The author’s 9.3x74R Sabatti groups inside two inches at 100 yards. With scope, this makes it the rare 200-yard double rifle. More double rifles have probably been made in 9.3x74R than any other cartridge. They are much less expensive than big bore doubles and versatile, with capability up to buffalo. (Photo courtesy of Craig Boddington)
March 10, 2026
By Craig Boddington
Thanks to our Second Amendment, the good old USA has the world’s largest shooting public. Which translates to the world’s greatest availability and selection of firearms, cartridges, and ammo. Smokeless powder was developed in the 1880s. Initially, we were slow on the uptake, several years behind the European powers. America’s first smokeless powder cartridge was 1892’s .30-40 Krag, suspiciously similar to the .303 British, adopted in 1888.
Continue Reading