@Bob Nelson 35Whelen turned me on to Meopta's Optika 5 in 2-10x42. It certainly isn't a Zeiss or Swaro in glass quality, but at about 500 USD, the glass is still pretty good. They're Czech-made and will withstand the recoil of your 9.3x62. That's what my 9.3 was wearing last year in Limpopo when I got a cape buffalo, bwb, and zebra. Bob has insanely hot loads for his 35 Whelen and is as happy as any Ozzie with his morning Bundy and milk.
On reloading, I've found that mostly you're just better off sticking with 18.5 gram pills.
The "secret" for those of us who've discovered you can get 2450 - 2500 fps out of that weight bullet is that the SAAMI-spec cartridge overall length of 3.291" leaves A LOT of freebore unused - you'll probably end up at around 0.09" of jump. Measure the firing chamber in your Tikka, then measure the magazine length.
I'm not certain why, but most publishers of load data for 9.3x62 specify COAL well under even SAAMI-spec: Hornady shows 3.125, Nosler shows 3.22, Norma 3.150, Barnes 3.205, Rhino 3.242. Swift just publishes the SAAMI length of 3.291, and North Fork is 3.30.
I have a pair of 9.3x62 - a Zastava and a JP Sauer. With any of the 18.5 gram Spitzer bullets and in both rifles, firing chamber dimensions are such that at about 3.38", the ogive is sitting on the lands. Common practice is to back off by about 0.02" from that, putting you at 3.36" for COAL. I'd guess, however, that the mag in your Tikka won't accommodate any longer than about 3.34" or so. A COAL of about 3.325 or 3.33" is a good length for every 9.3x62 I've ever heard of; and that's what will allow you to get in the 2500 fps neighborhood with 18.5 gram bullets.
Seat whichever bullet you choose at about 3.325 or 3.33, start at the bottom on your powder, then create a ladder up in 0.5 grain increments until you see pressure signs, then back off a grain. I got to 2475 fps with Swift A Frame 286 gr without seeing any signs of pressure. It wasn't worth it to me to try and go any faster, so I stopped there. Even if I could have gotten to 2550, that isn't appreciably better than 2475 in the killing business; it's just more chamber pressure.
Ramshot Big Game and Alliant PowerPro 2000MR have given me the best results, though they are less temp-stable than extruded powders like Varget and IMR 4895. As reported above, CFE223 seems to be a good choice as well.
Nosler Accubond 250 gr has a BC of just under 0.5, the highest of any 9.3 bullet I know of. Even at 2600 fps, it isn't appreciably flatter at 300 yards than 286 gr bullets in the high 0.3X BC. IMO, if you could get 2700 or 2750 out of a 250 gr, it would probably be worth it to go down in weight.
