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Common uses: Big Game, Dangerous Game
| Type | rifle (centerfire) |
| Typical load | 286gr Hornady Dangerous Game InterLock SP-RP |
| Muzzle velocity | 2360 fps |
| Muzzle energy | 3538 ft-lb |
| Published G1 ballistic coefficient | 0.4 |
| Case length | 74 mm |
| Overall length | 94.5 mm |
| Range (yd) | Velocity (fps) | Energy (ft-lb) | Drop (in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2360 | 3536 | -1.5 |
| 100 | 2152 | 2940 | 0 |
| 200 | 1955 | 2427 | -6 |
| 300 | 1769 | 1988 | -21.2 |
| 400 | 1597 | 1620 | -47.5 |
| 500 | 1441 | 1318 | -87.5 |
At 1,000 yards, 9.3x74R (286gr at 2360 fps, 100 yd zero, standard conditions) has a modeled come-up of about 59.0 MOA / 17.2 MIL, retaining 977 fps (subsonic).
| Range (yd) | Velocity (fps) | State | Drop (in) | Elev (MOA) | Elev (MIL) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | 1769 | Supersonic | -21.2 | 6.8 | 1.96 |
| 400 | 1597 | Supersonic | -47.5 | 11.3 | 3.30 |
| 500 | 1441 | Supersonic | -87.5 | 16.7 | 4.86 |
| 600 | 1303 | Transonic | -144.3 | 23.0 | 6.68 |
| 700 | 1188 | Transonic | -221.6 | 30.2 | 8.79 |
| 800 | 1098 | Subsonic | -323.6 | 38.6 | 11.24 |
| 900 | 1030 | Subsonic | -454.3 | 48.2 | 14.02 |
| 1000 | 977 | Subsonic | -617.8 | 59.0 | 17.16 |
Extended predictions beyond 500 yards are modeled from the same G1 engine — useful for initial DOPE, but outside the 500-yard manufacturer-table validation audit. Confirm with observed DOPE, especially near transonic.
A retained-energy reference only — not a shoot/don't-shoot distance. Real effective range depends on your accuracy, shot placement, bullet construction, and conditions. The ~1,000 ft-lb (deer-sized) and ~1,500 ft-lb (elk-sized) figures are commonly cited rules of thumb, not standards.
Your barrel, ammunition lot, and conditions will differ — always verify against the manufacturer's data and your own rifle.
The 9.3x74R is best known as a classic double-rifle and combination-gun cartridge, prized in Europe for driven boar, red stag, and other heavy game at moderate ranges. Firing heavy .366-inch bullets, typically around 286 grains, it delivers deep penetration and strong stopping power while operating at relatively mild pressures suited to break-action guns. That low-pressure design gives it manageable recoil for its class. Its long rimmed case and looping trajectory limit it to close and mid ranges rather than long-distance shooting. It has long carried a reputation as one of the premier medium-bore cartridges for continental sporting rifles, favored where a second fast shot from a double matters more than flat trajectory. In North America it remains a specialist choice, valued by those who hunt with double rifles and drillings rather than conventional bolt actions.
The 9.3x74R is a German medium-bore cartridge that emerged around 1900 as a smokeless-powder design intended for break-action firearms rather than bolt guns. Its long, gently tapered rimmed, bottlenecked case was shaped for reliable extraction in double rifles, single-shot falling-block rifles, and combination guns such as drillings. It fires the same .366-inch (9.3 mm) bullet as the later rimless 9.3x62, which German gunmaker Otto Bock developed in 1905; the two produce near-identical ballistics, the 9.3x74R being the rimmed, break-action equivalent of the bolt-action 9.3x62. It became a defining European big-game chambering and remains a staple of the Continental double-rifle tradition.
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