.

9.3x62 ammo is available, 9x57 ammo is pretty much impossible to source. In fact, just a few months ago a friend was offered a 9x57 Mauser for just INR 25,000/-.... I advised him against picking up what would just be an expensive paperweight/ wall hanger!

Cheers!
Abhijeet

Hi guys 9x57 and 9.3mm both cartridges are available.l seen both rounds with a dealer and brand new recently imported but the pdices were very high thanks

If you visit the dealer again, could get info like make and type, bullet weight and price of the ammo?

HI Guys
Logging in after some time. There were both the 9 x 57 Mauser and the 9 x 56 Mannlicher Schoenauer in India. Ballistics are similar, the Mannlicher ammo can be fired in the Mauser but not vice versa. Ammo is sometimes available, and if ur lucky u can get a fresh import. I once had a beautiful 9x 56 Mannlicher which I had to sell off. Got fresh Old Western Scrounger 9x 56 ammo once in the year 2000 from a dealer in Delhi. Fittingly they were 245 grain soft points with a Lion on the cover. I loved the rifle its balance, and the action was the smoothest i have ever used. The 9 x 56 is on the Import list of cartridges so if ur lucky u can find ammo.
All the best
BTW what has happened to the the wanted/to sell posts??

ashokgodara wrote:Hi guys 9x57 and 9.3mm both cartridges are available.l seen both rounds with a dealer and brand new recently imported but the pdices were very high thanks

Can the dealer assure the supply of ammo. BTW what was thw price of the ammo ?
I recently got to see a .355 MS and a .375 MS rifle both were in good condition
moreover the bolt was really smooth and they were also light weight.
Is it a good weapon in case the ammo is available ?

cheers
arjun401

Unfortunately, both the 9x57 Mauser, and all the Mannlicher-Schoenauer cartridges, 8x56, 9x56, 9.5x57, are pretty much obsolete. Norma has loaded the 9x57 Mauser sporadically, as it was a fairly popular cartridge in Sweden, also for F.N. in Belgium, but probably has ceased. So it has become an (easy) handloading proposition. Or expensive custom loaded ammo. None of the big players load any of it.

Chances are good that a M-S in 9x56 will also accept and safely fire Kynoch 9x57 (pre-CIP) Mauser cartridges, which may be somewhat easier to find in India.

These rifles can be had had in today's time only if one is a keen reloader, which unfortunately in our country is a hobby that we cannot indulge in. I personally would have loved to possess all Mannlicher Schoenauer rifles in caliber 6.5x54,8x56,9x56,9.3x57,9.5x57 etc for the simple reason that A)this is the only action which I prefer over gud ole Mauser '98 and B). These calibers adapted beautifully to this particular medium weight rifles. I have experienced unpleasent recoil problem shooting these rifles when later on they were introduced in various American calibers like 30-06 etc. Maybe it had something to do with the stock design as these were designed to be used with open sights or apertue sights. BTW, I am quite used to heavy recoiling rifles as I grew up shooting 375 H&H.

Marksman

We owned a 9mm parabellum semi-auto rifle with a 28 shot magazine and it had a folding bayonet under the barrel.It
was manufactured by Vesuvius arms Italy ,the rifle was modeled on the Beretta mod.1830 shown below.The rifle was known as rapid demon AKA the syringe.Alas had to part with it because of stupid arm laws.Will post a pic of the rifle if i am able to find in my archives.

I have shot a fair number of rifles in 9mm including several made by the likes of Merkel, valmet, and other European makers in 9.3x74 primarily. They are ok for shooting at 40-50 yards and primarily hunting rifles. Not much interest there.

However the only 'rifle' in the 9mm caliber that really interests me, is strictly speaking not a rifle. Its the SD-9 failing which would love a MP 5.

Hi Shooter50,

For some reason I'm unable to post PMs hence this post. How much should a Mannlicher Schonauer in 9x56 calibre be worth if it is in good condition?

Regards.

The 9mm Mauser was a very good cartridge developed from the original 8mm Mauser military round. This made it very suitable to take medium to large game in short to medium range which is ideal as the cartridge was aimed at the African Safari market. The recoil is also mind when one considers that this can take down big game. This is largely because there is not a lot of powder burning behind a comparatively heavy bullet.

However its popularity was affected as the magnum craze was fast catching on in the 1st quarter 20th Century led by such cartridges as the venerable 375 H&H Mag.

I will not like to speculate on prices but I can confirm that they will be on the cheaper side largely owing to lack of ammunition.

Interestingly I have also come across a lot of these rifles in the Chambal belt.